Five things to look forward to at the Paris Olympics on Friday 9 August

The penultimate day of in-stadium athletics action at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is a busy one.

Friday 9 August features eight finals, including the 4x100m relays, men’s 400m hurdles and conclusion of the heptathlon, while there are heats for the 4x400m and semifinals for the men’s 800m and women’s 100m hurdles.

Here are some things to look forward to…

One lap showdowns

The men’s 400m hurdles features a clash of the three fastest athletes of all time. World record-holder Karsten Warholm is in a fight to retain his title as he goes up against Rai Benjamin, the Tokyo silver medallist who sits second on the world all-time list, and 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos, who claimed bronze in Tokyo and is No.3 in history.

Benjamin is the world leader following the 46.46 he ran at the US trials, putting him ahead of Dos Santos, who set his fastest time of the year so far of 46.63 when beating Warholm with 46.70 in Oslo.

Between them they have the 17 fastest performances of all time and 24 of the top 25. Warholm’s world record of 45.94, set when winning in Tokyo, could be under threat. 

In the women’s 400m, world champion Marileidy Paulino will look to upgrade her Tokyo silver to Paris gold.

Relay excitement

After safely navigating the heats, USA, Great Britain, Canada and host nation France will field teams in both the women’s and men’s 4x100m finals.

USA’s men are on the hunt for a first Olympic 4x100m gold since 2000 and will go up against defending champions Italy. Jamaica won’t be a threat, however, as the quartet failed to make it to the final.

In the women’s final, Jamaica will defend the Olympic title after two world silver medals behind USA, while Great Britain are the world leaders with 41.55 clocked in London last month. USA won their heat in 41.94 in Paris, while Great Britain topped theirs in 42.03.

5000m medallists clash again

In the 5000m final on Monday, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet stormed to the title, beating her teammate Faith Kipyegon and Sifan Hassan. The women’s 10,000m offers a rematch.

Chebet set a world 10,000m record at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene in May, running 28:54.14 to become the first woman to break the 29-minute barrier. The record attempt had actually been set up for Gudaf Tsegay, who finished second in 29:05.92, and Tsegay – the world champion – is also among those going for 10,000m gold in Paris. The 10,000m forms part of a treble attempt for Hassan and Tsegay, with Hassan also entered in the marathon and Tsegay, ninth in the 5000m final, running the 1500m.

The 10,000m also features Nadia Battocletti and Margaret Kipkemboi, who respectively finished fourth and fifth in the 5000m.

It all comes down to this

After seven events across two days, the heptathlon comes to a conclusion. Nafi Thiam has the chance to make history by becoming the first woman to win three heptathlon golds. Continuing her comeback after injury, she won the European title in Rome with 6848, the third-best score of her career.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the only athlete who has managed to defeat Thiam in a major championships combined events competition since 2016 and they go head-to-head again, joined by US champion Anna Hall, Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Anouk Vetter and two-time world indoor pentathlon champion Noor Vidts, bronze medallist behind Thiam and home hope Auriana Lazraq-Khlass at the European Championships.

Fierce field finals

In the field, athletes will compete for titles in the women’s shot put and men’s triple jump.

In the shot put, Canada’s world leader Sarah Mitton will look to add the Olympic title to her world indoor gold after topping qualification with a 19.77m throw, while China’s Gong Lijiao will defend her title. The final will not feature two-time world champion Chase Jackson, however, as her best of 17.60m after two fouls was not enough for her to advance.

In the triple jump, defending champion Pedro Pichardo, European champion Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun and world champion Hugues Fabrice Zango will clash after they all achieved the automatic qualification mark to progress to the final.

 

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