Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone once again demonstrated her dominance in the women’s 400m hurdles, venturing into uncharted territories. In her fourth successive final, she shattered her own world record for the fourth time, clocking in at 50.37 seconds. This eclipsed the 50.65 that she posted at the US Olympic trials in June. Her exceptional performance would have placed her just shy of the final of the 400m flat, proving that the ten hurdles are hardly a hindrance for her.
Anna Cockrell, the 25-year-old’s teammate from New Jersey, trailed behind by a solid one and a half seconds, clinching the silver with a time of 51.87. The fading Dutch star, Femke Bol, managed to secure bronze, finishing the race with a time of 52.15.
Regardless of having crossed the 51-second mark earlier this year, clocking in at 50.95, Bol couldn’t keep pace with McLaughlin-Levrone. McLaughlin-Levrone initially broke the world record with a time of 51.46 at the Tokyo Olympic Games, securing the gold medal. She later bettered that at the 2022 World Championship title, clocking in at 50.68. Now, she’s closing in on the elusive 50-second barrier, leaving Bol further behind on the track than ever before.
Disappointed in her performance, Bol said, “All you aim to do in an Olympic final is to deliver your utmost performance. I mucked it up. I’m uncertain where I messed up.”
Meanwhile, Letsile Tebogo brought a personal source of inspiration into the men’s 200m event, remembering his mother Seratiwa, who unfortunately passed away in May after a brief illness at the age of 47.
The 21-year-old Botswanan, proved his prowess by clinching the gold in 19.46 seconds, relegating Noah Lyles, the 100m champion from the USA, to third place, who confessed to testing positive for Covid just 48 hours prior. Tebogo attributes his triumphs to the memory of his mother, inscribing her initials and date of birth on his running spikes. He said they give him immense inspiration, knowing that his mother is watching over him and would be joyous at his achievements. He chose not to include her date of demise as it would impart emotional stress.
Botswana, an African nation with a population slightly more than 2.3 million and one of the least densely populated nations worldwide, now celebrates Tebogo as their premier gold medal winner and the second African sprint king ever.
Grant Holloway from the USA finally bagged the elusive 110m hurdles title, outpacing his fellow American Daniel Roberts. Tara Davis-Woodhall added to her country’s success, securing a medal with a 7.10m leap in the long jump, the best of the evening.
Arshad Hadem from Pakistan made headlines with his remarkable 92.97m javelin throw, dethroning the reigning Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra from India who finished with a deserving silver for his 89.45m.
Irish participant Kate O’Connor was present at the Stade de France on Thursday, taking part in the women’s heptathlon opening day. Her performance leaves her in 19th place out of the remaining 22, with a points tally of 908 to take into day two. She threw a 13.79m in the shot put session, before achieving her season’s best by finish the 200m with 24.77 seconds, only 0.04 seconds slower than her all-time best.
“She recognised her shot may not have been perfect but wasn’t awful either, expressing satisfaction in her performance in the 200m event. Despite sustaining a hamstring injury five to six weeks previous, she managed to perform just a fraction slower than her best personal time. The lady looks forward to the upcoming women’s 4x400m ante-penultimate round on Friday morning (9.40am Irish time). This event will see the top three proceed to the final round on Saturday, along with two quickest runners from the non-qualifying group. The upcoming heat will see competition from the European winners, the Netherlands, the World Championships’ second-place holders, Jamaica, and Poland, who claimed the second prize in Tokyo’s relay. Despite these formidable competitors, the Irish team, probably comprised of Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Kelly McGrory and Sharlene Mawdsley, shouldn’t be scared.
Mark English, on the other hand, might have to outperform his national record to secure a position in the men’s 800m. His semi-final, scheduled for (10.30am), includes six competitors who have recorded faster times than him in this season’s best. Among them is Djamel Sedjati from Algeria, the potential gold medallist who has clocked a spectacular 1:41.46 this year.
Similarly, Sarah Lavin would also need to beat the existing Irish record to qualify for the final in the 100m hurdles. Her semi-final (11.13 Irish time) will see the two quickest runners secure their spots in the final round. Furthermore, two additional spots will be given to non-automatic time qualifiers.”