USA reclaims top spot in medals table

From the Editorial Board

La Jornada newspaper
Wednesday, August 7, 2024, p. a12

The United States had a stunning night in track and field at the Olympic Games, with Gabby Thomas winning the 200m and Cole Hooker winning the 1,500m to return to the top of the medal table.

After waking up separated by just one gold, the Americans swapped places with China thanks to their two victories at the Stade de France.

Thomas recorded an expected victory in the 200 metres. The sprinter clocked 21.83 seconds to add gold to the bronze she won in the same event in Tokyo three years ago.

This is an incredible feeling.Thomas commented, leaving the last 100m champion, Saint Lucian Julien Alfred (22.08), without a double, who had to settle for the silver medal in a race in which American Brittany Brown also took the bronze (22.20).

The race was billed as a real battle between the two strongest runners over the 1500m. No one imagined that a rookie would end up stealing the show and taking home the Olympic gold medal in the process.

Hooker pulled off a huge upset by beating his best time by more than three seconds to beat title favourites Jacob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr.

He won the race in an Olympic record time of 3 minutes 27.65 seconds, moving from fifth to first in the last 300 metres and overtaking the two runners whose rivalry had captured attention in the run-up to the race.

This may surprise a lot of people, but if you had been paying attention to my season, you would have known what I was capable of.He said at the end of the test.

In the long jump, Greece’s Miltiadis Titoglou won his second consecutive gold, while Canada’s Camryn Rogers took the hammer throw title. Bahrain’s Winfred Yaffe won the women’s 3,000m hurdles.

Arisa True produced a masterpiece in her final race at the Paris Games to win the gold medal in skateboarding at the age of 14.

The Australian became the first woman from her country to win an Olympic medal in skiing.

Japan’s Kokona Hiraki (15 years old) and Britain’s Skye Brown (16 years old) won silver and bronze, becoming the youngest podium finishers in history.

The Dutch team won the men’s team sprint title, beating silver medallists Great Britain in the final, while the bronze went to Australia who defeated the hosts at the National Velodrome. The Dutch clocked 40.949 seconds to set the world record and therefore the Olympic record.

In the show jumping final, German rider Christian Kuckuck, with his grey horse checkerHe won the title with a flawless run in the final between the top three competitors.

Kuckuck’s victory, which followed Germany’s gold medals in individual and individual dressage events, as well as team dressage, cemented Germany’s status as the world’s leading equestrian powerhouse.

With information from AFP and AP