America’s Masai Russell won a photo finish Saturday in the women’s 100-meter hurdles where the biggest cheer came for Cyrena Samba-Mayela, whose silver medal marks the first of any color for France at the Olympic track meet. In a close-as-can-be race down the straightaway, Russell finished in 12.33 seconds, but had to wait another 15 seconds to learn she had beaten the Frenchwoman by .01.
Quick Read
- Gold for America in 100m Hurdles: Masai Russell won the women’s 100-meter hurdles for the U.S. in a photo finish with a time of 12.33 seconds, narrowly beating France’s Cyrena Samba-Mayela by .01 seconds.
- First Track Medal for France: Cyrena Samba-Mayela’s silver in the 100-meter hurdles marks France’s first medal in track and field at the Paris Olympics, breaking the host nation’s shutout on the final day of competition at Stade de France.
- Bronze for Camacho-Quinn: Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico took the bronze, finishing just .02 seconds behind Samba-Mayela.
- Kenya’s Wanyonyi Wins 800m: Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya won the men’s 800 meters by .01 seconds in a close race against Canada’s Marco Arop, with a finishing time of 1:41.19, just .28 seconds off the world record.
- Ingebrigtsen Wins 5,000m: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won the 5,000 meters in 13:13.66, adding to his titles from the last two world championships, while Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi took silver, and Grant Fisher of the U.S. earned bronze.
The Associated Press has the story:
US Masai Russell won golden Olympic medal in women’s 100-meter hurdles
SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) —
America’s Masai Russell won a photo finish Saturday in the women’s 100-meter hurdles where the biggest cheer came for Cyrena Samba-Mayela, whose silver medal marks the first of any color for France at the Olympic track meet. In a close-as-can-be race down the straightaway, Russell finished in 12.33 seconds, but had to wait another 15 seconds to learn she had beaten the Frenchwoman by .01.
Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who competes for Puerto Rico, was another .02 back for bronze. No cheers were louder than those for Samba-Mayela, who broke a shutout for the host country on the last day of action at the Stade de France.
The stadium has been packed all nine nights, cheering for sports stars from the United States, Kenya, Norway and all corners of the globe. Still, the biggest cheer for a French athlete up to this point came for a swimmer, Léon Marchand, who won a gold medal in the pool on the opening night of the track meet, prompting race officials to ask for quiet while a crowd watching on tablets and phones went crazy.
Now, Samba-Mayela gave them a moment to cheer for someone in person. It’s a nice break for a country with a rich track tradition, producing Olympic champions such as Marie-José Pérec and Renaud Lavillenie. Even with this medal, France remains without an Olympic gold on the track since Lavillenie won the pole vault in 2012.
Wanyonyi of Kenya wins men’s 800 in another race decided by .01 second
In a speedy men’s 800 Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi beat Canada’s Marco Arop by .01 seconds in a photo finish, finishing in 1:41.19, only .28 off the world record. American Bryce Hoppel’s national record of 1:41.67 was only good for fourth.
Ingebrigtsen gets a win, this one in the 5,000
Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000 meters in a relatively drama-free race after much-hyped 1,500 four nights earlier against Britain’s Josh Kerr turned into a disappointing fourth -place finish. Ingebrigtsen won in 13 minutes, 13.66 seconds to add this title to wins at the last two world championships. Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi finished second and Grant Fisher of the U.S. finished third.
