Paris, Aug. 6, (dpa/GNA) – Sweden’s Armand Duplantis delighted with another world record for back-to-back Olympic pole vault gold medals while Briton Keely Hodgkinson got a first major 800m gold at last after three previous silvers on another action-packed athletics Monday night at the Paris Games.
Duplantis clinched the gold with 6.00 metres, then got the Olympic record with 6.10m before delighting the full house at Stade de France with 6.25m for a ninth career world record.
“I haven’t processed how fantastic that moment was. It’s one of those things that don’t really feel real, such an out of body experience. It’s still hard to kind of land right now,” he said.
“What can I say? I just broke a world record at the Olympics, biggest possible stage for a pole vaulter. The biggest dream since a kid was to break the world record at the Olympics, and I’ve been able to do that in front of the most ridiculous crowd I’ve ever competed in front of.”
Hodgkinson also lived up to her top billing for the 800m gold, and so did American discus thrower Valarie Allman for successive women’s discus golds.
And there was drama in the women’s 5,000m where Beatrice Chebet passed fellow-Kenyan world champion Faith Kipyegon on the home straight for gold, before Kipyegon was disqualified and later reinstated as silver medallist.
Duplantis in a league of his own again
Duplantis has ruled the pole vault in recent years and Monday’s final was no exception.
He soared over 5.70m, 5.85m, 5.95m, 6.00m and 6.10m almost effortlessly no his first attempt. He then missed twice over 6.25m but came good on the final attempt to raise his own mark from earlier in the year by another centimetre.
American Sam Kendricks, the last man to beat Duplantis for a major title at the 2019 world championships, took silver with 5.95m, to go with 2016 bronze. The medal was sweet after he missed the Tokyo 2020 event with a coronavirus infection.
Emmanouil Karalis got bronze with 5.90m, the first medal for Greece in the event in 68 years since a 1956 bronze for Georgios Roubanis.
“I felt very confident going into today. I really wasn’t all that nervous. Now I’m quite experienced on the highest stage. Not necessarily everything, but when it came to pole vaulting, I’ve just always had so much confidence in my abilities,” Duplantis said.
Gold at last for Hodgkinson
Hodgkinson carried Britain’s hopes 20 years after Kelly Holmes’ last 800m title, and the 22-year-old delivered in style to get the elusive gold after silvers in Tokyo and and the last two worlds.
She took the lead at the bell and shook off all rivals for good on the home straight for victory in 1 minute 56.72 seconds.
Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma passed Kenyan world champion Mary Moraa to take silver, with Moraa having to settle for bronze.
“That was absolutely incredible. I’ve worked so hard over the last year and you could see how much it meant to me as I crossed the line,” Hodgkinson said.
“I can’t believe I’ve finally done it. And to do it here – where better? The audience was absolutely incredible, it felt like a home crowd to me.”
5,000m drama
The 5,000m final saw the first duel between the discipline’s world champion Kipyegon and Dutch Tokyo winner Sifan Hassan.
Kipyegon kicked with 500m left but the 10,000m world record holder Chebet had more strength in the end to win in 14:28.56 minutes.
Kipyegon trailed by 1.04 seconds for silver and the bronze initially went to Dutch Sifan Hassan, who was unable to follow the leading duo and finished 3.05 seconds behind the winner.
In a major twist Kipyegon was then disqualified, Hassan promoted to silver and Italian European champion Nadia Battocletti from fourth to bronze. But the old order was restored shortly before midnight with Kipyegon back on silver.
Kipyegon and Hassann will renew their rivalry in the 1,500m where Kipyegon won the last two Olympic golds and three world titles. Hassan will also contest the 10,000m, having claimed distance double gold and 1,500m bronze in Tokyo.
Allman rules again
Allman claimed back-to-back discus gold with 69.50m in a dominant showing, with all her four legal throws good enough for victory.
Feng Bin of China got silver with 67.51m, tied with Sandra Elkasevic but better on countback with her next best throw as the Croatian took bronze.
Lyles and Alfred advance in 200m
In preliminary action, American Noah Lyles returned the day after his 100m gold to win his 200m heat, while women’s 100m champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia is already a round further as she reached Tuesday’s 200m final.
The 400m hurdles top stars also advanced from the heats: Tokyo winner ad world record holder Carsten Warholm of Norway, American Rai Benjamin, and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos.
Tuesday’s finals apart from the women’s 200m are the women’s 3,000m steeplechase and hammer throw, and the men’s 1,500m and long jump.