Masai Russell of the United States secured a gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdles during a thrilling photo finish on Saturday. Russell completed the race in 12.33 seconds, edging out France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela, who claimed the silver medal, marking France’s first Olympic medal in athletics at this event. Samba-Mayela finished just .01 seconds behind Russell.
Defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn from Puerto Rico took the bronze, finishing .02 seconds behind Samba-Mayela. With her silver medal, Samba-Mayela broke France’s medal drought in track events, providing a much-needed boost for the host nation on the final day of competitions at the Stade de France.
Throughout the Olympic track meet, the stadium has been filled with enthusiastic fans cheering for athletes from around the world. While the crowd had previously celebrated swimmer Léon Marchand’s gold medal victory, Samba-Mayela’s performance gave French fans a chance to cheer for an athlete competing on home soil.
In men’s competition, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi triumphed in the 800 meters, also in a dramatic finish, defeating Canada’s Marco Arop by just .01 seconds with a time of 1:41.19, which was only .28 seconds shy of the world record.
In the women’s 1,500 meters, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya firmly established her legacy by winning her third consecutive Olympic gold, finishing in an Olympic record time of 3:51.29. Kipyegon outpaced the field, while Australia’s Jessica Hull secured silver and Britain’s Georgia Bell earned bronze.
Also in distance events, Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the men’s 5,000 meters in a dominant performance, clocking in at 13:13.66. This victory adds another title to his accolades after previously winning at the last two World Championships. Ronald Kwemoi from Kenya placed second, and Grant Fisher from the United States came in third, adding to his bronze medal from the 10,000 meters earlier in the Olympics.