Masai Russell from the United States secured a gold medal in the women’s 100-meter hurdles final on Saturday, edging out France’s Cyréna Samba-Mayela in a race that ended in a photo finish. Russell clocked 12.33 seconds, narrowly beating Samba-Mayela by just 0.01 seconds, while defending champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico secured bronze, finishing 0.02 seconds behind Russell.
Samba-Mayela’s second-place finish marked the first medal of any color for France during the Olympic track meet, bringing cheers from the packed Stade de France crowd. Prior to this event, French fans had celebrated swimmer Léon Marchand, who won gold in the early days of the competition.
Despite Samba-Mayela’s achievement, France has not captured an Olympic gold medal on the track since Renaud Lavillenie’s pole vault victory in 2012.
In the men’s 800 meters, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi clinched victory in another nail-biting finish, beating Canada’s Marco Arop by just 0.01 seconds with a time of 1:41.19, falling short of the world record by 0.28 seconds. American Bryce Hoppel set a national record of 1:41.67 but finished fourth.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon triumphed in the women’s 1,500 meters, securing her third consecutive Olympic gold with a time of 3:51.29, setting a new Olympic record. Australian Jessica Hull took silver, while Britain’s Georgia Bell earned bronze, both overtaking Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji on the final straight.
Meanwhile, Jakob Ingebrigtsen dominated the men’s 5,000 meters, finishing in 13:13.66 in a largely uneventful race. This victory adds to his titles from the past two world championships. Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi came in second, and Grant Fisher from the U.S. claimed third place, following his earlier bronze in the 10,000 meters.