Key events
As you might imagine, I’ve not been able to keep eyes on this game in the way I’d like, but from what I’ve seen Brazil have been by far the better side and our commentators just suggested they could easily be four or five up. What on earth has happened the mighty Spain?
Oh my goodness gracious me! Priscila leads a counter, times her pass perfectly and Adrian must score! But she punches her shot against the bar! But Gabi Porthilo nods back across and she gratefully dives to head home! Brazil lead 3-0 and there are now 18 minutes to go!
Now 22 to go in the women’s football semi and it’s still Brazil 2-0 Spain. And this is a massive shock – Spain are world champs and have so many of the world’s best players – but they did look vulnerable, especially in behind, in the group stages, and conceding early in the way that did must’ve took a major mental toll.
A palindromic score at the half – get me and my US sporting lingo – in the men’s basketball quarter, USA 63-36 Brazil.
In the second women’s football semi, it’s still Brazil 2-0 Spain, 55 and change gone.
In 15 or so minutes, Imane Khelif will go for bronze. Those of you familiar with my noise will know I’m not short of an opinion and rest assured, I’ve got one on this. But in this blog, we’ll just report the sport.
Back to the athletics, Asher-Smith is proud of her performance, which is nice to here after her 100m disappointment. She’s really happy for Julien Alfred, she says, who she really likes and has enjoyed seeing her improve.
She was told to go out like mad – “If you die, you die” – so she did, and she doesn’t get that instruction often, the last time being the worlds when she took bonrze, so enjoyed herself having a go at it.
…and Verde takes it! All the judges gave him round three, so Richardson, in front after two, must content himself with bronze; it’s his, he doesn’t have to fight for it.
It’s a split decision…
A decent round three for Richardson and I think he might’ve nicked this.
There’s been a bit going on, so please forgive my tardiness in marvelling at Mijaín López Núñez, who this evening won gold in the men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, thrashing Yasmani Acosta of Chile 6-0. Very nice, I hear you say – well, he’s now the only person ever to win five consecutive Olympic titles in the same event. Effort.
I say that, but Richardson takes round two on four of the cards and now leads! This final stanza, if we’re to elegantly variate, should be a jazzer.
Verde is the better fighter as we near the end of the second – he’s got a really canny grasp of distance and Richardson is being told to let his hands go.
In the men’s basketball, USA now lead Brazil 40-21 with 7.53 to go in the second. I think they might be OK.
Time for a ruckus! In the men’s welterweight boxing, Lewis Richardson of GB has just got going in his semi-final against Marco Verde of Mexico.
Goodness me! Gabi Portilho has just put Brazil 2-0 up on Spain! Spain rinsed them by the same score in the group – and it could’ve been many more. But now look! Montse Tomé has a lot of work to do at half-time, which it now is.
Neita says she gave everything and didn’t let herself down at all – she was so close to a medal in both 100m and 200m, and though she puts a brave face on it, it’s not hard to detect her iontesne disappointment.
Thomas has been the best 20m runner in the world this year and found a fine run when she really needed one. When people consult the record books, no one will see the missing names – though it’s a shame for them and us that they weren’t with us.
My colleague Bryan Armen Graham notes that USA have won individual women’s and men’s flat sprint golds at an Olympics for the first time since Atlanta 1996 (Gail Devers, Michael Johnson).
The race, then! Thomas was away well enough, Asher-Smith away well, but as the stagger unwound, Thomas pulled clear, Alfred powering through for silver and Brown doing Asher-Smith and Neita on the line for bronze as they tied up.
Gabby Thomas wins gold in the women’s 200m in 21.83!
Julien Alfred of St Lucia wins silver, and I’m not sure who took bronze – Brittany Brown I think!
AND AWAY WE GO!
With no Elaine Thompson-Herah, Sherickah Jackson or Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce involved, this’ll be the first time since 1980 that no Jamiacan has won a medal in this event. Thomas, by the way, never expected to get this good – she studied neurobiology and global health at Harvard and it was only after running the second-fastest ever in 2021 that she re-evaluated her priorities.
Also involved are Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith of GB, with Brittany Brown of USA and Favour Ofili of Nigeria further medal threats.
But in two minutes, the women’s 200m final will be away! Gabby Thomas looks unbeatable, but Julien Alfred, the 100m champ, is in serious form and will expect to beat her.
The men’s long jump is almost over. Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece, the defending champ, leads with 8.48; Wayne Pinnock of Jamaica is second with 8.36; and Furlani of italy is third with 8.34.
In the basketball, USA and Brazil have started their quarter, USA leading 9-4 in the first.
Hocker, by the way, is only 23, so has plenty of time to turn the big two into a big three. We shall see if he goes on from here, or if he’s another Fermín Cacho, who won the 1500 in 1992 and very little else before or after.
We’ve not said much about Cole Hocker, the new Olympic men’s 1500m champ, which says more about us than him. But BBC have nabbed him for an interview and he’s amped.
He can’t put it into words, he just feels so proud of himself for taking advantage of an opportunity. They’re so few and far between and he can leave here feeling proud he took his. It’s by far the loudest stadium he’s ever been in and it’s rare he’s able to sense stuff like that when focused on a race, but here it was “overwhelming in the best possible way”.
“I saw the line, kind of,” he says, “and my body did the rest. “God carried me over the line,” he adds, “there was no feeling or no pain.” Decent gig!
Beau Dure
Women’s hammer: Annette Echikuwoke qualified for the women’s hammer throw in the Tokyo Olympics. She didn’t get to go. She lays the blame firmly at the feet of the Nigerian federation. She changed her nationality to the USA, a risky move given the depth of US talent in the event. Brooke Andersen is the 2022 world champion and has the top throw of 2024. DeAnna Price is third on that list, followed by Janee’ Kassanavoid. But Andersen fouled on her three attempts in the Darwinian US Olympic trials. Kassanavoid was well behind. Echikunwoke won and made the Olympic standard. So the USA expected all along to have a medalist in the event. Echikunwoke wasn’t the one they expected, but Nigeria’s loss in this case is clearly the USA’s gain.
Hold tight Winfred Mutile Yavi! The energy she’s got for celebrating after hauling her carcass through an Olympic record is extremely impressive.
Winfred Mutile Yavi of Bahrain wins the women’s 300m steeplechase in a new Olympic record of 8:52.76
Peruth Chemuta of Uganda takes silver and Faith Cherotich of Kenya takes bronze. What a race that was!
Chemutai is flagging and Yavi, who looked finished, looks strong. She streaks to the line, Chemutai comes back once … but Yavi kicks again!
Chemutai still leads as they take the bell but who’s got the kick? The winner will be one of her, Chepkoech or Yavi, but Chepkoech has gone … I think! It’s Chemutai, the Olympic champ, or Yavi, the world champ!
Chemutai leads with two laps to go, Chepkoech behind her, Yavi third. There are two others in the leading grou, but I can’t see who as we move to 600m from the line. This going to be painful – for them – and a buzz – for us.
Chepkoech is second, and Yavi is now back with it, in fourth. We’ve about 100m to go.
Chemutai leads at the moment, one group having broken away; behind her, Yavi is struggling to stay with the pace, but the other big guns are there.
Fancy a breather? Nae such thing! The women’s 3000m steeplechase has just started, and this should be another banger. Winfred Mutile Yavi of Bahrain – she moved over from Kenya is the world champ and best in the world this year; Peruth Chemutai of Uganda is the defending champ; and Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech is the world record-holder.
Camryn Rogers of Canada wins gold in the women’s hammer with 76.97m
Silver goes to Annette Echikunwoke of USA and bronze to Jiu Zhao of China.
Germany have beaten India 3-2 in the semis of the men’s hockey. They meet the Netherlands for gold, while India take on Spain for bronze.
Kerr tells Eurosport he’s proud of himself, executing the best 1500m race of his life by over a second. It’s hard to control what others do, he positioned himself well, and with 20-30m to go, he was looking good, but someone else was better on the day.
Told he’s mentally strong, he says he works on it a lot, he was so excited today and though he wanted gold, he’s got silver which is better than bronze. I’d like to hear him asked if he might’ve hung back a little given he must’ve known Ingebrigtsen was ruining himself, but maybe BBC will ask.
Here’s Ingebrigtsen. Asked if he always planned to run that race, he says he planned to win, neatly avoiding it and laughing that it didn’t work. The race was strong, he says, and he found it difficult to slow himself down – I wonder if that’s Kerr and the two world titles he’s lost in the home straight nipping at his heid – so kept on pushing. But the race was 100m too long today and it’s not easy to spend energy wisely.
He does, though, note that the others ran well and you can tell when you’re hitting the wall just before you do. Today, it was just a little bit too early.
Goodness me, disaster for Spain in the football. Coll, their keeper has just hammered a clearance into Paredes, a centre-back, and they trail Brazil 1-0!
Ingebrigtsen will be feeling very, very poorly. I’m surprised his team weren’t into him to make sure he didn’t run like that, but I’m sure this will be a line in the sand for him: he’ll never do that again, and he’ll come back far, far better as a consequence. He doesn’t need the ego of all the patter because he’s the fastest man in the world over the distance. All he needs to do is keep working and keep calm.
I’m absolutely sure of it. I said below that Americans weren’t to be discounted, partially redeeming my Lyles won’t win take from Sunday, and though it was Ingebrigtsen who was defeated by the hype, Kerr might, when he reflects, feel he needn’t have gone with the champ, instead letting him exhaust himself as looked inevitable, while retaining all the power of his kick.
Beau Dure
At the risk of sounding a bit too provincial, seeing a feature on all the idiotic trash talk between Ingebritsen and Kerr, then seeing Hocker and Nuguse run them down may be the most satisfying moment for the USA in the Olympics in decades.
Kerr looks happy enough with silver. He’ll be disappointed, of course, and probably thought it was his with 30m to go. But he ran his race and things went as he planned, Ingebrigtsen perhaps spooked by the enormity of it all, but someone else was better on the day. And the times – not bad eh? Kerr’s is a British record.
Hocker (USA) 3:2765
Kerr (GB) 3:27.79
Nuguse (USA) 3:27.80
Ingebrigtsen (Norway) 3:28.24
Bronze, by the way, went to Yared Nuguse of USA, who came from 10th and almost nicked silver off Kerr on the line.