Thiago Braz wins the men's pole vault in Rio
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any better, athletics at Rio 2016 delivered another world record and the moment of the Games so far. Here’s what we saw on day four of Olympic track and field.
White-hot track
They interpret things differently in Brazil. Winter is a loose concept in the land of green swimming pools, and on Monday morning, the rain and fog that had hung over the weekend felt a season away.
Trackside temperatures crept towards the 35ºc (95ºF) mark. That’s so hot that the Joao Havelange’s blue hot track turned a shade of searing white. Or at least it did in some photographs (see above).
One person who might not mind that fact is Veronica Campbell-Brown. The sprint legend is partial to a lane change and drifted out wide in her 200m this morning, just as she did at last year’s world championships.
Sadly that meant she gave herself extra yards to cover and she failed to advance to the semis of an event she has twice won before. Gladly, the AM glare meant few photographers were able to catch the discrepancy on camera (again, see above). We won’t tell if you don’t.
Hot and happy
The rising temperature left Ruth Jebet feeling hot and bothered in the steeplechase final, although based on the results, not that hot and not that bothered.
“Today was too hot and it was not fun,” The Kenya-born Bahrain athlete said after her race.
Not fun perhaps, but as she ducked away to cool off in the shade, Jebet wore the smile of a woman who had just run within a second of the world record to win Olympic gold.
Breakfast of champions
If you believe the rumour being spread by the Olympic Broadcaster commentators (and we do), Anita Wlodarczyk eats nine boiled eggs for breakfast.
Well crack SPIKES an egg and let’s get cooking. The insurmountable Pole set a world record 82.29m in the hammer throw to win her first Olympic gold medal to conclude the morning session. Just in time for lunch.
Class is permanent
Perhaps Alfred Kipketer forgot what happened in the 800m at London 2012. The young Kenyan led out the first lap of the Rio final in a seriously fast 49.23.
Any thoughts of the front running tactic paying off died on 600m, along with Kipketer’s legs. At that stage David Rudisha took over. Injury problems have affected Rudisha ever since 2012, and he has been beaten numerous times this year. Yet the determination he showed as he took off round the last bend evoked memories of four years ago when he won gold with a breathtaking world record.
Only four men in history have ran faster than his 1:42.15 winning time. Only two before him won a second 800m Olympic gold. Rudisha is a great.
Going low
That 800m took off later than planned after another of the Brazilian winter’s moodswings produced a tantrum rain storm that disrupted the evening’s earlier races.
The men’s 110m hurdles heats had to be postponed – some even re-run at the end of the programme – such was the deluge.
But it didn’t bother home hope Joao Vitor de Oliveira. He fell in the closing yards, crossing the line chest-first on the wet mondo to bag the final spot in the semi finals by just 0.01 seconds.
Going lower
Shaunae Miller must have been taking notes. In the 400m final, the tall, gracious Bahamanian sprinter reversed the outcome of last year’s world championships in a style that was the opposite of tall and graceful..
Miller held a lead coming off the bend, but four-time Olympic champion Allyson Felix was denting it with each stride she made.
Sensing the danger, a determined Miller started to lean for the line a good three yards out. Down she went.
It nonetheless had the desired outcome: the 22-year-old just held out Felix to get the win. It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you get there first.
Sunshine after the rain
The disrupted schedule produced a quirk that could well be the highlight of the entire 2016 Games so far.
The men’s pole vault final had to be put on hold during the rain, and as a result it overran the events on the track. And are we glad it did.
With nothing else going on, the full focus of the Brazilian crowd was on the vaulting pit. The support was rowdy for a reason: Thiago Braz Da Silva was building a head of steam and, when he matched his 5.93m personal best, found himself assured of a silver medal and in a jump-off against world record holder Renaud Lavillenie.
The Frenchman was enjoying boisterous support of his own, but his Tricolore-yielding fans were losing the battle of the stands by some margin. Turns out the French would lose the battle of the mind as well: when Da Silva set an Olympic record 6.03m and Lav’ panicked, put the bar up to 6.08m and was unable to clear.
The ensuing noise from the Brazilians, who went absolutely nuts for their new national hero, also settled the battle for SPIKES’ heart. Vamos Brasil!