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Faith Kipyegon 2016

The Olympic spirit was on full display on the fifth day of athletics at Rio 2016. This is how athletics reminded us of the range and strength of the human character.

Main image: A delirious Faith Kipyegon wins 1500m gold for Kenya ahead of Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) and Jenny Simpson (USA)

Little Miss Mischief

 
Miyuki Uehara

Miyuki Uehara is that friend you have who won’t wait while you’re tying your shoes and looking for your phone and where was my wallet again?

The 20-year-old Japanese athlete didn’t like the pedestrian pace playing out in the first heat of the women’s 5000m so decided to take flight early on. She ran on her own, 30 yards in front of the field, for most of the race, in bold pursuit of a place in the final.

Even after she was swallowed up by the chasing group just before 4k, the diminutive figure in luminous pink could be seen putting in surges to try break up the pack. She wound up seventh in 15:23.41, which was just enough to progress as the second fastest time qualifier.

Gutsy, pesky and a little bit nuts – just how we like it.

Actual Olympic spirit

 
Abbey D'Agostino

The second heat gave us the sad sight of Abbey D’Agostino and Nikki Hamblin slumped on the floor two-thirds through the race after they’d got themselves in a tangle.

Hamblin had fallen right infront of D’Agostino, who wasn’t going anywhere without her fallen rival. "Get up, get up. We have to finish this," she said as she helped the New Zealander back to her feet.

They started running again, only for D’Agostino to collapse as her knee buckled. Hamblin didn’t think twice about returning the favour, pikcing the American back up and helping her hobble into her stride. Both athletes finished. Neither knew the other before the race.

A lot of people talk a lot of stuff about the Olympic spirit; it’s the athletes out there performing who actually show it.

Hop, step, jump, propose

 
Will Claye Queen Harrison

After winning triple jump silver behind defending champion Christian Taylor, American Will Claye got down on one knee and popped the question to his long-time bae, hurdler Queen Harrisson.

She said yes (SHE SAID YES!) but there are a couple of things bugging us. One, how on earth did he keep his cool in the comp? Two, where did he keep the ring?

Third time plucky

 
Sandra Perkovic

Two throws into the discus final and Sandra Perkovic was staring into the abyss. The Croatian had recorded a pair of fouls and needed a strong, legal throw or else she would relinquish her remaining efforts and her Olympic crown.

Perkovic, a former law-maker in her national parliament (really), put on her game face and launched the discus out to 69.21m to take the lead. None of her rivals could better that, so it didn’t matter that she fouled her remaining three throws.

What did matter was the effort she didn’t foul. That was the only one she needed to become just the second woman in history to successfully defend an Olympic discus title.

Smooth like butter

 
Omar McLeod

Setting up ten barriers and sprinting over them as fast as you can is not a natural thing to do, but every so often an athlete comes along who at least makes it seem natural.

Omar McLeod followed up winning the world indoor crown in March with a string of rapid wins outdoors. Yet when Rio was coming into focus his form began to unravel: he crashed barriers and hit the floor in Monaco and was DQd in his last race before Brazil in Székesfehérvár. Earlier hopes of Jamaca’s first ever gold in the event suddenly felt premature.

Fears of burn out were put to bed at hurdle one of the final, where a performance that combined silk with zip devastated the field. The 22-year-old clearly felt no pressure of his first Olympic final; so healthy a lead had he built by the time glided over the final barrier that he was able to start his celebrations there and then. Nothing premature about it.