The 33rd Olympiad took place in Paris, France, between July 26 and August 11. The USA topped the medal table with 126 medals that included 40 gold, 44 silver and 42 bronze, while China was second with 91 medals that included 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze and Japan was third with 45 medals that included 20 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze. These were the top three performing countries.
Overall, Jamaica was number 44 on the list, with 6 medals that included 1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze. Jamaica was hit with numerous injuries and mishaps that adversely impacted its performances on the track.
Women’s 100m
Julien Alfred of St. Lucian posted a National Record of 10.72, to win the women’s 100m final, while Sha’Carri Richardson of the USA was second in 10.87 and her countrywoman Melissa Jefferson was third in 10.92. The field was rounded-out by Daryll Neita of Great Britain in 10.96, Twanisha Terry of the USA in 10.97, Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland in 10.98, Tia Clayton of Jamaica in 11.04 and an injured Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith of Côte d’Ivoire in 13.84.
In winning the women’s 100m, Julien Alfred became St. Lucia’s first and only Olympic medalist and champion. Incidentally, Alfred’s 10.72 is the third fastest time ever ran in an actual final of the Olympics, behind Elaine Thompson’s 10.61OR done at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 10.71 done at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Men’s 100m
In a keenly contested men’s 100m final, Noah Lyles of the USA and Kishane Thompson of Jamaica crossed the line in a photo finish and had to be separated by the thousandth of a second digit. Both athletes’ times were rounded up to 9.79, having posted 9.784 and 9.789, respectively, a differential of five one-thousandth of a second (.005). Lyles was adjudged to be the winner, and was awarded the gold, while Thompson was awarded the silver medal and Fred Kerley of the USA was awarded the bronze in 9.81.
Overall, this was the fastest ever group of 100m finalists, with every single athlete posting times below ten seconds. The field was rounded-out by Akani Simbine of the republic of South Africa in a National Record of 9.82, Lamond Marcell Jacobs of Italy in a Season Best of 9.85, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana in a National Record of 9.86, Kenneth Bednarek of the USA in 9.88 and an injured Oblique Seville in 9.91. `
Women’s 200m
Gabby Thomas of the USA won the women’s 200m final in 21.83, while Julien Alfred of St. was second in 22.08 and Brittany Brown of the USA was third in 22.20. The field was rounded-out by Dina Asher of Great Britain in 22.22, Daryll Neita of Great Britain in 22.23, Favour Ofili of Nigeria in 22.24, McKenzie Long of the USA in 22.42 and Jessika Gbai of Côte d’Ivoire in 22.70.
Men’s 200m
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana won the men’s 200m final in a Personal Best and National Record of 19.46, while Kenneth Bednarek of the USA was second in 19.62 and Noah Lyles of the USA was third in 19.70. Incidentally, Bednarek and Lyles finished in the same position as they did at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that was staged in 2021. This time round, Bednarek was .06 of second faster, while Lyles was .04 of a second faster. The field was rounded-out by Erriyon Knighton of the USA in 19.99, Alexander Orgando of the Dominican Republic in 20.02 Tapiwanashe Makarawu of Zimbabwe in 20.10, Joseph Fahnbulleh of Libera in 20.15 and Makanakaishe Charamba of Zimbabwe in 20.53.
Women’s 400m Final
The women’s 400m final was epic and historic. Indeed, it was the first time in the history of the Olympics or any global championship that all women posted times below 50.00 second. Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic added the Olympic gold medal to her world Championship gold medals, winning the women’s 400m in an Olympic Record of 48.17, while Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain was second in a Season Best of 48.53 and Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland was third in 48.98. The field was rounded-out by Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland in 49.28, Amber Anning of Great Britain in 49.29, Alexis Holmes of the USA in 49.77, Sade Williams of Barbados in 49.83 and Henriette Jaeger of Norway in 49.96. Of note, the World Leader heading into the Olympics, Nikisha Pryce of Jamaica, was hit by a stomach virus, and therefore, she did not progress beyond the semifinals.
Men’s 400m Final
Quincy Hall of the USA won the men’s 400m hurdles final, posting 43.40, to surge ahead of Matthew Hudson-Smith of Great Britain in 43.44 and Muzala Samukonga of Zambia in 43.74. The field was rounded-out by Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago in 43.78, Kirani James of Grenada in 43.87, Christopher Bailey of the USA in 43.58, Samuel Ogazi of Nigeria in 44.73 and Michael Norman of the USA in 45.62. Of note, defending Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas got hurt during warmup prior to the heats, and did not participate in the event.
Women’s 400m Hurdles Final
Sydney McLaughin-Levrone posted yet another World and Olympic Record of 50.37, to win the women’s 400m, while her countrywoman and teammate Anna Cockrell was second in 51.87 and Femke Bol of the Netherlands was third in 52.15. Indeed, Cockrell’s second place finish over Bol, was a shocker, and revealed just how much McLaughlin-Levrone had completely destroyed the Dutch woman. The field was rounded-out by Jasmine Jones of the USA 52.29, Rushell Clayton of Jamaica 52.68, Shian Salmon of Jamaica in 53.28, Savannah Sutherland of Canada in 53.88 and Louise Maraval of France in 54.53. with back-to-back Olympic titles, three World Championship titles and six World Records that include Olympic Record and World Championship Records, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the undisputed G.O.A.T. in the event, and among the greatest track athlete in history.
Men’s 400m Hurdles Final
Rai Benjamin of the USA turned the tide on Karsten Warholm of Norway, by winning the men’s 400m hurdles final in a respectable 46.46. Karsten Warholm, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Champion, and World Record holder, was second on this occasion in 47.06, while Alison dos Santos of Brazil was third in 47.26. The field was rounded-out by Clement Ducos of France in 47.76, Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Island in 47.79, Abderrahman Samba of Qatar in 47.98 and Rasmus Magi of Estonia in 52.53. Jamaica’s sole finalist, Roshawn Clarke, failed to navigate the ninth hurdle, and crashed out of the final; he did not finish the race.
Women’s 100m hurdles Final.
Masai Russell of the USA posted 12.33, to win gold in the women’s 100m hurdles final, while Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France was second in 12.34 and Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico was third in 12.36. The field was rounded-out by Nadine Visser of the Netherlands in 12.43, Grace Stark of the USA in 12.43, Devynne Charlatan of the Bahamas in 12.56 and Alaysha Johnson of the USA in 12.96. Of note, Ackera Nugent of Jamaica, who entered the Game with the second fastest time of the season, clattered the hurdles and did not finish the race.
Men’s 100m Hurdles Final
The high riding world leader in Grant Holloway of the USA posted 12.99, to win the gold medal, while his teammate Daniel Roberts was second in 13.09, the same time credited to Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica for third. The field was rounded-out by Enrique Llopis of Spain in 13.20, Rachid Muratake of Japan in 13.21, Freddie Crittenden of the USA in 13.32, Orlando Bennett of Jamaica in 13.34 and Hansle Parchment of Jamaica in 13.39.
Women’s 4 x 100m Relay Final
The USA quartet of Melissa Jefferson (11.46), Twanisha Terry (9.98), Gabrielle Thomas (10.25) and Sha’Carri Richardson (10.09) posted a Season Best of 41.78, to win the women’s 4 x 100m relay final, while the Great Britain quartet of Dina Asher Smith (11.02, Imani Lansiquot (10.13), Amy Hunt (10.37) and Daryll Neita (10.33) was second in 41.85, and the German quartet of Alexandra Burghardt (11.35), Lisa Mayer (10.27) and Gina Luckenkemper (9.89) and Rebekka Hasse (10.46) posted 41.97 for third. The field was rounded-out by France in 42.23, the Jamaican Quartet of Alana Reid (11.50), Kemba Nelson (10.34), Sashalee Forbes (10.25) and Tia Clayton in 10.20 in a Season Best of 42.29, Switzerland in 42.67 and Netherlands in 42.67. The Canadian quartet was disqualified.
Men’s 4 x 100m Relay Final
The Canadian quartet of Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake, Brendon Rodney and Andre De Grasse won the men’s 4 x 100m final in 37.50, while the South African quartet of Bayanda Walaza, Shaun Maswangany, Bradley Nkoana and Akani Simbine was second in 37.57 and the British quartet of Jeremiah Azu, Louise Hinchliffe, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Zharnell Hughes was third in 37.61. The field was rounded-out by Italy in 37.68, Japan in 37.78, France in 37.81 and China in 38.06.
The US quartet of Christian Coleman, Kenneth Bednarek, Kyree King, and Fred Kerley was disqualified, when Kenneth Bednarek ran outside the zone before the exchange was completed.
Women’s 4 x 400m Relay Final
The USA quartet of Shamer Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabrielle Thomas and Alexis Holmes posted a World Leading 3:15.27, to win the gold medal in the women’s 4 x 400m final. The Dutch quartet of L. Klaver, L. De Witte, C. Peeters and Femke Bol was second in 3:19.50, and the British quartet of N. Yeargin, V. Ohuruogu, Annie Anning and L. Nielsen was third in 3:19.72. The field was rounded-out by Ireland in 3:19.9p, France in 3:21.41, Canada in 3:22.01, Belgium in 3:22.40. Jamaica did not finish, when her baton on the second leg was knocked out by Rhasidat Adeleke of Ireland. The second leg by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was a scorcher, producing a split of 47.77.
Men’s 4 x 400m Relay Final
The men’s 4 x 400m final was epic and featured a showdown between the two best teams of the Championship in the USA and Botswana, with the 400m hurdles Champion in Rai Benjamin and the 200m Champion in Letsile Tebogo have it all to do on the anchor leg. It was an enthralling battle from start to finish. In the end, the US quartet of Christopher Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon, and Rai Benjamin prevailed, posting a World Lead and Olympic Record of 2:54.43, to Botswana’s 2:54.53 and Great Britain’s 2:55.83, respectively. Rai Benjamin split 43.18, while Tebogo split 43.03. The field was rounded-out by Belgium in 2:57.75, South Africa in 2:58.12, Japan in 2:28.33, Italy in 2:29.72 and Zambia in 3:02.76.
Henley E. Taylor (Sensenya Ben Nyah)
Freelance Sportswriter
Julien Alfred picture courtesy of Joe Swift Photography
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS ATHLETICS COMPLETE RESULTS ( Aug 1-11, 2024)
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