American Masai Russell produced a stunning run to win the Olympic 100 metres hurdles title in a blanket finish on Saturday, edging out home hope Cyrena Samba-Mayela and Tokyo champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.
Russell clocked 12.33 seconds as French President Emmanuel Macron watched Samba-Mayela (12.34) deliver France's first track medal of the Paris Games with silver and Puerto Rico's Camacho-Quinn (12.36) took bronze.
Russell said she had barely slept the night before but she got the finish of her dreams as she dug deep and leaned over the line before wrapping the American flag over her shoulders.
"I was tossing and turning because I kept dreaming about my name coming up number one. When it actually came up, I was like, 'stop playing me, stop playing me'," she told reporters.
"I just proceeded to shut out the noise, focused on what I could control. And I was literally - I don't want to say a shock, but it was truly a dream come true."
Russell was in superb shape after setting a world lead of 12.25 at the U.S. trials in June and she exploded out of the blocks before gliding over the hurdles.
She held on by her fingernails as Samba-Mayela gained ground with every step and Camacho-Quinn gave everything she had to make up for a poor start.
There was a confusing moment as the results board initially showed Samba-Mayela's name first - and then Camacho-Quinn's at the top of the standings - before settling on Russell.
"It wasn't about knowing if I could or couldn't (win)," she said. "It was just about remaining focused on what I could do - and honestly, just get over those hurdles and get to the line first."
The Parisian crowd had hoped for gold but was still elated with silver and Macron, who watched France's first gold of Games in men's rugby sevens, applauded Samba-Mayela's effort.
USA beat Brazil
Mallory Swanson scored the winning goal as the United States edged Brazil 1-0 in Saturday's Olympic women's football final to claim the gold medal for a record-extending fifth time.
Brazil fought hard on a hot afternoon at the Parc des Princes, but the USA struck just before the hour mark when Swanson -– on her 100th cap -- ran through to finish past goalkeeper Lorena.
It is the first time the USA
have taken the Olympic title in 12 years, their gold in Paris adding to those won in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012.
They have now beaten Brazil in three of those finals, with the South Americans again having to settle for silver just as they did in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing four years later.
Darja win gold in Rhythmic Gymnastics
At the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Germany had a breakthrough in rhythmic gymnastics, as Darja Varfolomeev soared to all-around gold at the Olympic Games Paris on Friday.
"It's amazing. I think I will only realise it all later. I can't express my emotions, I'm still focused," she told reporters afterward. "It's difficult to say something right now. I'm really happy and I'm still not really believing it. I'm also really happy that I was able to do four clean routines. That was really important for me. Now I've finished my competition with a gold. It's just unbelievable."
Bulgaria's Boryana Kaleyn was silver followed by Italian Sofia Raffaeli in third.
It’s part of a resurgence in the sport for the nation that has only claimed one medal in the sport, before reunification. Regina Weber took bronze in the inaugural contest at the ’84 Games in Los Angeles.
Varfolomeev and compatriot Margarita Kolosov, who finished just outside the medals in fourth, represent the first time Germany has had two women in the final since the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
Kolosov's placement is the highest (other than Varfolomeev) since that bronze medal forty years ago.
“It took these nine years, maybe seven, until it started to work,” said German coach Yulia Raskina, a Sydney 2000 silver medallist for her native Belarus, the woman at the center of their remarkable return to the sport’s spotlight. “Everything takes time. In rhythmic gymnastics, especially, everything takes time, yeah? After ages, you see if you were right or if you were wrong.”
Raskina has lived in Germany since 2014.
A decade later, she’d brought two athletes – Varfolomeev and Kolosov – to Paris.
The rise of the program has not be easy, says Raskina.
“Of course, the system is very different from Belarus and Germany, and my times as a gymnast were much different than my times now as a coach,” she explained. “I had to accept many things, to change my opinion, my mind.
“Especially in Germany, we don’t have so much time. We cannot work unlimited [hours]. The girls go to school,” she continued. “Maybe, yes, I have now a system of how I work. I have a plan of how it’s supposed to be.”
