9th August 2024

Three medals won on magical Friday night at Paris 2024

Team GB won three medals on a magical Friday night of Olympic track and field at Stade de France.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Aston Moore, Liverpool Harriers) won heptathlon silver, her first Olympic medal, with the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay teams taking silver and bronze respectively.

Johnson-Thompson carried a 121-point deficit into the decisive 800m, meaning she needed to beat Belgian rival Nafi Thiam by nine seconds.

She recorded a huge 2:04.90 personal best but Thiam, who very nearly fell after 200m, was just under six seconds behind.

Her final score across the seven events was 6844, the second best of her career, with a huge personal best in the shot put among a number of highlights.

“I’m just so relieved,” said Johnson-Thompson. “I’m so happy to add an Olympic medal to my collection. It’s the only one I didn’t have. It’s been so hard getting back to this point so I’m so relieved.

“In the lead up to this Games, all I’ve been saying is I wanted to have a chance. Obviously I wanted a medal, but I wanted a chance when I turned the line at the start of the 800m. I had a chance, I had an eight-second, far off chance but that’s what this sport is, getting to that point and seeing who had it at the end. I can’t complain.”

Earlier, Britain’s women continued their fine recent record in the 4x100m relay with a silver medal.

After a solid start from Dina Asher-Smith (Edrick Floreal, Blackheath and Bromley) and Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Ryan Freckleton, Sutton & District), Amy Hunt (Marco Airale, Charnwood) handed over to Daryll Neita (Marco Airale, Cambridge Harriers) on the anchor leg.

Neita closed the gap on Sha’carri Richardson and crossed the line 0.07s behind the American in a time of 41.85s, with Germany taking bronze.

Having won bronze at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 and medalled at three of the last four World Championships, GB’s relay heritage continues to build.

“We’re all so proud and so happy,” said Asher-Smith. “We worked so hard for this. To be challenging not just for a medal but challenging for a gold is phenomenal.”

Lansiquot added: “We showed that we’re consistent, that we believe in ourselves and I’m so proud of us.”

In the men’s 4x100m, Zharnel Hughes (Glen Mills, Shaftesbury Barnet) ran a searing anchor leg to lift Team GB to bronze.

Hughes took the baton with GB in sixth place after legs from Jeremiah Azu (Marco Airale, Cardiff, Louie Hinchliffe (Carl Lewis, Sheffield & Dearn) and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake (Ryan Freckleton, Newham & Essex Beagles).

The 29-year-old, who withdrew from the 200m due to a hamstring issue, split a stunning 8.78s to lift Britain to bronze in 37.61s. Gold went to Canada and South Africa took silver.

Azu said: “It’s unreal. The champs didn’t start great for me (after a false start in the 100m) so to leave with something, we wouldn’t be in this position without each other, we trust each other. The boys put their trust in me to start us off again and it paid off.”

Hinchliffe added: “You could see it was a really messy race but we gave all of it. It was all heart, all pure speed and we gave 110 per cent. You could see how much we wanted it and we got the result so its great.”

Amber Anning shattered the 11-year-old British record to finish fifth in the women’s 400m.

After registering a personal best in the semi-finals, Anning clocked 49.29 in the final to take a tenth off a second off the mark set by Christine Ohuruogu in winning the 2013 world title.

The 23-year-old was 0.32 seconds shy of a podium finish on Olympic debut with gold going to Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino in a Games record time of 48.17.

Anning said: “It was the best executed race, but I finished really hard. I just went for it and gave everything.

“I wanted more but the national record is something I’ve been chasing all season. To get it in the best competition in the world, I can’t complain.”

In the penultimate final of the night, the women’s 10,000m, Eilish McColgan (Liz Nuttall, Dundee Hawkhill) marked her fourth Olympic appearance with 15th place in 31:20.51.

Megan Keith (Ross Cairns, Inverness) is now an Olympian and finished 23rd in 33:19.92.

 

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