Games athletics late wrap: Bol leads Dutch to mixed relay glory, Rooth wins decathlon

Athletics got into full swing at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, with plenty of medals being won in the late action: 

Inspired Bol leads Dutch to mixed relay glory

Femke Bol ran a stunning last lap to lead the Netherlands to victory in the Olympic 4x400m mixed relay on Saturday, glorious redemption for the 24-year-old who fell just before the line in the same race at last year's World Championships.

Bol got the baton in fourth place, about 20m behind the leading US, but ate up the ground in a spectacular 47.93 seconds leg before passing American Kaylyn Brown just before the line.

“I just went for it,” Bol said. “We just wanted a medal this time, we didn't think it would be gold, just a medal.

“Well, we got gold and are the Olympic champions. It is absolutely crazy for a small country like ours.”

The Dutch team of Eugene Omalla, Lieke Klaver, Isaya Klein Ikkink and Bol clocked three minutes 7.43 seconds, missing the world record time the Americans set in Friday's heats by just two-hundredths of a second.

The U.S. took the silver medal in 3:07.74 and Britain claimed bronze in 3:08.01.

“We did exactly what we needed to do,” said Vernon Norwood, who ran the leadoff leg for the U.S. “We are still world record holders and I can't be more proud of us.”

The 24-year-old Bol, asked what was going through her mind rounding the bend into the home straight while the jam-packed Stade de France crowd cheered her on at an ear-splitting level, said: “Just keep going, keep going.

“And my general anger from [the worlds in] Budapest. That and my teammates cheering me. And the atmosphere in this stadium is absolutely incredible. It's crazy. So everything together.”

Victory was within the Netherlands' grasp at last year's worlds before Bol crashed spectacularly to the track.

She bounced back to win the 400 hurdles in Hungary, however, and led the Dutch women's 4x400 team to victory.

“I keep telling everybody, Femke is just two words — Femke Bol. She is once in a lifetime, just amazing,” said Omalla.

“I saw her coming home on the last 100 [metres] and I knew she was going to take it. I knew it. I know we just made history and it is still kind of sinking in.”

Bol's blistering run on Saturday in front of a crowd who cheered her on with thunderous applause, sets up what should be a thrilling 400 hurdles battle with American world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in Paris

Bol however shrugged off the fast time.

“I hoped to run that fast some time but in the relay you never look too much at split times, it's more about putting it together as a team and technically you have to race it well,” she said.

The mixed relay made its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games where Poland won the gold medal. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe announced recently they plan to test a 4x100 mixed relay. 

Norway's Rooth secures shock decathlon win

Norway's Markus Rooth captured a shock gold medal in the men's decathlon at the Olympics on Saturday after defending champion Damian Warner's title defence ended when he failed to clear a height in the pole vault.

The 22-year-old Rooth, in seventh place after day one, amassed 8,796 points for Norway's first Olympic decathlon gold since 1920, Germany's Leo Neugebauer won the silver with 8,748 and Lindon Victor of Grenada captured the bronze on 8,711.

“I just won gold, I did not expect this,” Rooth told reporters after by far the biggest victory of his career. “I woke up this morning feeling great after an amazing first day. I just kept adding on to that.”

Rooth took the lead with a terrific javelin throw — the penultimate event of the competition — before beating Neugebauer to the 1,500m finish line by about five seconds to clinch victory.

Rooth's teammate Sander Skotheim suffered the same fate as Warner, sitting in third place before missing all three of his pole vault attempts. But while Warner withdrew from the competition, Skotheim completed the final two events and paced Rooth through the 1,500m.

“I'm so lucky that I had my friend to run with me,” said Rooth. “We tried to get a steady pace. I was exhausted. It's mentally hard. I just ran as hard as I could. It was great.”

Skotheim finished 18th.

Canadian Warner, 34, was in the hunt for his third medal in what was likely his final Olympic appearance before his calamitous pole vault. He failed all three attempts at 4.60m after passing at four lower heights.

“Understandably, Damian and his team are devastated,” the Canadian Olympic Committee said.

Twice Olympic and world decathlon champion Ashton Eaton of the US, in Paris to watch the athletics, posted about Warner and Skotheim's struggles.

“Decathlon. My heart,” Eaton wrote on X.

The absence of the two medal contenders seemed to clear the way to victory for Neugebauer, who has the world's leading score this year.

But Rooth, last year's European Under-23 champion, was solid throughout the second day to climb quietly up the standings.

“This moment is just insane,” said Neugebauer, who blew kisses to the crowd after the final scores were posted. “I never expected anything like this. Just being able to compete here in this atmosphere is amazing.”

The Olympic decathlon was also missing world record-holder Kevin Mayer of France and world champion Pierce LePage of Canada who both withdrew due to injuries.

LaFond wins triple jump to claim Dominica's first medal

Thea LaFond made history for her Caribbean island nation of Dominica by winning gold in the triple jump on Saturday to claim the country's first ever Olympic medal.

Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts took silver and American Jasmine Moore claimed bronze.

LaFond made herself the woman to beat with her second attempt of 15.02m — a world best this year — and that proved impossible to better, with rain also making conditions more treacherous.

The whole country had been holding its breath hoping she would win a medal, LaFond, 30, told Reuters ahead of the final. Having delivered that and more, she celebrated wildly in the Stade de France, draped in the Dominican flag.

LaFond's victory capped a good night for the Caribbean, with St Lucia also winning its first ever medal thanks to Julien Alfred storming to 100m gold ahead of American Sha'Carri Richardson.

The triple jump was made more unpredictable as Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas, world record holder and Tokyo gold medallist, missed the Games due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Ricketts, who just missed out on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics, jumped her season's best of 14.87m to win silver, and Moore came third with 14.67.

Moore, 23, the first woman to make the U.S. Olympic team in both triple jump and long jump, is set to compete in the latter event on Tuesday.

Bronze medallist in Tokyo, Spain's Ana Peleteiro-Compaore (14.59) was visibly upset with her performance, unable to match LaFond's jump and finishing sixth.

World number one Leyanis Perez Hernandez of Cuba came fifth with a jump of 14.62m. 

American Crouser wins shot put gold again

American Ryan Crouser became the first man to “three-peat” in the Olympic shot put on Saturday, adding another gold medal to his packed trophy cabinet with a mighty throw of 22.90m.

His compatriot Joe Kovacs won silver and Jamaica's Rajindra Campbell took bronze.

The world record holder battled with a nerve issue in his elbow this year but had no issues at the Stade de France as he produced his best throw of the season on his third attempt and clapped with satisfaction.

The win underlined the US' total dominance of the event as they have now won 20 men's Olympic shot put gold medals. The next closest country is Poland with three.

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