Olympic Day 2: Femke Bol Dazzles in Mixed 4×400, Julien Alfred wins 100
Femke Bol carried the Netherlands to victory, two countries got their first-ever medals and Ryan Crouser dominates shot put
By Joseph Carroll
Saturday was a busy night at the 2024 Olympics at the Stade de France. St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred took down Sha’Carri Richardson to earn a dominant win in the women’s 100 in 10.72, while the US’s Ryan Crouser three-peated as shot put champion with a best throw of 22.90. There was also an epic come-from-behind victory for the Netherlands in the mixed 4×400 relay thanks to a ridiculous 47.93 anchor split from Femke Bol, while Thea LaFond won the triple jump for Dominica and Markus Rooth of Norway claimed an unlikely victory in the decathlon.
Full recap of all the events below.
Julien Alfred wins 100 final
Julien Alfred used a great start to propel her to gold, running 10.72 to set a national record and give Saint Lucia its first ever Olympic medal. Pre-race favorite Sha’carri Richardson had a poor start and finished in second running 10.87 and was followed by Melissa Jefferson, who was third in 10.92. We have a full article on the race here.
Mixed 4×400 Final: Femke Bol drops superhuman 47.93 split for gold
In a close race the whole way through, hurdle ace Femke Bol was the star of the day, going from fourth to first on the final leg by throwing down a monster 47.93 split to give the Netherlands their first track and field medal of the game. The Netherlands put all of their eggs in one basket, running an A team for this final, subbing in Bol, and also running Lieke Klaver, who was 4th in the 400 at Worlds in 2022, and running two of their three top men in 2024. The Netherlands were always in the race, with the USA’s Shamier Little being pressed by Klaver on the second leg, but they gave up ground on the third leg, which left them in fourth, with a sizable gap to the Americans, who led going into the last leg.
With nine-tenths of a second to make up, Bol went to work and moved methodically up the field. With 100 to go Bol still had tons of work to do. She moved into third with about 150 to go, and then into second with 60 to go. It was only in the final strides that she could pass the USA’s Kaylyn Brown. This marks the first Bol’s first Olympic gold after winning the gold in the 400 hurdles and then 4×400 at Worlds last year. It also served as redemption after Bol fell at the end of the mixed 4×400 at Worlds last year. She will have little time to rest as she starts the 400 hurdles tomorrow.
Men’s Shot Put Final: Ryan Crouser Dominates
Ryan Crouser cemented himself as one of the all-time great field athletes, becoming the first man to win three Olympic shot put titles in a row. Tonight, his 22.90m third-round toss was best, but any of his three legal throws (22.64, 22.69, 22.90) would have been good enough for gold. Fellow American Joe Kovacs had a big final throw to move into second place, throwing 22.15 to tie Jamaican Rajindra Campbell, and was given silver as he had the better second throw. It is Kovacs’ third straight Olympic silver behind Crouser. Campbell’s medal marks the first for Jamaica in this event.
Men’s 1500m Repechage Rounds
The Irishman Cathal Doyle was the first man to take advantage of the introduction of repechage rounds to this year’s Olympics, winning the first heat in 3:34.92. Stewart McSweyn set the pace early, taking the field out in 1:55.10 through 800 meters but faded heavily over the final 300 meters, finishing in 12th. Azeddine Habz, who received a roar from his home crowd, took the lead at the bell and ultimately finished in second place. Ossama Meslek of Italy rounded out the final qualifier from the first heat, crossing the line in 3:35.32. Mario Garcia Romo of Spain and the OACwas never in contention to qualify, finishing in 11th, 1.69 seconds out of qualification.
The second repechage heat was all business early, as South Africa’s Ryan Mphahlele strung the field out quickly, crossing 400 meters in 55.7 and 800 in 1:54.0. Ollie Hoare, who has been an outspoken critic of the repechage rounds, attempted to take full advantage of his second chance, following Mphahlele in close order but ultimately faltered down the homestretch, finishing in fifth place. Federico Riva of Italy took complete advantage of Hoare’s faltering, winning the heat in 3:32.84, a personal best. Charles Philibert-Thiboutot and George Mills nabbed the last two spots into tomorrow’s semifinal, holding off Sweden’s Samuel Pihlstrom along the way.
Quick Take: It’s going to be interesting to see how these guys bounce back in Sunday’s semifinals
We knew that the six men advancing to the semifinals from the repechage round would be at a disadvantage in the semifinals – it would be their third race in three days while the men who qualified automatically got to rest and recover on Saturday. Meanwhile, the times in the repechage round were very quick, with 3:35.32 the slowest to advance in heat 1 and 3:33.56 the slowest to advance from heat 2. Italy’s Federico Riva even ran a personal best of 3:32.84 in heat 2.
Will any of these guys be able to recover and be competitive in the semis on Sunday with another (very) hard race in their legs?
Quick take: On Athletics Club is struggling
The On Athletics Club brought three men to 1500 in Paris. After the repechage rounds only one of those men remains. Last year’s 6th place finisher Mario García Romo was only 11th in the repechage round, one spot lower than he was in the first round. García has had a tough 2024 after a great last two years as he has failed to break 3:31 this year.
His teammate Ollie Hoare, who has the 12th-quickest time in the world, finished 13th in the first round and then 5th in the repechage round. Hoare now is starting to have a history of being one of the better runners on the circuit and not being able to perform during championship season.
On has had issues with injuries and people failing to qualify for the Games this year and they have not gotten off to the best start. Their star man Yared Nuguse also didn’t look great in the first round but still qualified for Sunday’s semis.
Women’s Triple Jump Final: Thea LaFond Snags Gold for Dominica
Thea LaFond had a great performance when it mattered, jumping 15.02m on her second jump to slightly improve on her PB and take home the first medal her country has ever had, a gold one. Behind her was Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica who was second with a 14.87 jump and taking the bronze was American Jasmine Moore, who jumped 14.67.
Men’s Decathlon: Markus Rooth has Meet of Life
Norwegian Markus Rooth had the meet of his life, setting personal bests in six events to earn the Olympic crown, scoring 8796 points in the process. Behind him was NCAA champ Leo Neugebauer who was representing Germany and scored 8748 points. The bronze medal went to Victor Lindon of Grenada who had 8711 points.
The Olympic decathlon is always tough but there was even more carnage than usual in this one. Reigning world champ Pierce LePage of Canada and world record holder Kevin Mayer of France both withdrew before the competition due to injury. Then defending Olympic champion Damian Warner of Canada and Sander Skotheim both no-heighted in the pole vault — and the two men were sitting in 2nd and 3rd at that point. That opened the door for Rooth, who earned an unlikely Olympic title after DNFing the heptathlon at World Indoors and the decathlon at Euros earlier this year.
