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| Gold medallist, Hansle Parchment of Jamaica poses on the podium with silver medallist, Grant Holloway of the United States and bronze medallist, Ronald Levy of Jamaica |
U.S. men continued to sputter on the Olympic athletics track, failing to qualify in the 4ร100 metres finals and suffering in an upset in the 110m hurdles where they were odds-on favourites.
Hereโs what you need to know about the Tokyo Games:
US TRACK WOES
Jamaicaโs Hansle Parchment upset the overwhelming favourite, Grant Holloway from the United States, in the 110 metres hurdles, leaving the Americans still without an individual running gold โ a prize they have won in every Olympics they have entered since the inaugural 1896 Games.
The bedraggled U.S. 4ร100 metres team failed to qualify for the final, as China and Jamaica led their heats.
Carl Lewis, the superstar sprinter of the 1980s and โ90s, called his compatriotsโ performance โa total embarrassment, and completely unacceptableโ.
BEST KIWI
Kayaker Lisa Carrington became New Zealandโs most decorated Olympian, notching a sixth medal with a gold in the womenโs single 500 metres.
โItโs something I never thought Iโd be able to do,โ she said. โItโs amazing.โ
SHOT PUT RECORDS
American Ryan Crouser broke his own shot put world record three times, wearing shades and a hat with the U.S. flag on it, gabbing gold with a mark of 23.30 metres.
Crouser donned a cowboy hat and celebrated with his countryman and silver medallist Joe Kovacs, draped in the Stars and Stripes. Crouser, from a family of throwers, held up a card reading โGrandpa, we did it, 2020 Olympic championโ.
TRACK RECORDS
Sydney McLaughlin notched a huge world record in the womenโs 400m hurdles, beating fellow American Dalilah Muhammad as the super-fast track and new shoe technology continue to make a mockery of historical comparisons.
Kenyaโs Abel Kipsang smashed the Olympic menโs 1,500 metres record with a blistering 3:31.65 in the semi-finals.
REUTERS
