A fully-loaded day of track and field is in store at Stade de France, including:
- Noah Lyles races in the men’s 200m final, as he looks to become the first American man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to achieve the 100m-200m Olympic double.
- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone faces Dutch rival Femke Bol in a popcorn-worthy women’s 400m hurdles final.
- Grant Holloway shoots for Olympic gold medal No. 1 in the men’s 110m hurdles final.
- Much more, including the men’s javelin final and the start of the heptathlon.
See below for full event recaps, highlights, athlete soundbites and more.
Opening Rounds and Semifinals
Men’s 4x100m relay Round 1: The men’s relay team faces intense pressure in Paris. The U.S. hasn’t earned a medal in the men’s 4x100m relay since 2004 after a dropped baton at the 2008 Beijing Games, disqualifications in 2012 and 2016 and failing to make the Olympic final at the Tokyo Olympics. On Thursday, the team of Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Kyree King and Courtney Lindsey ensured a spot in the final with a commanding 37.47-second run in their heat. Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek are expected to replace King and Lindsey in the final (after they finish up the men’s 200m), but the two young sprinters delivered big-time on Thursday — Lindsey’s anchor leg was a phenomenal 8.88 seconds.
Jamaica, meanwhile, has stunningly failed to qualify for the final. The Jamaican group of Ackeem Blake, Jelani Walker, Jehlani Gordon and 100m silver medalist Kishane Thompson ran just 38.45 seconds and misses out on the final by .06.
The defending Olympic champion, Italy, is through to the final, along with the U.S., South Africa, Great Britain, Japan, China, France and Canada.
Women’s 4x100m relay Round 1: The U.S. relay team of Gabby Thomas, Sha’Carri Richardson, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry dominated their relay heat in 41.94 seconds. After a somewhat shaky exchange, Richardson took the anchor leg and erupted down the stretch past Germany’s Rebekka Haase for the commanding victory. The U.S., which won gold at 2023 Worlds, will run in the Olympic final on Friday evening.
The Jamaican team, without any members of the legendary sprinting trio that has combined for 19 Olympic medals, posted a time of 42.35 seconds, finishing third in its heat. That was enough to qualify for the final, along with Great Britain, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.
SEE MORE: U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team erupts down the stretch
Women’s 100m hurdles repechages: South African Marione Fourie posted the day’s top time in the repechage round to book a spot in the semis on Friday evening. She moved on with five others, including Ebony Morrison, who attended Auburn University and the University of Miami (FL) but competes for Liberia, her ancestral homeland.
Women’s shot put qualification: The shock of the day came in the field as reigning world champion Chase Jackson failed to qualify for the Olympic final. Jackson only hit a distance of 17.60m and will thus bow out of the Paris Games. 2024 World Indoor champion Sarah Mitton of Canada, meanwhile, posted a top throw of 19.77m to lead all shot putters and coast into the Olympic final on Friday. She’ll be joined by Americans Jaida Ross and Raven Saunders, who took home silver at the Tokyo Games.
Men’s 800m repechages: American Brandon Miller posted the day’s top repechage time to advance to the 800m semi on Friday, joining a group of six repechage qualifiers. Miller’s success means that all three U.S. athletes, including Bryce Hoppel and Hobbs Kessler, will compete in the semi.
Women’s 1500m semifinals: 1:35 p.m. ET
Heptathlon
RESULTS: Heptathlon 100m hurdles | High jump | Shot put | 200m (2:55p)
After the first day of heptathlon competition, Belgium’s Nafissatou “Nafi” Thiam leads with 1132 points. Thiam and Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson were the only two athletes to hit 1.92m on the high jump and thus lead the standings. Thiam is the two-time defending Olympic heptathlon champion, and “KJT” is the reigning world champion.
American Anna Hall, competing in her first Olympics after breaking her foot at 2021 Olympic Trials, stands in third at 1093 points. Hall was electrifying as she hit a season’s best 1.89m in the high jump, which served as a major boost following a disappointing time of 13.36 seconds in the 100m hurdles. Hall is in Paris just seven months removed from a complex knee surgery.
In the high jump, American Chari Hawkins missed all three attempts at 1.71m, which effectively eliminates the 33-year-old debut Olympian from the Paris Games. The third American in the field, Taliyah Brooks, has 941 points after the morning round.
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