Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium has won the gold medal in the women’s heptathlon event, ending Jessica Ennis-Hill’s reign as she settled for silver.
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The 21-year-old Belgian claimed five personal bests over the seven events and her javelin in the penultimate discipline meant Ennis-Hill went into the final 800m knowing the game was up.
Defending champion Ennis-Hill had jumped 6.34m and appeared to be likely to hold on to top spot going into the final round.
Afterwards Ennis-Hill refused to say whether it would be her last event, but it certainly sounded like it might be.
“I have to make a decision as to whether this is my last heptathlon or not but I’m so proud of what I have achieved over the last few years”.
A 142-point advantage for the young leader amounted to a 9.47 second cushion over Ennis-Hill in the 800m.
After losing ground to Thiam in the long jump, and more so the javelin, Ennis-Hill needed to beat her rival by 10 seconds in the 800m but she came up around two seconds shy.
The 24-year-old spent the vast majority of the solo race towards the back of the pack, but made a late surge for the finish line on the final bend to earn a podium place behind Elis Ligtlee of the Netherlands.
Canada’s Brianne Thieson-Eaton secured the bronze medal, with Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s hopes fading after a miserable javelin competition earlier on Saturday.
His win capped a sensational day for Team GB.
Despite the damp conditions leading to cautious runs from her competitors, Ennis-Hill stormed to victory in the final heat to eclipse her opening time from the IAAF World Championships in Beijing by 0.07s.
Britain’s silver medal victor Jessica Ennis-Hill celebrates with the British flag after the heptathlon during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is the last Team GB tennis player standing and is just one win against Japan’s Kei Nishikori away from the gold-medal match.
However, it wasn’t enough to catch Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam, who recorded 6,810 points over the two days.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s medal hopes were crushed by an bad performance in the javelin, managing a best throw of just 36.36m.
In their history, Puerto Rico have only managed to claim eight Olympic medals – and never gold.
Britain’s Greg Rutherford, who won gold in the event at the London 2012 Games, took bronze with a best effort of 8.29m.
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“I love hurdles and I always said I would love to give it a go but I kind of feel that the boat has sailed on that one”.
