Bolt will try to do it on his own in the men’s race Sunday. Thompson joins the likes of Merlene Ottey, Veronica Campbell-Brown and, of course, Fraser-Pryce in the island country’s long line of sprinting luminaries. Also in the mix is Dafne Schippers, the Dutch heptathlete-turned-sprinter who won 200-meter gold and 100-meter silver at last year’s world championships.
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Before the race Fraser-Pryce gave Thompson a pep talk and told her not to be intimidated.
Ennis-Hill won the 800 in a season-best time of 2 minutes, 9.07 seconds, but it wasn’t by quite enough to overhaul Thiam, who had a 142-point lead going into the last of seven disciplines and finished in 2:16.54.
She won the 2015 World Championships 100m bronze medal and almost swept all six of her rounds at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., last month.
With Mo Farah seeking to defend his 10,000-meter title and women’s tennis taking shape in the primetime spotlight, there was plenty to keep track of as the evening unfolded.
By far, I would definitely say this was my best championship ever. This weekend, she wants to hold her third gold in the Olympic Stadium.
In mixed doubles, Venus Williams is assured of a record-tying fifth tennis medal after she and Rajeev Ram rallied for a 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 victory over Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna of India in the semifinals. She’s a late-blooming talent who didn’t even run her senior year of high school because she was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons.
The U.S. still hasn’t won gold in the 100 since Gail Devers captured it at the 1996 Atlanta Games. The bronze was clearly not what she had in mind.
“Our plan was that, no matter what happened, to just focus on these four voices”, said Muhammad said of teammates Zagunis, Wozniak and Monica Aksamit.
The U.S. built a 25-15 lead after five matches, and Zagunis – who declined to speculate on her future in the immediate aftermath of her fourth straight Olympics – made that edge insurmountable.
Thompson is from the village of Banana Ground in Manchester Parish, where she was raised by her grandmother. Three women – Fraser-Pryce, 10,000 meter runner Tirunesh Dibaba and shot putter Valerie Adams – have had the opportunity to win a third straight Olympic title in Rio and all three have failed. I am really happy that I persevered.
“I was thinking ‘Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic, ‘” Farah said. “I’m on the podium with my training partner”.
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Thompson said: “When I crossed the line and glanced across to see I was clear, I didn’t know how to celebrate“. “I can’t imagine what is happening there right now”, she said, smiling. A decision on Darya Klishina’s petition is expected before the long jump competition begins Tuesday.
