Brazil’s only other gold victor so far is Rafaela Silva, a product of one of Rio’s toughest favelas who beat Sumiya Dorjsuren in the final of the women’s -57kg judo division last week.
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“In all the competitions I’ve taken part in, even where the local athlete was going for something, the public has never ever whistled the athletes”.
After two botched efforts at 6.03 Lavillenie pitched everything on a last-gasp vault at 6.08m, but failed and had to be content with silver with a best of 5.98m.
Joao Havelange, head of soccer’s ruling body FIFA from 1974 to 1998 and a former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), died in a Rio de Janeiro hospital on Tuesday at the age of 100.
So the bar went to 6.03m.
“I understand that they don’t encourage them, but it’s not football, it’s the Olympic Games which has an enormous sporting influence, it’s not every year it happens, and I think the crowd spoilt the experience for a lot of pole vaulters tonight”.
His world record of 6.16m was set indoors, and his outdoor best, set previous year, was a relatively modest 6.05m.
But on the continuing problem of Rio’s half-empty venues, which was glaringly obvious during Monday’s memorable night of athletics, neither Adams nor Andrada had any new answers.
Da Silva raised his personal best by 10 centimetres when he soared 6.03 metres to beat French top favourite Renaud Lavillenie.
Lavillenie gave the partisan crowd a thumbs down at the start of his run-up in attempt to get them to stop the jeers and said after failing to clear the bar that it was a “bad look” for the Olympics. Against a backdrop of raucous fan cheering, Da Silva skipped an attempt at 5.98 and passed 6.03 at the second attempt.
Lavillenie’s final attempts in Monday’s competition were marked by deafening booing and catcalls as he prepared to jump. At London 2012, Okimoto had abandoned the marathon after suffering from hypothermia.
Miller led by several metres at the final bend but had to withstand a late charge from Felix before diving over the finish line. It was almost midnight as the final jumps neared.
It felt like a changing of the guard.
Shericka Jackson of Jamaica claimed bronze in 49.85.
“I heard her scream and she was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah'”. It hurts. When I was on the ground I didn’t know I’d won.
Kenya’s Rudisha, who won the 800m in world record style four years ago, delivered a dominant last lap, striding home majestically to become the first man since New Zealander Peter Snell in 1964 to successfully defend the 800m title. Teammate Alfred Kipketer ran the first 400 in under 50 seconds but predictably fell off, as Rudisha cruised to victory down the back stretch.
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Algeria’s reigning Olympic 1500m champion Taoufik Makhloufi took silver in 1:42.61, with American Clayton Murphy claiming bronze in 1:42.93.
