Brittney Reese took the lead tonight with a jump of 7.09 meters in her 5th attempt, but a fellow American would take the title.
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Gatlin, who took the silver medal behind Usain Bolt in the 100 meters, finished in 20.13 seconds on Wednesday. He is aiming for a third straight sprint double at the Olympics.
The pity of it that all this drama was played out before something very much less than a full house.
“I think I had the ideal race today”, Jager said.
“I need to run efficiently and get into the straight and run the flawless race”.
For Bartoletta, it was redemption after she missed the final of the 100 meters.
“My school motto was “let the light shine” and I let my light shine tonight”, said Thompson.
“To beat Dafne Schippers is a hard run”.
“I’m going to get “Au” right here [on her arm]”.
We may be seeing the makings of an Olympic long jump dynasty for American women.
Bartoletta, the reigning world champion, secured victory with her fifth jump, a monster leap of 7.17m to knock Reese out of first place.
In the fifth round, it happened – Reese took the lead with 7.09m. She fouled on three of her first four attempts before turning in 7.09- and 7.15-meter jumps in her last two. On her final jump, Reese leaped 7.15, just short of the mark.
The women’s finals are set for 7:15 p.m. Wednesday and will be televised on NBC.
As to whether she was disappointed that she did not repeat as Olympic champ: “I’m not disappointed at all”.
“I’ve been through a lot these past two years, emotionally and physically, battling back from surgery”. Not long after that, Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin accomplished some history by finishing 1-2-3 in the hurdles.
The 29-year-old Reese was the first jumper Tuesday to automatically qualify.
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There went a good shot at an Olympic medal.
