About an hour before his race, Usain Bolt was passing through the athletes’ warm-up area, heading through to receive his 4x100m relay medal. The U.S. will finish with 45 or 46 gold medals (depending on the men’s basketball final) and 121 medals overall, its 51-total-medal margin over second-place China the largest in a non-boycotted Olympics in almost a century. Until he was told something different when he was being interviewed by an NBC reporter.
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“I thought it was a joke. I can’t believe it…it hasn’t sunk in yet”.
On Wednesday, in his 5,000-meter heat, Farah tripped again when he collided with Hassan Mead of the United States with about 150 meters left to go in the race. “I just really wanted a real team effort”.
“I couldn’t wrap my mind around it”.
“You can’t replace this [holding up an Olympic gold]”.
American runner Paul Chelimo won an Olympic silver medal.
However, by the halfway point they seemed to have given up on that approach and Farah moved to the front to push the pace, and as it reached the final lap, he was, as always, unbeatable.
Thomas Rohler bagged Germany’s 17th gold medal in Rio by winning the men’s javelin. “That’s why we’re hustling you through because you have a medal ceremony in about 10 minutes”.
Sadly for Lagat, he never even got it.
Besides Chelimo, Mohammed Ahmed of Canada and Muktar Edris of Ethiopia were also disqualified.
“I want to continue to Tokyo (2020 Olympics) but you have to be honest with yourself and do what you have to do”, he said. “This is a 5K”. No matter what, half injured, whatever, you will see me on that track again. That’s why Mo was trying to stay at the front and get a better position because he knew what was going to happen.
“I felt a little bit exhausted at the beginning, so I thought I had to get going again”, he said.
And the last member of the Farah brood has not been left out. But it was still a DQ. “It’s one moment but you have got to take the most of that opportunity and that’s what I’ve done”.
“I think I make a difference”.
Before the Games closed Team GB won its last medal with Joe Joyce putting up a valiant fight in the super-heavyweight boxing final, but walking away with a silver medal.
Meanwhile, Farah added to his considerable gold collection.
And 10 teams – including the independent team – won their first golds, including Monica Puig in women’s tennis for Puerto Rico. After sprinting across the line ahead of all his challengers with a time of 13:03.30, he dropped to his knees and kissed the track in appreciation.
“This is the most satisfying win of the four, it is incredible”, he said. Russian Federation – with its track team told to stay home because of the doping probe and a cloud hovering over its athletes who were in Rio, some of whom got publicly called out by competitors – finished with 19 golds and 56 medals overall, both well below its normal showings.
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It had been anticipated for some time that the more lucrative marathon circuit would draw the 33-year-old in and Farah said he believed that after a couple of key events he could become competitive in it. “It shows I didn’t just fluke it in London”, added Farah, Britain’s most successful Olympic track and field athlete of all time.
