Letsile Tebogo claimed a historic Olympic 200m title for Botswana on Thursday as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone produced a stunning performance to smash the world record in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Tebogo’s superb run left Noah Lyles’ hopes for three gold medals in tatters as he was forced to settle for bronze and then revealed he has Covid.
Lyles later posted on Instagram: “I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics.”
McLaughlin-Levrone left Dutch rival Femke Bol in her wake and in bronze medal position as the American improved her own world record to 50.37sec and retained her title from Tokyo.
Three of the five finals on a mesmerising night at the Stade de France were claimed by Americans, but the fancied Lyles was not among them.
Grant Holloway won the 110m hurdles gold that had eluded him at the Tokyo Games three years ago, while Tara Davis-Woodhall won the women’s long jump.
There was another exceptional performance in the men’s javelin as Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem threw an Olympic record of 92.97m for his country’s first individual gold at the Summer Games.
All the pre-race talk about the men’s 200m was about 100m champion Lyles emulating Usain Bolt’s sprint doubles.
But there was to be an upset as the 21-year-old Tebogo raced to victory in an African record of 19.47sec, taking him to fifth on the all-time list.
He also became the first African to win the Olympic 200m.
American Kenny Bednarek collected silver in 19.62sec and Lyles faded but took bronze in 19.70sec.
Tebogo expressed the significance of the event for the African continent, highlighting that it showcases Africa as a sprinting powerhouse.
He emphasized the importance of delivering a strong and clear message. He found the race to be a truly beautiful experience.
He had stopped training for a month after the death of his mother Seratiwa in May and the spikes he wore to win gold bear his late mother’s date of birth.
“It’s basically me carrying her through every stride that I take inside the field.”
Lyles, who was pictured in the warm-up area wearing a mask, admitted after the race he had tested positive for Covid, which he said had “definitely affected my performance.”
“But to be honest, I’m more proud of myself than anything,” he added. “Coming out and getting the bronze medal with Covid.”
McLaughlin-Levrone Reigns Supreme
There was much pre-Games hype over the head-to-head between McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol, but there was only one winner on the night.
The American tracked Bol and hit the home straight well ahead before streaking home for an outstanding victory that left the Dutchwoman in tears.
McLaughlin-Levrone said Bol and silver medalist Anna Cockrell had “so much depth and so you get nervous.”
“But you channel those nerves into excitement and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run in an Olympics.”
She added, “There are always things you can improve. There’s no such thing as a perfect race but the closer and closer we can get to 49 (seconds), I feel like we’re inching there. It’s just building up the capacity in your legs to get you there.”
Bol said she had blown her chance.
She admitted that in an Olympic final, the goal is to deliver the best race possible, but she acknowledged that she messed it up.
Nadeem produced his best performance when it mattered as the Pakistani dominated India’s defending champion Neeraj Chopra for gold to win South Asian boasting rights.
Nadeem unleashed his monster throw on his second attempt, Chopra only managing 89.45m, more than three metres behind.
Reigning world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson led after the first day of the heptathlon.
The Briton had amassed 4,055 points after clocking 13.40sec in the 100 hurdles, and bests of 1.92m in the high jump, 14.44m in the shot put and timing 23.44sec in the 200m.
Belgium’s two-time defending Olympic champion Nafi Thiam was in second on 4,007pts and American Anna Hall in third.
The seven-discipline event wraps up on Friday.
With AFP
