Olympics track and field results: August 12
Track got off to a roaring state at the 2016 Rio Olympics, with three gold medals handed out on Friday.
After a week of waiting, the track and field competition finally got underway at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Rio’s track and field competition began on a high note, with a world record falling in the first final of the morning. Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana destroyed a world record that had stood since 1993 in the women’s 10,000 with a winning time of 29:17.45, over 15 seconds clear of second-place Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya.
Two-time defending gold medalist Tirunesh Dibaba finished in third to give Ethiopia two medals in the event. Molly Huddle was the highest finisher for Team USA in sixth, breaking the American record with a time of 3:30.17.
The biggest surprise of the day came in the women’s shot put final during the night session after the preliminaries were held in the morning. After qualifying with the best score, New Zealand’s Valerie Adams looked to have a clear path to her third consecutive gold medal in the event and had the best score heading into the final throw at 20.43 meters.
However, American Michelle Carter shocked Adams and the rest of the field, coming from behind to post a United States record mark of 20.63 meters, destroying her previous best mark of 20.02. Anita Marton of Hungary took the bronze behind Adams.
In the men’s 20 kilometer race walk final, Zhen Wang and Cali Zelin won gold and silver for China, respectively. Dane Bird-Smith continued Australia’s recent run of walking success with a bronze medal.
The preliminary action for the day was headlined by the heats of the women’s 100 meters, where all the big names advanced. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica started her campaign for a third straight gold medal in impressive fashion, running a 10.96 to win the preliminary round. Tori Bowie, English Gardner, and Tianna Bartoletta of Team USA all advanced to the semifinals.
Favorites also rolled in the preliminaries for the men’s discus to open the morning, as Poland’s Piotr Malachowskihad the highest qualifying score. Michael Finley will be the lone American in the men’s discus final after qualifying in sixth.
London 2012 gold medalist David Rudisha put up the fastest time in qualifying for the men’s 800 meters. Boris Berian and Clayton Murphy advanced to the semifinals for Team USA.
The Ehtiopian women’s team continued its success later on in the first round of the 1,500 meters, with Dawit Seyaum qualifying for the semifinals with the fastest time. American Shannon Rowbury advanced with the second best time at 4:05.33.
Grenada’s Kirani James began his quest for a second consecutive gold medal in the men’s 400 by posting the fastest time at qualifying. LaShawn Merritt of Team USA cruised in his heat to advance to the semifinals and figures to be James’ main threat for gold.
Jeff Henderson advanced to the men’s long jump final for the United States, with teammate Jarrion Lawson also making the last 12. Both were eclipsed by China’s Wang Jianan, who surprised everyone by winning the qualification round with a mark of 8.24 meters.
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The women’s heptathlon also got underway with four of the seven events on Friday. Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis-Hill is running away from the field with 1149 points, while American Kendell Williams is just out of the medals in fourth.
Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk won the women’s hammer throw qualifying round with a mark of 76.93 meters to close out the evening. Olympic veteran Amber Campbell was the only American to advance to the final 12.