As the Rio Olympics came to a close, there were plenty of positives and real highlights to take away, especially from the track and field arena at the Maracanã stadium. Two particular nations that are not normally associated with track dominance shone through in Rio: the UK and South Africa.
Masterful Mo
Defending Olympic champion in the 5,000m and 10,000m run, Mo Farah, set out to defend his titles in a notoriously tough event. With stiff competition from Moroccans, Ethiopians, Americans, and of course the Kenyans, Farah had quite the challenge ahead of him.
In the first of his gold medals in the 10,000m run, Farah actually fell midway through the race after tripping on another runner, but he was able to quickly get up, regain his composure, and get back into the race. Ultimately he controlled the tempo throughout the race, before using his trademark kick at the end to comfortably pull away from Paul Chelimo of the US and Hagos Gebrhiwet of Kenya.
In the 5000m final, Farah sat four or five back for most of the race, until the penultimate lap when he made a strong move to the front. From there, he consistently headed off all challenges for the lead, maintaining parity to the final stretch where he again pushed to victory. The US athletes turned in amazing performances, with Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo winning silver and Bernard Legat finishing an admirable fifth.
In the first of his gold medals in the 10,000m run, Farah actually fell midway through the race after tripping on another runner, but he was able to quickly get up, regain his composure, and get back into the race. Ultimately he controlled the tempo throughout the race, before using his trademark kick at the end to comfortably pull away from Paul Chelimo of the US and Hagos Gebrhiwet of Kenya.
In the 5000m final, Farah sat four or five back for most of the race, until the penultimate lap when he made a strong move to the front. From there, he consistently headed off all challenges for the lead, maintaining parity to the final stretch where he again pushed to victory. The US athletes turned in amazing performances, with Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo winning silver and Bernard Legat finishing an admirable fifth.
South Africa Dominates Middle Distance
South Africans Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya won the men’s 400m and women’s 800m races respectively. In winning, van Niekerk smashed a 17-year record previously held by Michael Johnson, a record many thought would stand unbeaten for decades. In a class field that included Olympic champions Kirani James and Lashawn Merritt, van Niekerk ran a blistering first half and then just kept going in the second, actually running faster to clock a jaw-dropping time of 43.03.
Caster Semanya was less of a surprise package as the defending Olympic champion and world champion, however her performance was strong and equally dominant in a tough field.
Caster Semanya was less of a surprise package as the defending Olympic champion and world champion, however her performance was strong and equally dominant in a tough field.
Sanity Restored
Sanity was restored to the track distance pecking order in the women’s 5,000m and 10,000m races, as Kenya returned to dominance, claiming gold and silver in the 5,000m race and silver in the 10,000m race.
Watching these races was an absolute highlight of what has been an incredible Olympic Games.
Watching these races was an absolute highlight of what has been an incredible Olympic Games.
