PARIS — Outstanding.On Wednesday night at Stade de France, Quincy Hall produced one of the most spectacular finish lines in the history of the men’s 400 meters, winning gold in 43.40 seconds and ranking fourth overall. Hall emerged victorious in the most intense final ever, despite five guys breaking 44 seconds.
After seven days of play, Team USA has six medals so far thanks to Hall’s gold, and they lead the medal table with 19. American athletes lead the team point rankings with 165 points, 117 more than Great Britain in second place.
At the halfway point, Hall was in fifth place. Coming off the last bend, he was over half a second behind the leader, Matthew Hudson-Smith of Britain. However, he produced an 11.59 final 100 that left the race in his wake and gave him a.04 advantage over Hudson-Smith in second place. Hall surpassed Michael Johnson’s record mark of 43.49 in Atlanta in 1996 to set a new record for quickest time by an American at the Games. The Briton’s 43.44 put him at No. 5 on the all-time performer list, and Muzala Samukonga of Zambia finished with a national record 43.74 to take bronze. Both competitors finished quite swiftly.Michael Norman came in eighth with a time of 45.62, and Chris Bailey finished sixth in 44.58.
Kenneth Rooks made an insanely audacious move at the bell in the men’s 3000 steeplechase final, and it paid off handsomely as he beat out Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya for silver in 8:06.41, trailing Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, who won his second consecutive Olympic Championship in 8:06.05.
The two-time U.S. champion Rooks had a lifetime best of 8:15.08 going into the final, and many spectators probably overlooked him because his PB was the 15th best among the 16 competitors. The race was closely bunched, with Rooks moving from 12th place at 1km in 2:42.8 to ninth place at 2km in 5:30.6, just a second behind the leader. Rooks, who was fourth at the bell, put on the gas, surged ahead into the last backstretch, and finished in 58 seconds to record the seventh-fastest time in Olympic history and rank second among Americans ever.
The reigning Olympic champion Katie Moon and Australia’s Nina Kennedy faced off in the women’s pole vault, just like in the World Championships in Budapest last summer. Although the two split the gold in that competition, Kennedy emerged victorious tonight after clearing 4.90/16-0.75 on her opening attempt. Moon cleared 4.85/15-11 with two tries after having a clean card over the first four heights. After attempting 4.90 on her first attempt, she advanced to 4.95/16-2.75 without success on her next two tries. With five women scoring over 4.80 and four more scoring over 4.70, it was the highest caliber competition in Olympic history.
Verse two of the same song? With Kenny Bednarek, Noah Lyles, and Erriyon Knighton, who finished 2-3-4 at the previous Games, easily making it to the final with Canadian gold medallist Andre De Grasse faltering, the U.S. trio in the men’s 200 hopes that second verse includes an upgrade to sweep status. Bednarek appeared to have total control over the opening match, measuring his opponents meticulously the route to a 20.00 triumph. The world champion and American record holder Lyles finished safely in second place in the following semifinal, clocking in at 20.08. Knighton then stormed around the bend to win the final semifinal in 20.09.
All three Americans and all three Jamaicans made it to the final of the men’s 110 hurdles, setting up another thrilling clash between Tokyo winner Hansle Parchment and three-time world champion Grant Holloway as they battled for gold. After a 13.19 in third place, Parchment had to wait for confirmation of his position as a time qualifier, while Holloway recorded the fastest time of the three semifinals, skimming the barriers in 12.98 to equal the sixth-best time in Games history. In the second semifinal, Jamaica’s Orlando Bennett defeated Daniel Roberts 13.09–13.10, while in the third semifinal, Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell defeated Freddie Crittenden 13.21–13.23. The first athlete reaching the finals after advancing past the repechage round is Crittenden.
The three Olympic medallists from Tokyo will face off again as American record holder and 2020 silver winner Rai Benjamin easily breezed past the final barrier in the third semifinal of the men’s 400 hurdles in 47.85. After clearing the first five hurdles with remarkable speed, Benjamin set himself up for victory by pulling away from the race around the turn and faced little resistance moving forward. World record holder and current champion Karsten Warholm of Norway prevailed in the first semifinal with the fastest time of the three, 47.67. Brazilian bronze medallist Alison dos Santos finished third in that division, but her time of 47.95 allowed her to advance as a time qualifier.While CJ Allen had a strong early run in the second semi but finished fourth in 48.44, Trevor Bassitt finished fourth in the first semi in 48.29 and did not advance.
In heat three, Masai Russell and Nadine Visser of the Netherlands tied for the lead with a time of 12.53, propelling the three Americans into the women’s 100 hurdles semifinals. Together, Russell and Visser crossed the finish line with times that were identical to the thousandth, both clocking in at 12.528.For the American team, Alaysha Johnson finished second in heat one with a score of 12.61, while Grace Stark finished third in heat five with a score of 12.72 to round out a successful run.
The men’s 5000 heats were notable for their extremely slow pace and consequent mayhem, resembling novice drivers on a wet track at Indianapolis. Graham Blanks safely won a ticket in the final with a time of 14:09.06 in sixth place despite numerous runners falling in a pileup during the early stages of heat one due to elbows being thrown. On appeal, four of the guys who lost were eventually moved to the final.
With a few laps remaining, a thoughtless cameraman walked right through the throng of runners on the turn, causing some drama for reigning world champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, who won heat two in 13:51.59. Happily, no one was harmed by the incursion, and 10,000 bronze medallist Grant Fisher secured his spot in the final with a fourth-place 13:52.44 time.After becoming tangled up entering the last straight, Abdihamid Nur fell and got up to finish in 14:15.00, missing the final.
Three American runners advanced to the men’s 800 meters heats, with Trials champion Bryce Hoppel finishing second in heat six at 1:45.24. In heat four, less than eighteen hours after placing fifth in the historic 1500 final, Hobbs Kessler persevered despite fatigued legs to secure a semifinal berth by clocking a time of 1:46.15. After finishing only ninth in heat three with a time of 1:46.34, Brandon Miller will have his chance for redemption in the repechage round. An extra run will be required to get to the semifinals.
After Alexis Holmes made a solid stretch run in the second women’s 400 semifinal to secure one of the two auto qualifying positions in her division, she advanced to the final. Following the replay round, Trials champion Kendall Ellis finished fourth in the third semifinal in 50.40, but it was insufficient to secure one of the two time qualifier berths. Aaliyah Butler finished sixth in the first semifinal in 51.18. Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain recorded the quickest semifinal time in the history of the Games in section one, clocking in at 49.08 to lead six women under 50 seconds overall.
Men’s high jump champion Shelby McEwen qualified first and needed just three jumps to get to the final. McEwen passed to 2.24/7-4.25 after clearing 2.15/7-0.5, where he succeeded on his first try with ease. His score of 2.27/7-5.25 secured his spot in the final since he was the only player in Group A to score a touchdown on the opening try.Both Vernon Turner and JuVaughn Harrison scored 2.20/7-2.5 and 2.15/7-0.5, respectively, however neither made it to the final.
In his first international event, NCAA champion and Olympic Trials winner Salif Mane leapt 17.16/56-3.75 on his first try in the men’s triple jump to beat the automatic qualifying mark and move on to the final with the third-best mark of the day, displaying no signs of anxiety. With Donald Scott (16.77/55-0.25 in 14th) and Russell Robinson (16.47/54-0.5 in 22nd) losing out after finishing outside the top 12, he will be the only American competitor in that final.
Maggie Malone Hardin failed to qualify for the women’s javelin final despite having a best of 58.76/192-9 on her first try.

TEAM USA MEDALS (19)

GOLD (6)

• Men’s Shot Put – Ryan Crouser, 22.90/75-1.75
• Men’s 100 – Noah Lyles, 9.79
• Women’s Discus – Valarie Allman, 69.50/228-0
• Men’s 1500 – Cole Hocker, 3:27.65 (Olympic record)
• Women’s 200 – Gabby Thomas, 21.83
• Men’s 400 – Quincy Hall, 43.40

SILVER (7)

• Men’s Shot Put – Joe Kovacs, 22.15/72-8
• Mixed 4×400 relay – 3:07.74 (Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, Kaylyn Brown)
• Women’s 100 – 10.87, Sha’Carri Richardson
• Men’s Pole Vault – Sam Kendricks, 5.95/19-6.25
• Women’s Hammer – Annette Echikunwoke, 75.48/247-8
• Women’s Pole Vault – Katie Moon, 4.85/15-11
• Men’s 3000 Steeplechase – Kenneth Rooks, 8:06.41

BRONZE (6)

• Men’s 10,000 – Grant Fisher, 26:43.46
• Women’s 100 – 10.92, Melissa Jefferson
• Women’s Triple Jump – Jasmine Moore, 14.67/48-1.75
• Men’s 100 – Fred Kerley, 9.81
• Men’s 1500 – Yared Nuguse, 3:27.80
• Women’s 200 – Brittany Brown, 22.20

RECORDS SET

WORLD RECORD

• Mixed 4×400 relay – 3:07.41 (Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, Kaylyn Brown)

AMERICAN RECORD

• Mixed 4×400 relay – 3:07.41 (Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, Kaylyn Brown)

OLYMPIC RECORD

• Men’s 1500 – Cole Hocker, 3:27.65

AMERICAN OLYMPIC BEST

• Women’s Discus – Valarie Allman, 69.59/228-3 (in qualifying)
• Mixed 4×400 relay – 3:07.41 (Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon, Kaylyn Brown)
• Men’s 10,000 – Grant Fisher, 26:43.46
• Women’s 1500 – Emily Mackay, 3:59.63 (semifinal)
• Women’s Hammer – Annette Echikunwoke, 75.48/247-8
• Men’s 1500 – Cole Hocker, 3:27.65
• Men’s 400 – Quincy Hall, 43.40
• Men’s 3000 Steeplechase – Kenneth Rooks, 8:06.41