TOKYO -- American record holder in women’s discus Valarie Allman won the first gold medal for Team USATF on a rainy night at Olympic Stadium, during an evening session that also saw all three Americans qualify for the final in the women’s 400m hurdles.
On demand coverage of this session’s events
Women’s Discus final
Starting the competition off with a bang, Valarie Allman (Austin, Texas / USATF New York) took the lead on her first throw, her 68.98m/226-4 the 11th farthest mark in Olympic history and by far the best ever by an American at the Games. The rain started coming down at the beginning of round two and there was a pause in the proceedings. The few attempts that were made in round two were wiped and the event restarted following a lengthy delay. Two fouls for Allman were followed by a 64.76m/212-5 in round four and then a 66.78m/219-1 in the next stanza. Germany’s Kristin Pudenz came nearest with a 66.86m/219-4 in the penultimate round, but Allman came away as the third U.S. gold medalist in the event’s history and the first since Stephanie Trafton-Brown in 2008.
Women’s 5,000m final
Elise Cranny (Beaverton, Oregon / USATF Oregon) and Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa / USATF Oregon) followed a steady lead pack through the first seven minutes. The duo dropped off after eight minutes when there was a surge, and then had a 10-15m gap to make up from there. Make it up they did over the next 600m as the pace lulled once again, and then fell back once more with a mile to go. Seven runners broke away with 800m remaining and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands pulled away for the win in 14:36.79. Schweizer finished 11th in 14:55.80, with Cranny 13th in a season best of 14:55.98.
Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase final
Weaving in and out of traffic to avoid trouble at the barriers in the crowded first laps, Benard Keter (Colorado Springs, Colorado / USATF Colorado) was in the top three through three laps before the tempo picked up. With three to go, Keter was back to seventh yet losing ground. He ultimately finished 11th in 8:22.12 as Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali broke a Kenyan streak of nine straight Olympic golds in the event to win in 8:08.90.
Women’s 400m Hurdles semifinal
As the rain poured down in the stadium, reigning champion Dalilah Muhammad (Fort Worth, Texas / USATF Southern California) poured on the speed to take the lead right away and was never challenged as she ran away with the first semi in 53.30.
World record holder Sydney McLaughlin (Playa Vista, California / USATF Southern California) also got out quickly in the second semi and had a one-stride lead through the halfway mark. She increased her lead after that and eased her way to an impressive 53.03 to win by 1.19 seconds and move on to another showdown with Muhammad in the final.
NCAA champion Anna Cockrell (Waxhaw, North Carolina / USATF Southern California) polished off a perfect set of semis for Team USATF by outsprinting Viktoriya Tkachuk of Ukraine to grab the second automatic qualifying spot with a 54.17 and ensuring all three Americans will contest the final on August 3 at 10:30 PM ET / August 4 at 9:30 AM local.
Women’s 200m semifinal
Trials champion Gabby Thomas (Austin, Texas / USATF Texas Southern) was second after 100m, well behind 100m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica to her outside, and then went to third coming to the line and clocked 22.01. She had the third-fastest time overall and would have won either of the other two semis with that effort, advancing to the final as a time qualifier. Thomas will compete in the final on Tuesday, August 3 at 8:50 AM ET / 7:50 PM local time.
Jenna Prandini (Pflugerville, Texas / USATF Central California) was in good position coming off the bend a couple of strides behind Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica but faded in the final 50m and placed fifth in 22.57 and did not advance. Anavia Battle (Inkster, Michigan / USATF Michigan) was never in contention in the final semi, placing sixth in 23.02.
Men’s 400m semifinal
Leading throughout almost the entire second semi, Michael Cherry (Inglewood, California / USATF Southern California) came close to beating his personal best with a 44.44 that gave him a very comfortable and convincing win.
On paper the final semi looked to be the toughest, and Trials champion Michael Norman (Sherman Oaks, California / USATF Southern California) had to work hard down the stretch to snag an automatic qualifying spot with his second-place finish in 44.52 behind reigning world champion Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas.
Both Cherry and Norman will compete in the final on Thursday, August 5 at 8 AM ET / 7 PM local time.
Women’s Pole Vault qualifying
With 15 women clearing 4.55m/14-11, officials shut down the qualifying round and Katie Nageotte (Powder Springs, Georgia / USATF New York) and Morgann LeLeux-Romero (New Iberia, Louisiana / USATF Southern) both advanced. Nageotte only needed one jump, sailing over on her opening try, while LeLeux-Romero had to sweat it out until her final attempt to go over. Both will compete in the final on Thursday, August 5 at 6:20 AM / 5:20 PM local.
Sandi Morris (Fayetteville, Arkansas / USATF Arkansas) cleared 4.40m/14-5.25 easily but then had her pole break on her first try at 4.55m/14-11 after competition resumed following the rain delay. The Rio silver medalist appeared to injure her left hip and missed on her retry. She was unable to complete her final attempt and did not advance.
Full session results are available on the World Athletics website. The next session begins at 8:00 P.M. ET with the Men’s Triple Jump qualifying round. Fans in the U.S. can watch here via NBC properties.
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USATF Medal Count (5)
Gold (1)
Women’s Discus Throw - Valarie Allman
Silver (3)
Women’s Shot Put – Raven Saunders
Men’s 100m – Fred Kerley
Women’s 100m Hurdles - Keni Harrison
Bronze (1)
4x400m Mixed Relay – Trevor Stewart, Kendall Ellis, Kailyn Whitney, Vernon Norwood
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