Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here. You can find the entire program of the games here.
What speaks?
Let’s remember realism. Pole vaulter shortly before the Paris Olympics From Wilma Murro nothing could be expected.
The background was a two-month competition break that started from the European Championships in Rome and recovery from a hamstring problem.
The situation was already bad, because Murto was recovering from an Achilles tendon problem throughout the spring. In the final of the European Championships in Rome, it was evident that the Finn had no background in performance at long speed. The situation got even worse with the latest injury.
The same was brought up by the athlete himself and the coach Jarno Koivunen After the Olympic final in Paris. Murto was in a shared sixth place in the final competition after jumping his best of the summer, 470. According to Suomalaištah, it was the full maximum that could be taken on these feet.
– No situation in my career has ever hit me as hard as this one. Both mentally and physically, Murto summed up his heavy bed to Urheilu with tears in his eyes.
More: Wilma Murto chewed on her heavy disappointment: “Hell tough”
Sports expert Tuomas Raja considers Murro’s performance extremely hard.
– He was able to do such an intact race and was very close to the performances he has done at his best. A performance worth ten plus points, Raja praised.
Who squealed?
At the athletics night, they dazzled Australia with their Olympic victories and great performances Nina Kennedy (490), of the USA Quincy Hall In the 400 meter run with his hard record of 43.40 and Morocco Soufiane El Bakkali In the 3,000-meter steeplechase. For the latter, the gold was the second in a row at the Olympics.
However, perhaps the most shocking trick of the day was experienced in men’s handball. Germany sank reigning Olympic champions France in dramatic fashion in the quarterfinals.
More: Epic handball drama in the quarterfinals
The hosts still had a two-goal lead in the last minute, but Germany miraculously scored two goals Renars Uscinsin out of control in the last 13 seconds. Germany eventually won the quarterfinal match 30-29 in overtime and advanced to Friday’s semifinals, where they will face Spain.
Who flopped?
Slovene From Kristjan Ceh Olympic gold was expected, but he was completely without medals. Ceh’s result of 68.41 wasn’t bad, but he had the guts to break 70 meters.
He threw Jamaica to a surprise victory Roje Stona with an Olympic record exactly 70 meters ahead of Lithuania Mykolas Aleknaa and Australia Matthew Denny.
Sweden, which defended its Olympic victory Daniel Ståhl came seventh, although the Swedish media, for example, did not expect a bronze medal from him at most.
What next?
On Thursday, we will face a familiar situation. How many times have Finland’s medal dreams rested on the spearmen. Now they have an Olympic-sized lump on their shoulders, because Finland still doesn’t have any medals from these Games.
Finland has never been without a medal at the Summer Games. So no pressure.
Fortunately for the javelin men, the pressure can be shared between no less than three athletes in the final, by Oliver Helander, Toni Keränen and Lassi Etelätalo. The last time Finland had a full representation in the Olympic men’s javelin final was in London 2012 and Beijing 2008.
In Beijing, the overall contribution was great, because Tero Pitkämäki was the third Teemu Wirkkala fourth and Tero Järvenpää fifth. There are hardly any seams in such a pot now, because based on the toughest qualification ever, the resistance is very tough.
Internationally, the delicacy of the day is the women’s 400-meter hurdles, where we see superstars for a long time Sydney McLaughlin-Levronen (USA) as well as Femke Bolin (NED) encounter.
The last time the two met was two years ago in the World Championship final in Eugene, where McLaughlin-Levrone won in the ME time, while Bol was second. McLaughlin-Levrone leads the match 2–0.
The meeting of the super duo has been awaited in athletics circles like Christmas. Let’s talk about the most interesting duel in athletics at the Paris Olympics.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who turned 25 on Wednesday, wrestled in June in the US Olympic qualifiers (50.65) already in the 400-meter hurdles of the fifth ME of her career. In the 2000s, no one else has been able to do the same in the running distances of prestigious competitions.
Add: Comment: The world’s best all-around athlete is in a league of his own
Bol responded a couple of weeks later by running 50.95 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. However, the time of the 24-year-old Dutchman was born in the high air. Oskari Mörön according to that it brought 0.30-40 seconds relief to Bol’s time.
In the case of McLaughlin-Levrone, there has been speculation as to whether she would be able to break the shocking 50-second mark. At that speed, we will run for the medals in the 400-meter smooth race.
The mentioned phantom border may be broken even in Paris. For example, Hall’s excellent 43.40 indicated that the track is fast enough for real top times.
Both were truly sovereign in their own right. McLaughlin-Levrone in particular has rolled in a relaxed and effortless manner. On the other hand, Bol dazzled on Saturday in the 4 x 400 meter medley relay with his phenomenal anchor leg, which brought Holland gold.
The matter has been corrected at 10:04 a.m.: Wilma Murto was sixth in the final race, not seventh.