Olympics: Athletics, Day 10

Several blockbuster finals on Saturday bring the curtain down on an exceptional and thrilling track and field chapter of the Paris Olympics.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen seeks redemption in the men’s 5,000 metres, after messing up in the 1,500m, whilst Jasmine Camacho Quinn bids to make history by becoming the first woman to defend the 100 metres hurdles title.

AFP Sport looks at five stand-out events on the 10th day of competition in the athletics programme.

Men’s Marathon

Eliud Kipchoge will attempt to become the first man to capture three successive Olympic titles, with the Kenyan’s 40th birthday fast approaching.

The race will be also be a moment to remember his fallen compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, the world record-holder who died aged just 24 in a car crash in February.

A hilly route awaits the runners, who will set off from the city centre and take in some of Paris’ iconic moments while making their way out to the Palace of Versailles before returning to the capital.

Men’s 5 000 metres final

The pressure is on Jakob Ingebrigtsen after his disastrous miscalculation in the 1,500m final cost him not only his title but also a medal.

The 23-year-old Norwegian took silver in this event in Tokyo but since then has been crowned world champion twice.

In theory his chances of adding this title to the European one he won in Rome earlier this year have improved with the surprising withdrawals of Ugandan duo 10,000m champion Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, who blamed it on fatigue even though the race was over a week ago.

Ingebrigtsen, though, will still have several rivals to give him a sleepless night on the eve of the contest.

Chief among them Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet, bronze medallist way back in 2016 but age has not wearied his legs as he showed when becoming the second fastest man in history in Oslo earlier this year posting a time of 12min 36.73sec.

Incredibly given their formidable record in distance racing one has to go back to Seoul in 1988 to find the only Kenyan winner, John Ngugi.

Jacob Krop leads their challenge, having finished third behind Ingebrigtsen last year.

Men’s high jump final

Baron de Coubertin would have approved of the sportsmanship shown in Tokyo when Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italian Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold.

Both are back in Paris but the chances of either of them retaining their title look slim.

The Qatari, 33, was clearly in pain during qualifying, the three-time world champion undergoing treatment on his left calf.

Tamberi, 32, barely made the final, the kidney problems that have affected him since winning the European crown in Rome earlier this year seemingly still affecting him.

With those two struggling the way could be clear for Hamish Kerr, world ranked number one and the world indoor champion, to make history and not only deliver New Zealand their first title in the event but their first ever medal to boot.

Women’s 100 metres hurdles final

Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn could make history by becoming the first woman to successfully defend the Olympic 100m hurdles title following her success in Tokyo three years ago.

All the signs are that the South Carolina-born hurdler is rounding into form at the right time after clocking a season-best 12.35sec in Friday’s semi-finals.

The 27-year-old will be wary of the threat posed by a powerful American contingent in Saturday’s final, which includes Alaysha Johnson, who led qualifying with a time of 12.34sec, along with Grace Stark and Masai Russell, who owns the fastest time of 2024 after clocking 12.25sec in June.

World record-holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, the 2022 world champion, surprisingly failed to qualify for the final following Friday’s opening round.

Women’s 4×400 metres relay final

After disappointing in the final of the 400m hurdles, where she was comfortably beaten by American rival Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Femke Bol gets a shot at redemption in the final of the 4x400m relay.

The Dutch one-lap specialist has already bagged one relay gold for the Netherlands in Paris, producing a jaw-dropping comeback on the final leg of the mixed relay last weekend to clinch gold.

The Netherlands will be hoping Bol can spearhead their quartet in the hunt of the women’s relay, a year after she led the team to 4x400m relay gold at last year’s world championships in Budapest.

On that occasion Bol conjured another late surge to pip her rivals to gold in the final few yards.

Saturday’s challenge promises to be significantly harder though. The American squad is likely to be bolstered by the presence of McLaughlin-Levrone, who will be bidding to bring down the curtain on a successful games with the fourth Olympic gold of her career.

The Americans have not lost an Olympic 4x400m women’s relay since 1992.