A brilliant bronze for Team GB: Days 3-4 at the Olympic Games
Day three saw the mixed 4x400m quartet secure the first track and field medals of the Games so far!
Day 3
After a solid qualification round, the British quartet of Amber Anning (Brighton & Hove), Sam Reardon (Blackheath and Bromley, Nigel Stickings), Laviai Nielsen (Enfield & Haringey, Tony Lester), and Alex Haydock-Wilson (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow, Earl Herbert) toed the line in the mixed 4x400m relay final. After breaking the British record in the heats, the world silver medallists from Budapest fancied their chances against a very strong field including the USA and Netherlands.
With the Brits battling for second and third throughout the race, it wasn't until the last leg when the exceptional Femke Bol took to the front and with 10 metres to spare, Amber Anning managed to hold off the fast finishing Belgians to claim the bronze medal in another national record of 3:08.01. Speaking on the race, Anning reflected on battling her University of Arkansas teammate on the last leg:
“I saw my teammate in front of me so I wanted to keep pushing but I knew Femke was coming. I just didn’t want to let off, they had done the job but I just had to finish it off. I wanted a medal and I was just doing my part in getting there. I’ve got a great team and all I could do was finish what they had started.”
Congratulations also goes to Scotland's Nicole Yeargin (Pitreavie) for her role in qualifying the team in the heats.
In the 100m, it was an agonising fourth place for Daryll Neita (Cambridge Harriers, Marco Airale) as she was just beaten into third place with 10.96 to Melissa Jefferson's 10.92. Neita has had a fantastic series of races and looked strong in the semi-final just 80 minutes earlier. With the 200m still to come, it's not over for Neita. Speaking after her final:
“It’s super tough – words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now. I was so close to that medal I was dreaming of for my whole life. I was super competitive and at least I can bring this into the 200m now (heats are on Sunday)."
Day 4
Day 4 started with the 3000m steeplechase heats as Lizzie Bird (Shaftesbury Barnet, Pat McCurry) dipped on the line to make it through to the next round on a photo finish. Aimee Pratt (Sale Harriers Manchester, Thomas Dreißigacker) was rewarded to a season's best, but it was unfortunately not enough to progress.
A first round foul did not deter Jacob Fincham-Dukes (Leeds City, Matt Barton) who will be in the long jump final following a 3rd round effort of 7.96m. This was just short of the automatic qualifying distance (8.15m), but enough to place 8th and qualify.
In the women's 200m, all three women easily qualified though to the semi-final. Making up for the bittersweet 4th in last night's 100m final, Darryl Neita Cambridge Harriers, Marco Airale) won her heat, with Bianca Williams (Thames Valley, Linford Christie) and Dina Asher-Smith (Blackheath and Bromley) also progressing. The men's 100m sprint semi-finals saw Zharnel Hughes (Shaftesbury Barnet, Glen Mills) and Louie Hinchliffe (Sheffield & Dearne, Carl Lewis) fail to gain automatic qualification and miss out on the final.
Cool, calm and collected would describe Matt Hudson-Smith (Birchfield Harriers, Lance Brauman) in the 400m as he sailed through to the semi-final in first place (44.78). Charlie Dobson (Colchester, Leon Baptiste) followed in his footsteps to also win his heat in 44.96. After the event, Matt shared his excitement for the final:
"It was an easy run, I was just going for the win , and try and make it as easy as possible and get ready for the semi-finals. I just wanted to execute my race plan as comfortably as possible. Preparation has been really good, so now I just go for the win."
Over the two laps, Keely Hodgkinson (Leigh, Trevor Painter) kept her composure, turning up the pace to take the win in her semi-final (1:56.86). 17 year-old Phoebe Gill (St Albans, Deborah Steer) ran a stellar race, just missing out on a fastest loser spot in a time of 1:58.47.
Tade Ojora (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow, Joanna Hayes) hit a couple of barriers in the 110m hurdles but came 4th in a new season's best and qualified as a fastest loser to the semis in 13.35.
The women's 400m hurdles saw Jessie Knight (Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow, Marina Armstrong) against Femke Bol but she finished in 5th so will try her luck in the repechage on Monday. In the following heat, Lina Nielsen (Shaftesbury Barnet, Tony Lester) cemented her place in the semi-final with a time of 54.65 - very close to her PB.
After making it through the repechage round, the 1500m semi-final was too much of a stretch for George Mills (Brighton Phoenix) as he bowed out. He has the 5000m to contest later this week.