Stunning silver for Matt Hudson-Smith - Days 7 & 8 at the Olympic Games
As the athletics action reaches the final few days, the excitement doesn't stop. Day 7 saw all three men make it through the 800m heats, a dramatic 5000m qualification and a stunning silver for Matt Hudson-Smith (Birchfield, Gary Evans). Day 8 has been outstanding for Liverpool's Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Aston Moore) as she heads up the heptathlon after the first day.
Day 7
After looking so comfortable throughout the rounds, the nation eagerly awaited the men's 400m final, as Matt Hudson-Smith looked to take the title. And up until the last ten metres it looked as though the gold medal was around his neck. A sterling start, he took an early lead and continued to pull away. In the final stages of the race, an extraordinarily fast finishing Quincy Hall of the USA found a surge and out-dipped the man from Wolverhampton to take the crown. All wasn't lost however as Matt managed to shave another 0.30 seconds off his lifetime best, setting a new European record of 43.44, bettering his time at the London Diamond League. Speaking on his achievement, Hudson-Smith said:
“Sometimes the journey is better than the result and it’s been a hell of a journey. I’m just grateful. I’ve got an Olympic silver medal and how many people can say that. I’ve been the bridesmaid a couple of times now, but my time is coming.”
The 400m action didn't stop there as Amber Anning (Brighton & Hove, Chris Johnson) finished second in her semi-final in 49.47 to book an auto qualification spot for the final. There was disappointment for Laviai Nielsen (Enfield & Haringey, Tony Lester) and Victoria Ohuruogu (Newham and Essex Beagles), who both missed the final.
World bronze medallist, Ben Pattison (Basingstoke & Mid Hants, Dave Rogan), showed his championship composure as he won his 800m heat to qualify for the semi-finals in 1:45.66. The same could be said for last minute call-up Elliot Giles (Birchfield, Jon Bigg) and Max Burgin (Halifax) as they booked their spots in the next round.
The same could be said for 3x Olympian Cindy Sember (Woodford Green & Essex Ladies) as she comfortably qualified in her 100m hurdles heat with 12.72. Over the 110m hurdles, Tade Ojora (Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow, Joanna Hayes) finished seventh in this heat and didn't advance to the final.
The men's 5000m qualification did not go without some drama, as George Mills (Brighton Phoenix) took a fall after an altercation with the French athlete. Despite not finishing in an auto-qualification position, he was later reinstated along with other athletes who also hit the deck. Sam Atkin (Lincoln Wellington, Mike Collins) and Patrick Dever (Preston, Andy Bibby) unfortunately didn't make it through. Elsewhere on the track, Revee Walcott Nolan (Luton) ran a brave repechage race in the 1500m to book her spot in the semi.
Day 8
Day 8 was all about multi-events as Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Liverpool Harriers, Aston Moore) and Jade O'Dowda (Newham, John Lane) kickstarted their heptathlon campaign. After an early departure at the European Championships earlier this year, there may have been some reservations about Johnson-Thompson's injury status, but she has certainly proved she is fit and ready to go. After season's bests in the hurdles (13.4) and high jump (1.92m), she was in top spot at the end of the morning session. It was a similar story for Jade O'Dowda in the hurdles who posted her third fastest time (13.53) and jumped 1.80m to sit in ninth with five events left.
KJT's delight continued into the shot put where she is not traditionally as strong. She shattered her PB adding an outstanding 50cm to her best mark, now standing at 14.44m. On to the 200m, she clocked 23.44s to end day one on 4055, some 50 points ahead of the Tokyo Olympic champion, Nafissatou Thiam. At the end of day one Jade sits in 17th place.
Georgia Bell (Belgrave, Trevor Painter) showed no Olympic debut nerves as she had a fantastic final lap to finish second behind only Faith Kipyegon in the 1500m semi-final. On her fantastic run, Georgia said:
"I knew it was going to be a hard race, but happy to have something a little bit extra at the end. I’ve stopped putting limits on what is achievable. Every race I keep improving, and I’m growing in confidence. I have got a really good support structure, and I have full trust in the programme.”
In the second semi-final, Revee Walcott-Nolan (Thomas Dreißigacker, Luton) ran a personal best time of 3:58.08. Having gone through the repechage, the two-time Olympian climbed to sixth on the British all-time list but unfortunately was only good enough for ninth place and she exited the competition.