Olympics: Pugh wins 400m hurdles bronze – 08/09/2024 – Sports

Alison dos Santos, known as Pio, showed up to the 400m hurdles final at the Olympics with her hair dyed purple. “The track is purple, and pretty much every theme of the Olympics was purple, too, and my favorite color is purple. I was like, ‘Oh, why not, okay?’”

If his coloured hair helped him feel more comfortable, the fact is that he left the Stade de France with his second bronze medal on his chest, repeating the result from Tokyo.

His time was 47.26 seconds. The gold and silver went to their great rivals, who reversed their podium positions in Tokyo. This time the gold went to American Ray Benjamin in 46.46 and the silver to Norwegian Karsten Warholm in 47.06.

Over the past five years, Warholm, Benjamin and Pugh have dominated the 400m hurdles, something rarely seen in the history of athletics. Up until Friday’s final, they had 34 of the 36 best marks ever.

Warholm said he ran well up to 300 metres, but then lost energy. He congratulated Benjamin on his win, saying: “This is not a charity. Everyone is trying their best to be the best man on the day, and today was that.”

France’s Clement Ducos, France’s hope for a medal in athletics – the host country has yet to win one – came in fourth. After the race he cried uncontrollably: “I wanted this medal so much, it’s hard.”

In the semi-final, after beating Pio, Ducos hinted that the Brazilian was “not in the same shape as before”.

“Ah, I’m not going to say anything to him,” Pio said of the Frenchman’s remark. “I’ve already seen that comment, but… I’m on the podium. That’s what I have to say. Athletics is simple, and whoever crosses the line there, that’s democratic.”

After the semi-final, in which Pio finished third and was on the verge of elimination, the Brazilian had a “father-son” conversation with coach Felipe Sequeira. He decided to “disconnect” from social media. “People talk a lot of nonsense there. There are a lot of people who eat potatoes from behind the couch, who can’t run 10 meters and would have a heart attack, and who talk nonsense about us,” Pio said, in a jovial tone.

With two Olympic medals under his belt at the age of 24, Pugh is already thinking about the competitions ahead. “I want to keep enjoying it. I’ve learned a lot from these Olympics. I didn’t let the pressure get to my head, and I don’t owe anyone anything. I’ll be lighter for the World Championships next year in 2026. And 2027 and 2028 too.”

Other results

The other Brazilian in Friday’s final, Almir Junior, competed in the triple jump. With a distance of just 16.41 metres after his first three jumps, he was out of medal contention and finished 11th among the finalists.

After the race, which was still on the Stade de France track, Almir proposed to his influential girlfriend Talita Ramos. She said yes. “I thought: either go or rest,” Almir explained. Two days earlier, Alice Vinot of France, who finished fourth in the 3,000m steeplechase, had proposed to her partner, who was also on the track.

Interestingly, all three triple jump medalists were born in Cuba, but competed for other countries. The gold went to Spain’s Jordan Diaz, who cleared 17.86m on his first attempt. The closest, by just 2cm, was Pedro Pichardo of Portugal, the Tokyo gold medalist. The bronze went to Andy Diaz of Italy.

In the other finals of the day, the standout was Belgian Nafi Thiam, 29, who won an unprecedented third Olympic heptathlon title. She finished three golds ahead of American athletics legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won two golds (1988 and 1992) and one silver (1984).

In another women’s final, the 400m, Dominican Marileedy Paulino (27 years old) won the third Olympic gold medal in her country’s history. She had taken silver in Tokyo. Marileedy broke the Olympic record (48.17 seconds).

Friday night was also the night of the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay. In the women’s event, North America regained the title it lost to Jamaica in Tokyo, thanks to Sha’Carri Richardson’s run in the 100m final that left the British and Germans behind.

In the men’s event, the United States was disqualified due to a mistake on the first baton pass between Christian Coleman and 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarik. Canada took the gold medal, and South Africa and Great Britain completed the podium.

The standout Canadian in the relay was Andre De Grasse, 29, who won his seventh Olympic medal and second gold (he won the 200m in Tokyo).

The defeat in North America prolongs the writing: Since Sydney 2000, the United States has not won the men’s race, and since the silver medal in Athens 2004, it has not made the podium in the men’s 4x100m.

Final result of 400m hurdles

Gold – Ray Benjamin (USA) – 46s46
Silver – Karsten Warholm (Norway) – 47 s 06
Bronze – Alisson dos Santos (Brazil) – 47s26
4 – Clement Ducos (France) – 47 s 76
5 – Kieron McMaster (IVB) – 47 s 79
6 – Abdelrahman Samba (Qatar) – 47 sec 98
7 – Rasmus Magee (ET) – 52s53
9 – Roshawn Clark (JAM) – Not Completed