Shaunae Miller Uibo and Faith Kipyegon retained their titles as Allyson Felix became the most decorated female Olympic track and field athlete of all time in a sparkling penultimate session at the Olympic Stadium on Friday.
Felix’s landmark moment came when she took bronze behind a dominant Miller-Uibo in the 400 metres. The 35-year-old American’s 10th medal spread over 17 years saw her move to 10, one ahead of retired Jamaican sprint legend Merlene Ottey.
“It’s just joy,” said Felix, who has suffered ups and downs in the sport after a difficult pregnancy.
“This one is very different and very special. It’s my first bronze medal, it’s hard to describe. All the other ones, I was so focused on the performance and this one, it’s so much bigger than that.”
Miller-Uibo made it a remarkable Bahamian double as her male team-mate Steven Gardiner had won the men’s one-lap title on Thursday.
“I am so happy right now I could cry,” she said. “I’ve been dealing with a whole lot of injuries and to be able to pull this one off is amazing,” added the 27-year-old.
Jamaica’s female successors to Ottey celebrated their national independence day with gold in the 4x100m relay in a national record time of 41.02sec, giving Elaine Thompson-Herah her third title in Tokyo after the 29-year-old had completed the sprint double-double earlier in the Games.
“The feeling is surreal to get three golds,” said Thompson-Herah.
It was also an eighth Olympic medal for one of Felix’s old adversaries turned friend 34-year-old Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
“We are so grateful to win this gold medal for Jamaica on national independence day,” said Fraser-Pryce. “For two years we have been unimpressive, you know, so to get it back today is special.”
In the men’s 4x100 metres relay, Italy produced a stunning performance to win it for the first time in their history with a national record of 37.50sec.
Britain’s men made up for a poor series of performances in the individual sprints by taking silver in 37.51sec while Canada won bronze in 37.70sec.
Italy’s victory gave their surprise 100m individual champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs his second gold of the Games.
The British looked like they would take an unlikely gold as they led by a metre at the final changeover. However, the unheralded Filippo Tortu reeled in Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and sealed gold with the dip on the line.
Behind them, Andre De Grasse ran a stunning anchor leg to overhaul both Jamaica and China to add relay bronze to his 200m gold medal and 100m bronze.
Tortu looked as stunned as anyone at the finish and put his hands to his head as he nimbly dodged some obstacles in his way. A sizeable group of Italian team members seated in the stands roared out in delight and serenaded the triumphant quartet with some Italian songs.
Tortu mounted the electronic scoring board and stood proudly on top of it, as the Italians lapped up their compatriots’ singing.
‘A beautiful evening’
Kipeygon produced a stunning performance to successfully defend her 1500m crown and break the 33-year-old Olympic record set by Paula Ivan in Seoul.
In winning Kipyegon fulfilled a wish of her young daughter, Alyn, who was born in 2018.
“Once I crossed the finish line, it was a very emotional moment for me,” said Kipyegon.
“I thought about my daughter who I left behind at home. She wanted me to bring home a gold medal, and I am so happy and excited I did that.”
In doing so the 27-year-old also ended Sifan Hassan’s dreams of an unprecedented Olympic treble.
The Ethiopian-born Dutch runner, who had won the 5000m earlier in the Games, finished a well-beaten third. “I have already run so many kilometres, so I am super happy,” she said.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei made up for his tactical error in the 10,000m in which he was beaten to silver by winning the 5000m.
“It’s really a great moment,” he said. “I made a small mistake (in the 10,000m) and I was regretting having to become a silver medallist.
“I came here to become an Olympic champion and my dream has been fulfilled today in a beautiful evening.”
With AFP Inputs
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