Olympic Daily Dispatch Day 9: Marathon AND A Sprint

The 2024 Paris Olympics are over.

Ten days of running, jumping, and throwing seemed to fly by, as the quadrennial celebration of the greatest athletes in the world descended on the Stade de France to compete for the greatest prize in track and field. It both was both an odyssey and a lightning strike, stretching over weeks then over in a blink of an eye.

Three world records fell and countless national records, personal bests, and world-leading marks were entered into the history books as Paris brought out the best in hundreds of competitors. Odds were defied and streaks were extended as underdogs dethroned monarchs and deities performed miracles.

The Olympics always feel like something of a singular experience — the whole world comes together to cheer on their favorite athletes in dozens of sports that seem to disappear from the public consciousness the moment August is over. But if you’re reading this, you know a secret that few casual viewers are aware of: track and field doesn’t begin and end with the opening and closing ceremonies.

Every athlete in Paris had to compete somewhere, somehow to get there. Every Olympic medalist has already turned their sights toward Tokyo 2025. The thrills and chills of this sport can be found in competitions at every level yearround, from the first indoor meet of January to the last marathon in December. Watching Sha’Carri Richardson break down in tears listening to her national anthem or Tara Davis-Woodhall embrace her husband is all the more impactful when you’ve been following along for the ride for months, or years. So if you’re new to the world of track and field, welcome — and please stick around. The best is yet to come.

The final day of track action let Team USA continue to run up the medal tally, with golds in the 100m hurdles and men’s and women’s 4×400m, a silver for Shelby McEwen in the high jump, and a second bronze for Grant Fisher in the 5000m. Both relays got startlingly close to their respective world records in the process via two different paths — the men in a close battle to the line with Botswana and the women in an impressive display of dominance.

The American women broke a 36-year-old national record with their 3:15.27 run, where every single leg split well under 50 seconds and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone clocked the third-fastest relay split in history (the fastest in decades) with her 47.71 run. Huge props need to be offered to leadoff leg Shamier Little, who’s been a workhorse for Team USA over the last week with four relay performances that helped deliver two hard-earned medals.

Rai Benjamin and Team USA had their hands full with Letsile Tebogo and Botswana, as the Olympic champs over 400m hurdles and 200m faced off on the anchor leg of the 4×400m. Benjamin ultimately made the most of his small lead to hold off Tebogo, but Tebogo had the fastest split of the day at 43.04 and both teams ran the 2nd and 3rd fastest 4×400ms in history.

University of Kentucky fans had to face divided loyalties in the 100m hurdles final, as Masai Russell of the USA faced fellow Wildcat alum and Puerto Rican superstar Jasmine Camacho-Quinn. Russell came out on top by a fraction of a second in 12.33, out-leaning French national hero Cyrena Samba-Mayela by 1/100th of a second as Camacho-Quinn took third to put two former UK athletes on the podium.

Speaking of close finishes, Kenyan fans had plenty to cheer for as 20-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi took the win in the Olympic 800m by 0.01 over World champ Marco Arop of Canada, extending the nation’s streak of gold medals in the event to five Olympics. In the women’s marathon, 26 miles of running came down to a final finishing sprint as, fittingly, the track specialist turned road warrior Sifan Hassan completed her absurd Olympic triple with a gold medal in the marathon after two bronzes in the 5000m and 10,000m. Hassan broke both two-time Boston champ Hellen Obiri and world record holder Tigst Assefa to claim the title in a new Olympic record of 2:22:55, finishing the games out on a perfectly-symbolic note: exhausted, overworked, but finally satisfied.

Bid adieu to Paris with one last Good Morning Track and Field, and enjoy the last TORCH TALK podcast featuring a very special call-in from Chris Chavez straight from the Paris marathon course. Our dozens of interviews, podcasts, and live shows from the week are all available for free on YouTube and Spotify, so be sure to catch up on anything you may have missed from the last 10 days.

We Love Track and Field, the Olympics, and You.

How fun has Paris been!? Whether you showed up and ran with us in person, packed the Olympic stadium, or followed along at home, we hope you were enjoying the show as much as we were enjoying sharing it with you.

The Paris Olympics were our best and biggest venture yet, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible team we put together. All our video content wouldn’t be possible without our infallible producer Mac Fleet and our group talented on-air hosts and analysts: Mitch Dyer, Katelyn Hutchison, Eric Jenkins, Karen Leisewicz, and Aisha Praught-Leer. Each day, Anderson Emerole and I were able to bring you reporting straight from the mixed zone and Justin Britton and Jacob Gower delivered beautiful, evocative photography. And our top-tier social media and research team of Audrey Allen, Jasmine Fehr, David Melly, and Paul Hof-Mahoney created and delivered all our content to the fans.

Covering track and field at every level over the last decade has been a labor of love, but each year, the CITIUS MAG team manages to do things bigger, better, and more fun than before. We may need to catch up on sleep for a day or two, but we’re already excited to dream up the next chapter. And we couldn’t do any of it without the support, love, and enthusiasm of the best readers, listeners, and fans in the sport.

Merci beaucoup. J’adore l’athleticisme.

— Chris Chavez

Race of the Day: Women’s 1500m

In the last 12 months, we’ve come to terms with resetting our expectations when it comes to the women’s 1500m.

Sub-4 minute performances aren’t nearly as uncommon as they used to be and 3:55 is the new 3:59. There are rarely “sit and kick” championships in the women’s championships, and more often than not, national record holders of major countries find themselves battling just to earn a spot in the final. And 3:49 is now a time that we recognize as achievable.

Our redefinition of greatness all comes back to a diminutive Kenyan named Faith Kipyegon. No other athlete, male or female, has won three medals in the Olympic 1500m, let alone three straight golds. But Faith Kipyegon isn’t just any athlete.

Kipyegon has now won the last four global championships straight and six of the last seven titles in the event. She has the world records in the 1500m and mile (breaking her own mark in the former earlier this summer) and is the only female runner in history to break 3:50 in the event. And while the Paris Olympics showed she is not invincible over 5000 meters, no one in the last five years has figured out how to dethrone her over 1500m.

Behind Kipyegon’s new Olympic record of 3:51.29, Jessica Hull brought home the first Olympic medal for an Australian woman in the event and Georgia Bell won a bronze medal and broke the British record in her triumphant return to pro running after a five-year break. Five runners broke 3:54; nine broke 4:00. As has become routine, Kipyegon’s blazing times have led to a string of personal bests and national records in her wake.

This wild ride can’t last forever; just ask Kipyegon’s teammate Eliud Kipchoge. A fourpeat is certainly possible but never guaranteed. But while we’re still in the fast lane with the greatest 1500m runner in world history, let’s take a moment to appreciate just how beautiful it can be to watch excellence be executed.

Athlete of the Day: Jakob Ingebrigtsen

Is there such thing as a reluctant Olympic champion?

That’s what it sure feels like whenever Jakob Ingebrigtsen runs the 5000m. The 23-year-old Norwegian is now the global 5000m champion for the last three years straight, but each victory has felt like something of a consolation prize as Ingebrigtsen has been unable to capture the 1500m title he secured in 2021.

Inarguably, Ingebrigtsen is one of the best — if not the best — 5000m runners in the world right now. And Olympic gold is Olympic gold, so why should it matter where that medal comes from?

Incredibly, there’s a simple answer that almost seems too crazy to be true: winning the 5000m just comes too easily. After the 5000m, Ingebrigtsen told the American media, “I’m a believer in winning in a way that’s honorable.” Assuming everyone plays by the rules, there’s not really a dishonorable way to win an Olympic title, but it’s entirely possible that the Norwegian’s uncanny ability to reel in the competition, hit the front, then smoothy separate from the field in the longer event just doesn’t feel like enough of a challenge.

Ingebrigtsen could easily move up to the 10,000m or focus entirely on the 5000m, but there’s got to be something alluring about the way another 1500m gold has evaded him. That’s not to say that his three 5000m golds are irrelevant or that he’s not proud of them, but it’s admirable that he appears committed to pursuing the harder path to double victory.

Jakob was 20 years old when he won his first Olympic title, and he’s got several more cycles to repeat the feat. But his Ahab-like dedication to chasing his 1500m white whale is oddly endearing, and certainly compelling. The double may have eluded him once again in Paris, but watching him try is a thrilling show.

Photo of the Day

The emotions poured out of Cyrena Samba-Mayela as the 23-year-old became France’s first track and field medalist in the 100m hurdles in the final day of action during the 2024 Olympic Games.

Social Moment of the Day

16-year-old Quincy Wilson, who won an Olympic gold medal as part of Team USA’s winning 4×400m team (he ran first leg in the qualifying round), will head back to high school with the coolest possible answer to “what did you do this summer?”

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