Bolt rolls in 200; Russian arrives
RIO DE JANEIRO — The repeat one-two American finish in the triple jump and Jenny Simpson’s unprecedented bronze in the 1,500 meters were only part of the story in Olympic track and field Tuesday — and maybe not the best part.
The midpoint of the nineday program at Olympic Stadium was a day for diamond rings and making friends, a one-of-a-kind Russian hello and a surprising Brazilian farewell. And, of course, a daily dose of doping news that was more than offset by a speedy cameo from Usain Bolt.
Bolt was on the track early for his 200-meter qualifying heat — a no-fuss 20.28-second ramble around the curve that barely raised his blood pressure.
“I’m not an early-morning person,” Bolt proclaimed, shortly after winning his heat, which actually started at the crack of 12:46 p.m.
But morning seemed like the perfect time for American Will Claye to put an exclamation point on one of his greatest moments. Newly minted with his second consecutive Olympic silver medal in the triple jump — countryman Christian Taylor won gold, also just as in 2012 — Claye clambered over the barrier separating the track from the stands, climbed a few rows to meet his girlfriend, bent down on one knee and popped the question.
Queen Harrison, an Olympic hurdler in 2008, said yes.
“When I woke up this morning, I was like, ‘Today’s going to be the best day of my life,’” Claye said.
On Tuesday night, Faith Kipyegon finished the women’s 1,500 meters in 4 minutes, 8.92 seconds to beat out Genzebe Dibaba, a flip-flop from last year’s world championships. Jenny Simpson took bronze to become the first American woman to medal in the event.
Other gold medalists were high jumper Derek Drouin of Canada and discus thrower Sandra Perkovic of Croatia, who twice was a single throw from elimination but came through both times and defended her Olympic title.
Yet, like many of the best moments on this emotion-packed day, there were no medals on the line when long jumper Darya Klishina finally showed up at the Olympics. During warmups, Klishina unzipped her jacket and revealed a red shirt with the word “Russia” emblazoned in bright white lettering. She’s the only athlete wearing that uniform at this stadium, because of a doping scandal that led to the ban of Russia’s other 67 track and field entrants.
Never introduced by the PA announcer, or cheered by the crowd, Klishina jumped 21 feet 9½ inches to make it through qualifying and will have a chance for a medal today.
But there was more bad news for the Russians. Around the time the evening session began, the International Olympic Committee stripped Russia’s 2008 women’s 400 relay team of its gold medal, saying one of the sprinters tested positive in one of the many samples being reanalyzed this summer.