Nageotte Overcomes Early Misses To Secure First Global Gold

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos Getty Images/AP

MEDAL TRACKER

Katie Nageotte needed a third-attempt clearance to get over the opening bar in the women's pole vault final Thursday in Tokyo, but she was the final athlete standing at the end of the competition at the Olympics. 

Nageotte, 30, competing in her first Olympic Games, was the only jumper over 16-0.75 (4.90m) and became the third U.S. woman to win the gold medal, joining legends Stacy Dragila (2000) and Jenn Suhr (2012). She became the only vaulter in history in either gender to win an Olympic title after missing on the first two tries at the opening height.

First, she needed to make some adjustments to get over (14-9/4.50m), a height that only five of the 15 women successfully made on the first try. 

Nageotte made the second bar at 15-5 (4.70m) on her second attempt and was one of just four to make it. That steep climb of 20 centimeters from the opening bar to the second put nine women out of the competition. 

First attempt clearances at 15-9 (4.80m) and 15-11 (4.85m) shoved Nageotte into the gold medal conversation. 

Nageotte kept the pressure on with a second-attempt clearance at 4.90m. Anzhelika Sidorova of the Russian Olympic Committee, who captured gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, was all clear through 4.85m but missed twice at 4.90m and then passed her final attempt in order to have a go at 16-2.75 (4.95m) -- and the lead -- but failed. She finished with the silver medal. 

Holly Bradshaw from Great Britain, who took bronze, also went out at 4.90m after a first-attempt clearance at 4.85m.

In the men's 400-meter final, Steven Gardiner of Bahamas took the gold in 43.85. Anthony Jose Zambrano of Colombia ran 44.08 for the silver and Kirani James of Grenada, the London gold medalist nine years ago, took bronze in 44.19. 

It was another painful result for the U.S. men, as Michael Cherry ran a PR 44.21 to just miss a medal by .02 seconds in fourth, and U.S. champion Michael Norman finished fifth in 44.31. 

The multi events also wrapped up, with Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium winning her second straight gold medal with 6.791 points and becoming the second to do it after U.S. legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee achieved the feat in 1988 and 1992. Anouk Vetter (6,689) and Emma Oosterwegel (6,590) from The Netherlands finished with silver and bronze.

Another Belgian athlete, Noor Vidts, was fourth with 6,571. Top American Kendell Williams was fifth with 6,508 and Annie Kunz was sixth with 6,420. Erica Bougard was ninth with 6,379. 

Canadian Damian Warner laid claim to the title of World's Greatest Athlete by winning the decathlon with an Olympic record 9,018 points. Warner took bronze five years ago in Rio. 

World record holder Kevin Mayer of France, at less than 100 percent, took the silver medal for the second consecutive time, with 8,726 points. Young Australian star Ashley Moloney gave his country its first decathlon medal, a bronze, with 8,649 points. U.S. champ Garrett Scantling was fourth with 8,611 points. He's the sixth fourth-place finisher on this year's U.S. men's team. Zach Ziemek was sixth and Steven Bastien was 10th for the U.S.

Italy's Massimo Stano won the 20-kilometer racewalk in 1 hour, 21 minutes, 5 seconds. Japanese duo Koki Ikeda and Toshikazu Yamanishi earned silver and bronze, while U.S. entrant Nick Christie was 50th. 

Defending Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz finished ninth in a fast 1,500-meter semifinal that was won in an Olympic record time of 3:31.65. Centrowitz was two seconds back in 3:33.69, a season's best, and still didn't qualify for the final. 

Oregon sophomore Cole Hocker, the 20-year-old sensation making his international debut, took second in the first semifinal in 3:33.87 and safely advanced to keep his medal hopes alive. 

The U.S. women qualified for the final of the 4x400 relay with a lineup of Kaylin Whitney, Wadeline Jonathas, Kendall Ellis and Lynna Irby (3:20.86). In the final, the U.S. will be able to choose from that group, plus 400-meter finalists Allyson Felix and Quanera Hayes, 800 champion Athing Mu, and 400-meter hurdles gold and silver medalists Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad.