A surprisingly successful evening for German athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris: Shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye sensationally claimed the gold medal on Friday (09.08.2024), while the women’s relay team sprinted to bronze in the 4×100 m event. Triple jumper Max Heß secured seventh place with a personal best in his first Olympic final.
Shot put: Yemisi Ogunleye surprisingly wins gold
A sensation unfolded at the Stade de France: In her final attempt in the shot put, Yemisi Ogunleye from Mannheim hit the 20-meter mark, pushing New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche, who had been in the lead, into second place. Gold in her first Olympic appearance – the 25-year-old was left in disbelief after the competition ended and joyfully rang the large bell inside the Stade de France multiple times.
She was unable to surpass Ogunleye’s closest competitor in the very last throw of the competition, but came very close with 19.68 m. Ultimately, she finished second with a throw of 19.86 m in the fifth of six rounds. The Chinese athlete Jiayuan Song achieved 19.32 m, securing the bronze medal.
Strong nerves in the last attempt in the qualification
Ogunleye had already demonstrated her mental strength in the qualification the day before, needing her final attempt to reach the distance required to qualify for the final. As a result, she was very close to missing the chance to compete for the medals.
The last German shot put gold medal at the Olympic Games was won by Astrid Kumbernuss in 1996 in Atlanta. Nadine Kleinert earned silver in 2004 in Athens. Alina Kenzel from Stuttgart finished ninth in Paris, achieving a throw of 18.29 m.
4×100 m: DLV women’s relay team finishes third
“We are definitely a force to be reckoned with. We have nothing to hide,” said Gina Lückenkemper after the successful preliminary heat of the German 4×100 m relay (42.15 seconds). In the Olympic final, the Berliner and her teammates Alexandra Burghardt (Burghausen), Lisa Mayer, and Rebekka Haase (both Wetzlar) kept their promise against strong competition, sprinting to bronze. “We showed everyone that we left our hearts on the track and delivered a strong team performance,” said Lückenkemper in an interview with Sportschau.
The German women’s relay team displayed an almost flawless race in the 4×100 final.
With a season-best time of 41.97 seconds, the DLV quartet finished behind the fast Americans (41.78) and the British (41.85). During the last exchange, Haase stepped on the track markings when taking the baton from Lückenkemper. However, the result was not contested since the DLV runner did not obstruct her competitor Daryll Neita from Great Britain, who was running directly beside her.
Mayer: “That was really a Willpower”
“We have been running relays together for ten years, and we have been so close so many times. It was just a matter of time. We all knew it would work today,” said Burghardt in an interview with Sportschau. “It was truly a display of willpower,” Mayer added. “We also had a bit of luck on our side and took home the medal,” Haase echoed the sentiment. The quartet emphasized that the two alternate runners, Sophia Junk (who participated in the preliminary round) and Lisa Marie Kwayie, also contributed significantly to their collective success.
First relay medal for the German women since 1988
The women’s quartet from the former GDR last secured an Olympic relay medal for Germany in Seoul in 1988, winning silver. The West German relay team finished fourth 36 years ago.
In 2021 in Tokyo, the German women finished fifth, and at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, they placed sixth. At this year’s European Championships in Rome, the 2022 European champions finished fourth without a medal.
4×100 m Men: USA disqualified after failed exchange
There was a significant surprise in the men’s relay race: the favored Americans botched the first exchange from Christian Coleman to Kenneth Bednarek and ultimately finished seventh. They were later disqualified. The Canadian team, featuring final runner Andre De Grasse, won Olympic gold with a time of 37.50 seconds. South Africa secured silver (37.57) just ahead of the British (37.61). The Italians, who had won gold in Tokyo, ended up empty-handed in fourth place. The German relay team failed to qualify for the final in the preliminary round; they had finished fifth in 2021.
Triple jump: Heß achieves personal best in the final
Like all other events at the Stade de France on Friday evening, the men’s triple jump final was thrilling and closely contested. From a German perspective, Max Heß from Chemnitz excelled, achieving a personal best of 17.38 m outdoors and finishing seventh in a strong field of competitors.
Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun from Spain secured gold with a jump of 17.86 m, just two centimeters ahead of Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo (17.84). Bronze went to Andy Diaz Hernandez from Italy (17.64).
400 m women: World champion Paulino wins in Olympic record time
In the women’s 400 m, world champion Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic claimed victory: the 27-year-old won in an Olympic record time of 48.17 seconds. Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain settled for silver in 48.53 seconds, while Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (48.98) finished third. Two-time Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo from the Bahamas did not qualify for the final.
10,000 m women: Kenyan Chebet wins second gold
After securing gold in the 5000 m, Beatrice Chebet also claimed the Olympic gold medal for her country Kenya in the race twice as long. In a thrilling 25-lap contest at the Stade de France, she displayed better reserves than her competition in the sprint for the medals. She crossed the finish line with a time of 30:43.25 minutes. Silver went to Italy’s Nadia Battocletti in a national record time of 30:43.35 minutes. Third place was claimed by Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands (30:44.12).
400 m hurdles men: Benjamin wins ahead of Tokyo winner Warholm
What an impressive finish from Rai Benjamin: After closely contesting the final of the 400 m hurdles with Tokyo Olympic champion Karsten Warholm from Norway, he decisively pulled ahead. This time, he secured gold in 46.46 seconds – three years after settling for silver. Warholm finished in 47.06 seconds, while Brazilian Alison dos Santos (47.26) made Olympic history by taking bronze. Joshua Abuaku (Frankfurt) and Emil Agyekum (Berlin) were eliminated in the semifinals, while Constantin Preis (Sindelfingen) did not advance past the repechage.
A surprisingly successful evening for German athletes at the Olympic Games in Paris: Shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye sensationally won the gold medal on Friday (09.08.2024), the women’s relay team sprinted to bronze in the 4×100 m. Triple jumper Max Heß achieved seventh place with a personal best in his first Olympic final.
Shot put: Yemisi Ogunleye surprisingly wins gold
Sensation in the Stade de France: In the final attempt in the shot put, Yemisi Ogunleye from Mannheim hit the 20-meter mark exactly, pushing Maddison-Lee Wesche from New Zealand, who had been in the lead until then, into second place. Gold in her first Olympic appearance – the 25-year-old could not believe what had just happened after the end of the competition and rang the big bell inside the Stade de France several times and really loudly out of joy.
She was unable to beat Ogunleye’s closest competitor in the very last throw of the competition, but came quite close to 20 m with 19.68. In the end, she came second with a throw of 19.86 m in the fifth of six rounds. The Chinese athlete Jiayuan Song achieved 19.32 m and took the bronze medal.
Strong nerves in the last attempt in the qualification
Ogunleye had already shown in the qualification the day before that she has nerves of steel: it was only in her last attempt that she managed to throw the distance she needed to qualify for the final. She was therefore very close to missing out on the fight for the medals.
The last German shot put gold medal at the Olympic Games was won by Astrid Kumbernuss in 1996 in Atlanta. Nadine Kleinert won silver in 2004 in Athens. Alina Kenzel from Stuttgart came ninth in Paris, throwing the shot put to 18.29 m.
4×100 m: DLV women’s relay team finishes third
“We are definitely a force to be reckoned with. We have nothing to hide from,” said Gina Lückenkemper after the successful preliminary heat of the German 4×100 m relay (42.15 seconds). In the Olympic final, the Berliner and her teammates Alexandra Burghardt (Burghausen), Lisa Mayer and Rebekka Haase (both Wetzlar) actually kept their word against strong competition and sprinted to bronze. “We just showed everyone, we all just left our hearts on the track and delivered a strong team performance together,” said Lückenkemper in an interview with Sportschau.
The German women’s relay team showed an almost perfect race in the 4×100 final.
With a season best time of 41.97 seconds, the DLV quartet only had to admit defeat to the fast Americans (41.78) and the British (41.85). During the last changeover, Haase stepped on the track markings when taking over the baton from Lückenkemper. The result was not contested, however, because the DLV runner did not hinder her competitor Daryll Neita from Great Britain, who was running directly next to her.
Mayer: “That was really a Willpower”
“We have been running relay races together for ten years, we have been so close so many times. It was just a matter of time. We all knew that it would work today,” said Burghardt in an interview with Sportschau. “It was really a feat of willpower,” added Mayer. “We also had a bit of luck on our side and took home the medal,” Haase joined the chorus of happy voices. The quartet emphasized that the two substitute runners Sophia Junk (who was used in the preliminary round) and Lisa Marie Kwayie also played a large part in their joint success.
First relay medal for the German women since 1988
The women’s quartet from the former GDR last won an Olympic relay medal for Germany in Seoul in 1988, winning silver. The West German relay team finished fourth 36 years ago.
In 2021 in Tokyo, the German women finished fifth, and at last year’s World Championships in Budapest they finished sixth. At this year’s European Championships in Rome, the 2022 European champions came away empty-handed, finishing fourth.
4×100 m Men: USA after failed change disqualified
There was a huge surprise in the men’s relay race: the favored Americans botched the first change from Christian Coleman to Kenneth Bednarek and only finished seventh. They were later disqualified. The quartet from Canada, which sprinted to Olympic victory with final runner Andre De Grasse in 37.50 seconds, benefited from the USA’s mishap. South Africa won silver (37.57) just ahead of the British (37.61). The Italians, who had won gold in Tokyo, came home empty-handed in fourth place. The German relay team had missed out on a place in the final in the preliminary round; in 2021 they had finished fifth.
Triple jump: Heß jumps personal best in the final
Like all other decisions in the Stade de France on Friday evening, the men’s triple jump final was a thrilling and close affair. From a German perspective, Max Heß from Chemnitz was convincing, jumping a personal best of 17.38 in the open air and finishing seventh in a strong field of competitors.
Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun from Spain secured gold with a jump of 17.86 m, two centimeters ahead of Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo (17.84). Bronze went to Andy Diaz Hernandez from Italy (17.64).
400 m women: World champion Paulino wins in Olympic record time
In the women’s 400 m, world champion Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic took home a victory for the favorite: the 27-year-old won in an Olympic record time of 48.17 seconds. Salwa Eid Naser from Bahrain had to settle for silver in 48.53 seconds, with Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (48.98) coming in third. Two-time Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo from the Bahamas did not make it to the final.
10,000 m women: Kenyan Chebet wins second gold
After winning gold in the 5000 m, Beatrice Chebet also won the Olympic gold medal for her country Kenya over the distance twice as long. In a race over 25 laps in the Stade de France that was exciting right up to the end, she had better reserves than the competition in the sprint for the medals. She crossed the finish line just in time with 30:43.25 minutes. Silver went to the Italian Nadia Battocletti in a national record time of 30:43.35 minutes. Third place went to Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands (30:44.12).
400 m hurdles men: Benjamin wins ahead of Tokyo winner Warholm
What a finish from Rai Benjamin: After the American was tied for a long time in the final of the 400 m hurdles with Tokyo Olympic champion Karsten Warholm from Norway, he finally pulled away decisively. This time he won gold in 46.46 seconds – three years ago he had to settle for silver. Warholm crossed the finish line in 47.06 seconds, and the Brazilian Alison dos Santos (47.26) will go down in Olympic history as the bronze medalist in third place. Joshua Abuaku (Frankfurt) and Emil Agyekum (Berlin) were eliminated in the semifinals, and Constantin Preis (Sindelfingen) was eliminated in the repechage.
