The Paris Olympics were the premiere event of the summer, showcasing the best athletes from all over the world competing for their country in a global competition. The games had incredible moments including, Mijaín López winning his fifth gold medal in a row, Summer McIntosh winning 3 swimming medals at 17 years old, and the US women’s rugby team winning the bronze medal in a shocking final play. However, the event with the most medals awarded and some of the highest viewership was Track and Field. The events had some all-time moments with major upsets, close finishes, and the birth of legacies.

The Biggest Race of the Year

One of the game’s most anticipated events was the men’s 100-meter final, where American superstar Noah Lyles won in what was the fastest overall race in Olympic history. He ran a 9.79, narrowly defeating  Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second.  The USA’s Fred Kerley won bronze with a time of 9.81. The 5th to 8th positions in the race all ran new placement records at the Olympics.

The women’s 100m final also captivated audiences. Heavy favorite Sha’Carri Richardson of the USA got poorly out of the blocks while first-time Olympian Julian Alfred ran an exhilarating 10.72, winning the event and Saint Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medal. Richardson won silver with a 10.87, and her teammate Melissa Jefferson won bronze with a 10.92.

Long Sprints

After Noah Lyles’s stunning victory in the 100m, he had his eyes set on the world record in the 200m event.  He did not get the world record nor the Olympic record; in a surprising turn, he barely made the podium, winning only the bronze medal. He later revealed he had COVID-19, however, many speculated he faked it.  Meanwhile, his teammate Kenny Bednarek earned silver with a time of 19.62. Botswana's 21-year-old phenom Letsile Tebogo won the gold medal with a 19.46.

The Women's 200m final, on the other hand, went to American Gabby Thomas, who ran 21.83. The 100m champion Julian Alfred ran 22.08 to earn silver, while American Brittany Brown earned bronze with a 22.20.

The Men's 400m was a spectacle from start to finish. American Quincy Hall won gold with an impressive final 100m, where he sprinted his way from 4th to 1st to tally a time of 43.40. Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith was the main victim of Hall’s impressive kick but still earned silver and a European record time of 43.44. Zambia’s Muzala Samuknoga took the bronze with a National Record of 43.74. 

The Women's 400m also saw many records broken, including the Olympic record, which was shattered by Dominican sprinter Marileidy Paulino. Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser won her country's only silver medal in Paris with a 48.53. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmerak won bronze with a 48.98.

Mid-Distance Events

The Men’s 800m final resulted in one of the greatest 800m races ever, with 4 runners going under the 1 minute and 42 seconds mark. The gold medal went to Kenya’s Emanuel Wanyonyi who ran 1:41.19. The silver went to last year's World Champ, Marco Arop of Canada who ran the 4th fastest time ever in 1:41.20 and was barely leaned out by Wanyonyi. The bronze went to Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, who closed very well, running 1:41.50. Bryce Hoppel of the USA, who while going 1:41.67 which is now the American Record, didn’t even medal. The Women’s 800m final was less chaotic as the heavy favorite,  Kelly Hodgkinson of Great Britain, won gold in an impressive 1:56.72. Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma earned silver with a time of  1:57.15. Finally, Mary Moraa of Kenya won bronze running 1:57.42.

The Men’s 1500m final was possibly the most exciting event to watch at this year’s Olympics. In the weeks leading up to the race, the headlines were dominated by a rivalry stemming from last year’s World Championships between the UK’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The final was much more than a two-man race. The first three laps were dominated by Ingebrigtsen who ran his first 1200m in 2:47.3, but the race really picked up in the last stretch. With about 150m left, Kerr started kicking to catch his rival at the line, but he was not the only one speeding up; Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse of Team USA also began sprinting. Nuguse tried to pass on the outside while Hocker went on the inside. In the last 80m, Ingebrigtsen boxed out Hocker, but he had to move outside as Kerr tried to pass him as well. In the last 50m, all 4 runners were near even until Hocker passed them all on the inside to win gold in dramatic fashion and set an Olympic Record of 3:27.65. Milliseconds later, Kerr barely beat Nuguse to win silver in 3:27.79. However, Nuguse still earned bronze, making this the first time since 1912 that two Americans medaled in the 1500m. 

The Women’s 1500m was a relatively predictable race. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya continued her dominance, setting a new Olympic record en route to gold, running 3:51.29. Jessica Hull of Australia won the silver with a 3:52.26, and Great Britain’s Georgia Bell earned bronze and a national record of 3:52.61.

Long Distance Events

The Men’s 5000m came days after the 1500m final, giving Jakob Ingebrigtsen enough motivation to win the gold medal in a dominant 13:13.66. Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi earned the silver with a time of 13:15.04 just out-leaning the USA’s Grant Fisher, who ran 13:15.13.

The Women’s 5,000m final was clearly won by Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet who ran 14:28.56, and her teammate Faith Kipyegon won silver in 14:29.60. But there was controversy as Kipyegon had a fair bit of slapping which led to her being DQ’d for a bit before later being reinstated. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands earned bronze with a time of 14:30.61.

The Men’s 10,000m final was an exciting race, with the world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda winning gold and beating the  Olympic record by a whopping 18 seconds with a time of 26:43.14. Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi won silver with a time of26:43.44. USA’s Grant Fisher ran 26:43.46 to win bronze and become the first American Olympian to medal in the 5k and 10k in the same Olympics.

The Women’s 10,000m final had a similar finish to the 5k with Beatrice Chebet running a 30:43.25 to win gold. Italy’s Nadia Battocletti won silver and set a national record in 30:43.35. Dutch runnerSifan Hassan ran 30:44.12 to win bronze.

Hurdle Events

The Men’s 3000m steeplechase final had some fireworks at the end as the world record holder Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, fell hard over the third to last hurdle, being knocked unconscious and having to be stretchered off and taken straight to a hospital where he soon after recovered. Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali won his second straight gold medal in this event with a time of  8:06.05. USA’s Kenneth Rooks won silver with an 8:06.41. Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot won bronze with an impressive 8:06.47 after just barely being outleaned by Rooks.

The Women’s 3000m steeplechase final was a good race, minus the Olympic record being set. Winfred Yavi of Bahrain set it running 8:52.76, who just outkicked Peruth Chemutai in the last hundred. Chemutai of Uganda got silver by running an 8:53.54, which is a national record. The bronze went to Faith Cherotich, who ran 8:55.15.

The hurdles started with the Men’s 110m hurdles final, which went as you would expect. The USA’s Grant Holloway led the race gun to tape beautifully, winning gold by running a 12.99, which has resulted in him winning the past 4 global championships in a row. The silver went to another American in the form of Daniel Roberts, who ran 13.091 barely outleaning the bronze medalist. The bronze medal went to Jamaica’s Rasheed Broadbell, who also ran a 13.091 but via photo finish, he fell to third.

The Women’s 100m hurdles final was a captivating race. The gold went to the USA’s Masai Russell who ran 12.33 just out-leaning the host country's Cyrena Samba-Mayela. Samba ran 12.34 en route to the silver medal. The bronze went to the Olympic record holder from Puerto Rico, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn who ran 12.36.

The Men’s 400m hurdles final was a stunning race from start to end, with all three favorites medaling in dramatic fashion. Rai Benjamin of the USA took the win in a very impressive 46.46, outlasting world record holder Karsten Warholm who took silver by running 47.06. The bronze went to Alison Dos Santos of Brazil, who had a dominant third-place race running 47.26.

The Women’s 400m hurdles final was a masterclass from the goat of female track USA’s Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone. She ran a new world record in a dominant 50.37 dominating the competition leading gun to tape. The silver went to another American, Anna Cockrell who became 4th ever person to break 52 seconds in the 400m hurdles event. She ran 51.87 just edging out the Dutch Femke Bol who fell to the bronze medal in 52.15.

Relays

The Men’s 4x100 final was a race to remember for all but Team USA. Canada came from behind in lane 8 to win gold running 37.50 to silence the haters (mainly Noah Lyles) and win their third Olympic gold medal in the event, which seems like a fitting bow to end Andre De-Grasse’s legendary career. South Africa won silver with an African record time of 37.57. Great Britain barely defeated Italy by running a 37.61 to win the bronze.

The Women's 4x100 final also had a great finish and gave Americans something to celebrate. The USA won gold, running a dominant 41.78. Their dominance was evident when Sha'carri Richardson turned to the silver medallists,  Great Britain, and mean-mugged them while leading the pack. Germany picked up the bronze, running 41.97.

The Men’s 4x400 final was a showdown between the powerhouse USA and underdog Botswana, but the biggest news came in the prelims, where 16-year-old Quincy Wilson became the youngest-ever American to run at the Olympics. The USA ultimately won with a jaw-dropping Olympic record.  USA’s Rai Benjamin just outlasted Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo leading the Americans to a 2:54.43, a time almost a full second faster than their 2008 Olympic record.  Great Britain won bronze and set the European record with a 2:55.83.

In the mixed 4x400 relay, the USA set a world record with a 3:07.41. The final was a different story, with the Netherlands coming back from almost a 20m deficit to winning gold with a 3:07.43. The USA still won silver with a 3:07.74. Finally, Great Britain won bronze and set a national record with a  3:08.01.

Field Shoutouts

Although this is a track recap, certain performances from field events deserve to be mentioned. In the Men’s Pole Vault final, Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis set the world record for a ninth time by vaulting 6.25m.In the Men’s Shot Put, USA’s Ryan Crouser won his third straight gold medal throwing 22.90m. In the Men’s Discus, Jamaica's Roje Jam Stona set a new Olympic record by throwing 70.00m.

Track and Field at the Olympic Games was a massive success. There were many broken records, and incredible races ran. The athletes looked inspiring by running fast times and the Paris racing environment proved to be one of the best.