Thrilling Day 2 at the Stade de France: Decathlon and Men’s 100m Steal the Show

Day 2 of the Olympic events kicked off early at the Stade de France, bringing excitement and anticipation to fans and athletes alike. The highlights from Day 1 still linger, especially as Grant Fisher made headlines being the first American since 2012 to snag a medal in the 10K.

As the day progresses, the decathlon continues to be the center of attention, and we finally get to see Noah Lyles in action as he chases his goal of four gold medals. Fans are buzzing, and the atmosphere is electric.

In the decathlon, German athlete Leo Neugebauer set a strong pace with a throw of 53.33m in the discus, getting close to the Olympic Decathlon Best of 53.79m set by Bryan Clay in 2008. But just moments later, Lindon Victor from Grenada surpassed Neugebauer, throwing 53.91m and jumping from 10th to 4th place overall. What a comeback!

Moving over to the men’s 100m heats, the action unfolded fast with eight heats in total. In Heat 1, Jamaica‘s Kishane Thompson made an impressive start, finishing in 10.00 seconds but seeming to ease off 50 meters from the finish line. Thompson, who holds the world leading time this year at 9.77 seconds, showed he’s in top form. Meanwhile, Jeremiah Azu from Great Britain got disqualified for a false start.

Heat 2 saw Kenya‘s Ferdinand Omanyala winning with a solid time of 10.08 seconds. But Heat 3 turned out to be a surprise as Louie Hinchliffe, the NCAA champion from Great Britain, took down the American star Noah Lyles, finishing at 9.98 seconds while Lyles crossed the line at 10.04 seconds. Lyles admitted he underestimated his competitors, a mistake he vowed not to repeat.

Moving on, Jamaica’s Oblique Seville put in a solid performance in Heat 4, securing a place in the Semi-Final with a time of 9.99 seconds. Defending Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs also faced similar challenges. In Heat 5, Nigerian Kayinsola Ajayi finished first in 10.02 seconds, just edging out Jacobs who recorded 10.05 seconds, showing the fierce competition.

In Heat 6, South Africa’s Akani Simbine finished first in 10.03 seconds, narrowly beating Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake who ran 10.06 seconds. Simbine really stepped up the pace to take the lead at the finish line.

The U.S. athletes showcased their talent prominently, with Kenny Bednarek clocking 9.97 seconds in Heat 7, the fastest of the round. Defending Olympic 200m champ Andre de Grasse from Canada finished in third with a time of 10.07 seconds. Fred Kerley matched Bednarek’s time with another 9.97 seconds in Heat 8, easily advancing to the next round.

The inaugural Women’s 800m Repechage Round added some more excitement, giving athletes another shot at reaching the Semi-Final. Germany’s Majtie Kolberg emerged as the fastest with a time of 1.59.08 seconds. Other notable qualifiers included Kenya’s Vivian Chebet Kiprotich and France’s Anais Bourgoin. Unfortunately, American Allie Wilson missed the cut by just 0.08 seconds, finishing third in her heat.

In decathlon action, Harrison Williams recorded a Season Best of 46.91 seconds, but unfortunately finished seventh overall, slipping down to eighth place in standings.

As the day unfolded, the men’s pole vault competition also drew significant attention. The world record-holder, Mondo Duplantis from Sweden, entered the fray at 5.80m, the Qualification Standard. They even improved their world record recently in April at a meet in Xiamen, China. In a surprising turn, Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Chris Nilsen couldn’t clear the bar and missed the final, a rare disappointment for the athlete.

Duplantis wrapped up the round with a top performance of 5.75m, while American Sam Kendricks also cleared the same height to move forward to the Final. And to kick off the day, the men’s decathlon 100m hurdles saw Canadian Damian Warner setting the pace at 13.62 seconds, propelling him to the first place overall as other competitors tried to keep up.