Elaine Thompson seals remarkable sprint double with gold in the women's 200m final
Tianna Bartoletta claimed the long jump title, while there was an American sweep in the 100m hurdles.
Jamaica's Elaine Thompson became the first female athlete to complete an Olympic sprint double since Florence Griffith Joyner28 years agowith victory in the women's 200m final at Rio 2016. The 24-year-old, who so nearly achieved a personal best while winning the 100m title ahead of Tori Bowie and compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Saturday, added a second gold by running an impressive time of 21.78 seconds.
Reigning world champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands had to settle for silver, while American Bowie came third. Team GB's Dina Asher-Smith, already the British record holder in both distances aged just 20, secured an impressive fifth place in her first Olympic final.
"I am really happy, especially after a shaky qualification," she told the BBC afterwards. "I think I still could have done a bit better but I can't be disappointed with that. It is a learning curve and hopefully I'll have more world championships and Olympics to get it right. I am just happy to be here, healthy and running close to my PB."
Cindy Ofili came desperately close to a bronze medal in the women's 100m hurdles final, but was edged out by just 0.02 seconds. Elder sister Tiffany Porter was seventh after qualifying as a fastest loser. The United States boast supreme strength depth in that particular event, even without new world-record holder Kendra Harrison, and demonstrated their significant prowess by locking up all three podium places. Brianna Rollins led the way to take gold, closely followed by Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin.
There was yet more American success in the women's long jump, where two-time world title-holder Tianna Bartoletta beat defending champion and teammate Brittney Reese with a personal best effort of 7.17m. Ivana Spanovic set a new Serbian national record of 7.08 to take bronze.
Britain's Jazmin Sawyers finished eighth and Lorraine Ugen was 11th. Shara Proctor failed to qualify. Darya Klishina, the only Russian track and field athlete competing in Rio after she successfully appealed a late ban at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), could only manage a jump of 6.53 to end the competition in ninth.
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