RIO DE JANEIRO: Jemima Sumgong made the most of a kick with 6km to run to win Kenya’s first ever Olympic women’s marathon gold on Sunday.
Sumgong, winner of this year’s London marathon, timed 2hr 24min 04sec for Kenya’s first-ever women’s marathon gold over the 42km-long course that finished at Rio’s Sambodromo with temperatures hitting 28 degrees Celsius (82F).
“It was very hot but everybody had to get through the heat. I had to control my body and listen to my body very carefully,” said Sumgong.
“I had prepared that I would move out at kilometer 35 and my body was responding very well, as well as my movement.
“I am very grateful. This is the first gold medal for Kenya (at Rio 2016).”
Just before the finish, a group of protesters carrying banners climbed over barriers and ran onto the course before being intercepted by police on motorbikes. Runners were not disturbed by the protests.
Bahrain claimed only their second medal in any sport when Kenyan-born Eunice Kirwa took silver, 9sec adrift of Sumgong, while defending world champion Mare Dibaba of Ethiopia claimed bronze, at 26sec.
Sumgong admitted, however, that she knew victory was hers with 2km to run, saying it made up for her disappointing showing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I was in Beijing but I was pretty disappointed that I wasn’t able to win a medal or make it on the podium, but I knew one time, one day, I’d be somewhere,” she said.
“I was never worried that I’d lose this. At the 40km I knew the gold was mine.
“At 35km I noticed that my other two teammates had dropped off and that gave me the motivation to carry on.
“At 40km I saw there were three of us but I knew whatever happened I couldn’t lose the gold and then I knew I was on the way to history.”
Dibaba, in her first race since finishing sixth at the London Marathon, had led a lead pack of seven runners through the 35km mark in 2:00.31.
But then with 6km to go, Kirwa surged, only Dibaba and Sumgang managing the pace.
Defending Olympic champion Niccolo Campriani won his second gold of the Games by clinching the men’s 50 meter rifle three positions event on Sunday, making Italy the most successful country in the shooting in Rio with four gold medals.
Campriani, a 28-year-old who won the event in London 2012, narrowly defeated Russia’s Sergey Kamenskiy who was making his Olympic debut, in the last of the 15 shooting events.
France’s Alexis Raynaud took the bronze in his first Olympics at the age of 21.
Campriani also took the gold in the 10 meter air rifle event, making him the only shooter to win two golds in Rio. Italy also won three silver medals.
Light-flyweight Hasanboy Dusmatov won Uzbekistan’s first gold medal of the Rio Olympics on Sunday when he beat Colombia’s Yurberjen Martinez on unanimous points.
Bronze medals went to Cuba’s Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba and the American Nico Hernandez, who each lost in the semifinals.
The Uzbek, 23, whose biggest previous victory was gold at the Asian Championships in 2015, paraded around the 9,000-seat arena afterwards on the back of one of his trainers, a flag of Uzbekistan slung around his shoulders.
Max Whitlock gave Britain their first Olympic gymnastics gold medal on Sunday, winning the men’s floor title at the Rio Games.
The 23-year-old scored 15.633 points to achieve his fourth Olympic medal and second in Rio after all-around bronze.
Brazilian duo Diego Hypolito (15.533) and Arthur Mariano (15.433) won silver and bronze respectively to the delight of the home crowd in the Rio Olympic Arena.
Japanese superstar Kohei Uchimura’s bid for a third gold in Rio following team and all-around ended after he hopped off the mat during his routine.
He scored 15.241 to finish fifth.
Two-time world floor champion Kenzo Shirai of Japan dropped to fourth (15.366) after an error-strewn performance.
Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina shattered Martina Hingis’s hopes of a golden Olympic return after a 20-year absence with victory in the women’s doubles final on Sunday.
The seventh seeds won 6-4, 6-4 against Hingis and Swiss partner Timea Bacsinszky, seeded five.
Hingis last played the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta.
For the Russian duo, the gold medal comes on top of their two Grand Slam titles together at the 2013 French Open and 2014 US Open.
Kenyan wins Olympic marathon for first time
Kenyan wins Olympic marathon for first time
