GB claim mixed relay bronze as Netherlands win thriller

Great Britain clinched Olympic mixed 4x400m relay bronze as Femke Bol anchored the Netherlands to a sensational gold at Paris 2024.

Amber Anning held on to third position as the British team finished in a national record of three minutes 08.01 seconds at the Stade de France.

However, she was passed on the home straight by Dutch star Bol, who produced a dramatic sprint finish to overhaul the British and then American teams for gold.

The Netherlands set a European record of 3:07.43 with Bol’s heroics, as the USA, who set a world record in qualifying, took silver in 3:07.74.

Bol measured her effort to perfection, tracking the leaders before making her final push for gold as the crowd roared her on, a year after her late fall cost her nation the world mixed relay title in Budapest.

On what she was thinking in the final 100m, Bol said: “Just keep going, keep going. And my general anger from Budapest.

“That and my team-mates cheering me. And the atmosphere in this stadium is absolutely incredible. It’s crazy. So everything together.”

Olympic debutant Anning’s solid final leg ensured GB – whose team also included Samuel Reardon, Laviai Nielsen and Alex Haydock-Wilson – followed up their 2023 world silver with another medal in the event.

Great Britain’s George Mills qualified for Sunday’s men’s 1500m semi-finals after coming through the repechage, a new addition at these Games which gives athletes in individual track events from 200m to 1500m a second chance to progress.

Mills, who is also set to contest the 5,000m, finished third in his heat in 3:33.56 to join team-mates Josh Kerr and Neil Gourley in the next round.

American Ryan Crouser won a third successive Olympic title in the men’s shot put with a best throw of 22.90m, as compatriot Joe Kovacs took silver ahead of Jamaican Rajindra Campbell.

In the women’s triple jump, Dominican athlete Thea LaFond clinched gold with a 15.02m leap. Jamaican Shanieka Ricketts and American Jasmine Moore completed the podium.

After two days of intense competition, Norway’s Markus Rooth triumphed in the men’s decathlon with 8796 points.

British sprinters Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes will aim to reach the men’s 100m final at 19:05 BST.

American world champion Noah Lyles, who lost out to Olympic debutant Hinchliffe in their heat, will also be in semi-final action, with the final taking place at 20:50.

Before then, British gold medal hope Keely Hodgkinson, Jemma Reekie and 17-year-old Phoebe Gill will all attempt to make the women’s 800m final at 19:35.

Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen will go head-to-head before their anticipated gold-medal showdown in the men’s 1500m semi-finals from 20:10.

GB’s Neil Gourley and George Mills will also hope to progress to the final, which takes place on Tuesday, 6 August.