- Ogunleye Gold Cup - Sprint team cheers for bronze
Surprise Olympic Champion Yemisi Ogunleye ran with the German flag into the curve and cried emotionally in front of her loved ones. After the bronze coup of the sprint relay, the shot putter still topped it off. Gold for Germany in shot put - that hadn't happened since Astrid Kumbernuss in 1996.
In the final round, the 25-year-old Ogunleye's ball landed at 20.00 meters. The Mannheim native covered her face with her hands and soon knew she was Olympic champion. In the Stade de France, "Completely loose" was briefly heard for the winner who had to qualify in the preliminary round. It was only with the third and final throw that she qualified for the final.
Before that, the Munich 2022 European Championship quartet had just finished its victory lap after the 4x100-meter medal. The German Athletics Federation celebrated a surprisingly big evening at the Stade de France.
The very believing Ogunleye, after placing second at the indoor World Championships and third at the European Championships, now achieved her greatest international success by far. Silver went to New Zealand's Maddison-Lee Wesche with 19.86 meters, while China's Song Jiayun took bronze with 19.32 meters.
Lückenkemper: "Left our hearts on the track"
Wrapped in black, red, and gold flags, Alexandra Burghardt, Lisa Mayer, Gina Lückenkemper, and Rebekka Haase celebrated with German fans their 4x100-meter medal. "We pulled through and left our hearts on the track," said Lückenkemper.
Haase added: "It's anything but self-evident that we're standing here. We've rewarded ourselves for many years of work, sweat, and pain. Everyone showed a fighter's heart." Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also allowed to rejoice on the tribune.
In the final, Burghardt, Mayer, Lückenkemper, and anchor Haase stormed onto the podium in 41.97 seconds behind the USA (41.78) and Great Britain (41.85). For Burghardt, this is already her second Olympic medal. In 2022, she won silver in the two-woman bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The quartet secured the first Olympic medal for a German relay team since 1988. After silver through decathlete Leo Neugebauer and long jumper Malaika Mihambo, the sprinters and Ogunleye brought the third and fourth medals for the German athletics team. The federation's target of three medals has already been exceeded before the last competitions.
The quartet, which includes Lückenkemper, had already convinced in the preliminary round on Thursday and hinted that they could compete for the medals. Sophia Junk started then, but Burghardt took over her part now due to muscular problems. Thus, the quartet from the Munich EM triumph two years ago was reunited, having surprisingly won bronze at the World Championships in Eugene shortly before in a slightly changed lineup.
After their victory in the 4x100-meter event, the German relay team, including Alexandra Burghardt, celebrated with fans at the Stade de France, thankful for their years of hard work. In another triumph for German athletics, Yemisi Ogunleye from France broke a 26-year drought in shot put, claiming gold for Germany.
