Olympics roundup: Former WSU standout CJ Allen motors into 400m hurdle semifinals

TRACK AND FIELD: Sun beamed down on a pair of bright blue shades across the face of CJ Allen as he rounded the oval down the final stretch of the men’s 400-meter hurdles first round.

He ran stride for stride with Brazil’s Alison dos Santos – a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Games.

The two competitors bound past the last two obstacles and powered down with their qualification secured.

Greater challenges await.

Estonia’s Rasmus Magi overtook both Allen and dos Santos to win the heat in 48.62 seconds, though the places of Allen (second, 48.64) and dos Santos (third, 48.75) will be irrelevant in the semifinal.

Allen, a former Washington State standout who took second in the U.S. qualifiers, will line back up at Stade de France in Paris on Wednesday.

Norway’s Karsten Warholm posted a 47.57 for the fastest time in the first round. He won gold in Tokyo and has the third-best mark this season at 46.70, behind USA’s Rai Benjamin (46.46), a reigning silver medalist, and dos Santos (46.63).

Allen entered the Games ranked 10th at 47.81. He’ll need to place second in one of three semifinal heats, or have one of the two remaining fastest times to make Friday’s final.

• Lyles makes run for girlfiend: Anyone who was hoping for some humility from Noah Lyles will appreciate the story he told after easily winning his heat in the first round of the men’s 200 meters.

Hours after he had the world abuzz from his dramatic win in the men’s 100 meters, Lyles was making another run for his girlfriend. Jamaican sprinter Junelle Bromfield left her spikes at their massage therapist’s Airbnb, which Lyles said is next to the Olympic village.

He was on his way from the massage therapist back to the village when she asked him to pick up her bag with the spikes. Of course he did. His reward for the greatest moment of his professional life was carrying his bag, her bag “and some toiletries” to the Olympic village, walking gingerly to preserve his spent legs. At 2 a.m.

“Here I am,” Lyles said with a smile, feigning exasperation. “Olympic champion in the 100 meters, waddling to my girlfriend’s room with all this stuff. I’m a good boyfriend.” To be fair, she was scheduled to run in the first round of the women’s 400 meters at about noon on Monday. Lyles wasn’t scheduled to run until 9 p.m.

She finished third in her heat and qualified for the semifinals. Lyles was unaffected. He won his heat in a smooth 20.19 seconds. Though it was only the sixth-fastest time of the first round, it did nothing to dismiss his claims he won’t be beaten in the event.

• Allman wins second discus gold: American Valarie Allman dominated the field to win a second straight gold medal in the women’s discus throw.

Allman’s mark of 1981/2 feet was 61/2 feet further than second place.

• Duplantis vaults to world record: Sweden’s Armand Duplantis only needed to clear 19 feet, 8 inches, to win the gold medal in the men’s pole vault final. He wasn’t done there.

“Mondo,” as he is endeared to the fans, was going for the world record. He set the last eight. This time bar was set at 201/2 feet.

After missing his first two attempts, the crowd built to a slow clap. And as he cleared the bar the fans erupted for another world record from one of the greatest pole vaulters of his time.

He is the first back-to-back gold medal winner in the Olympics since American Bob Richards, who won in the 1952 Helsinki Games and the 1956 Melbourne Games. Only Duplantis and Richards have two Olympic golds in the event.

• Hassan chases treble: For the world’s most versatile runner, one down, two to go.

Sifan Hassan, of the Netherlands, may not have successfully defended her title in the women’s 5,000 meters, but with a silver medal in the first leg of what would be a historic Olympic treble, the 31-year-old continues to push the boundaries of belief in middle- and long-distance running.

Hassan, who possesses unmatched speed down the stretch, ran out of track as she tried to chase down Faith Kipyegon and Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, who won the race in 14:28.56, and had to settle for a bronze medal. Gudaf Tsegay, the world record holder, finished a disappointing ninth.

But minutes after the finish, officials disqualified Kipyegon for obstruction and elevated Hassan to the silver and Nadia Battocletti of Italy to the bronze. With the 5,000 out of the way, Hassan will shift her attention to the 10,000 meters, which will take place on Friday night. After that, she will have roughly 36 hours to recover for the marathon, which is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Biles closes with silver

GYMNASTICS: Simone Biles’ closing act of these Paris Games wasn’t a coronation. The world’s best gymnast didn’t step inside this arena and assert her dominance.

In a fitting end to her comeback story, Biles had to overcome disappointment, then reminded the world she is human. Two hours after missing out on a beam medal, Biles ended her competition with an imperfect performance on floor. She finished these Games on the second-place podium but already had earned three other medals here, all gold.

“I’m not very upset or anything about my performance at the Olympics,” said Biles, who admitted to being fatigued. “I’m actually very happy, proud and even more excited that it’s over – the stress of it.”

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who pushed Biles in the all-around final as well, won gold on floor with a less difficult routine but had the secure landings that Biles lacked. Andrade’s 14.166 narrowly edged Biles’ mark of 14.133. Biles’ U.S. teammate Jordan Chiles won the bronze after a last-minute score inquiry increased her mark by one-tenth. On the podium, Biles and Chiles bowed – facing Andrade and raising their arms up and down – to recognize the gold medalist.

U.S. takes 3x3 bronze

BASKETBALL: The U.S. women’s 3x3 basketball team rallied from a slow start to take bronze.

Team USA won five straight games after starting 0-3 and made it to the semifinals, where it lost to Spain in overtime 18-16.

The U.S. regrouped to beat Canada in the bronze -medal game 16-13 behind six points from Hailey Van Lith.

From staff and wire servies