SAVING HER BEST FOR LAST

Anchor-leg runner Richardson rescues US in 4xl00m; Thiam seals heptathlon three-peat

- 

United States sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson struck gold with a relay rescue act as Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam sealed her place in the pantheon of Olympic greats with a third consecutive heptathlon title on Aug 9.

Another spellbinding night of athletics action at the Stade de France saw the US add to their medal tally thanks to a stunning last leg from sprint star Richardson in the women's 4x100m relay.

The highly fancied American men's relay quartet, however, finished empty-handed after a disastrous performance saw them disqualified, with Canada storming to a memorable victory.

In the women's 10,000m, Kenya's Beatrice Chebet completed a long distance double with her second gold of the Games, four days after triumphing in the 5,000m.

It was a masterful performance from the diminutive East African known as the "smiling assassin", who timed her finish to perfection in 30min 43.25sec, ahead of Italy's Nadia Battocletti (30:43.35) and Sifan Hassan (30:44.12) of the Netherlands.

Said Chebet: "My country has never won a gold medal (in the women's 10,000m).