American Cole Hocker delivered one of the all-time Olympic shocks when he won the 1500m gold with a stunning finish to blast past world champion Josh Kerr as defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen faded to fourth on Tuesday.
The race had been billed as a showdown between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr and the Norwegian set a hot pace as he led coming into the last 200m.
Briton Kerr, just as he did in last year's world championships, surged past him and looked set for victory, only for Hocker to find a way through on the inside.
His winning time of 3:27.65 was an Olympic record and a massive personal best by more than three seconds.
Kerr posted a national record 3:27.79 and Yared Nuguse took bronze for the US in another huge personal best of 3:27.80.
Ingebrigtsen finished fourth in a time faster than his Olympic record set in Tokyo, but the double world champion over 5000m has another shot at a medal as he goes in the heats over that distance on Wednesday.
'I was surprised with how fast we ran'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 6, 2024
Jakob Ingebrigtsen chats to @davidgillick after missing out on a medal in 1500m after setting the pace throughout#RTESport #Paris2024
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Elsewhere American Gabby Thomas finally claimed the global title she has promised for so long when she delivered a dominant performance to take 200m gold, denying silver medallist Julien Alfred a sprint double.
Thomas, 27, took bronze in Tokyo and silver in last year's world championships, and she has been vocal about her quest for gold ever since.
She was in control throughout the final, coming home in 21.83 seconds and breaking into a wide smile of disbelief, hands on her head, when she crossed the finish line.
Alfred, who claimed Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal when she won the 100m on Saturday, was fastest out of the blocks but was a clear second in 22.08, with Brittany Brown taking bronze for the US in 20.20.
Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou took gold in the men's long jump, ahead of Jamaican Wayne Pinnock in silver and Italy's Mattia Furlani who claimed bronze.
The world champion clinched the title with his second attempt of 8.48 metres in a sombre effort, as he only cracked a grin once he was able to embrace his team in the stands.
Tentoglou became only the second man to retain his long jump title after American great Carl Lewis, who won four straight from 1984 to 1996.
Bahrain's Winfred Yavi won the women's 3,000m steeplechase gold medal, dethroning Uganda's Peruth Chemutai who had to settle for silver.
Yavi jumped for joy after crossing the line, having overtaken Chemutai with an explosive final sprint that left the Ugandan who had led most of the race unable to respond.
In the women's hammer throw, Canadian Camryn Rogers emerged victorious, with Annette Echikunwoke of the USA getting silver and China's Zhao Jie in bronze.
