Lavillenie crowns his career with gold - Day eight evening session | 11.08.2012

Renaud Lavillenie won Olympic gold.

He has not had an unblemished season, but with only one blot on his copybook, ironically in the London Diamond League when he finished fifth, Renaud Lavillenie was the undisputed pole vault gold medal favourite.

The Frenchman confirmed the tag with a second time clearance at 5.97 to take gold while Germans Bjoern Otto and Raphael Holzdeppe took silver and bronze.

Lavillenie then tried for a new Olympic record of 6.02 (two attempts) and finally 6.07 but it was to no avail and he had to content himself with just the gold medal, not that he was disappointed.

“I can't really believe it,” said the Frenchman. “Maybe tomorrow I will wake up and realise that I am an Olympic champion. The Germans were very strong and they pushed me to my limits. This has to be the best thing in my life."

Turkish duo capture gold and silver

Anyone who had seen Asli Cakir win the European 1500m title with a withering last 800m of 2:03 and a final 400m of 58sec will not be surprised that she became Olympic champion.

So it seemed extraordinary that the rest of the world should play right into her hands by allowing the pace to dawdle until the last lap. As the field hit the bell, headed by Cakir’s trusty domestique, Gamze Bulut, who had been controlling the race from the start, the Turkish duo proceeded to churn up the field as they pleased.

At 1300m with Cakir up and away, gold medal favourite Abeba Aregawi of Ethiopia crept round the outside attempting to peg Cakir back in the home straight. Joining the charge was Bahrain’s Maryam Jamal, while Bulut bided her time, waited for the track to clear and then made her rush for home following her team-mate across the line with ease for Turkish gold and silver.

Final times were irrelevant owing to the early pace, but Cakir produced another sizzling 58sec last 400m to win in 4:10.23 with Bulut 0.23 down and bronze going to Jamal.

"We came here to take the gold and silver medals,” insisted Cakir. “We wanted two medals and we got them. It's like gaining two gold medals.
“I'm happy about the medal,” added Bulut. “I was expecting a medal but I didn't think it would be a gold and silver for us. Just this year I became European number two. Now I have a silver medal. It's like a dream."

This is the first time the same nation has occupied the first two places in the women’s 1500m final and Turkey’s first ever medals in the event.

Lysenko takes hammer gold

Tatyana Lysenko went into an early lead in the women’s hammer with a throw of 77.56 in the first round, a new Olympic record. It was a mark that was untroubled by the rest of the field until the fifth round when both Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland and world record holder Betty Heidler of Germany both started to encroach on the Russian’s territory.

Seeing the danger, Lysenko gathered herself and hurled the implement out to a new Olympic record of 78.18 in the fifth. It was just as well she did because in the final round, Wlodarczyk crept past her first round throw by 4cm.

It was a case of what might have been for the Pole because she had a huge throw in round four that came close to the world record but it landed outside the sector.

Heidler’s bronze medal winning throw in the fifth round had some controversy attached since it was lost in the electronic system for some time. She was given an extra throw to compensate (a foul) before finally the errant result was located and justice was done.

"I had trained hard and I was expecting strong results, but the Olympic Games are not like other competitions, the opponents are very strong,” said Lysenko. “Getting a medal is not easy. I was not sure I could achieve that, but of course I was hoping."

Lysenko now has a hat-trick of titles after winning European gold in 2006, the world title last year and now the Olympic crown.

National record for Ukraine in 4x100m

Ukraine set a national record of 42.04 to win bronze in the women’s4x100m relay behind winners, USA, who established a new world record of 40.82 with Jamaica also setting a national record of 41.41.

"We promised we'd fight for the gold and compete with USA and Jamaica,” said Elyzabeta Bryzgina who ran the anchor leg. “We feel happiness and want to thank our coaches and our other teammates."