The final full day of Olympic track and field action in Paris kicked off bright and early with an astonishing record.

Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola won gold in the men's marathon and set a new Olympic record in the process: 2:26.26. The record tumbled in spite of a treacherously hilly course in Paris, making Tola's triumph all the more staggering.

Later on, American Masai Russell claimed 100m hurdles gold, Kenya extended its streak to five consecutive 800m Olympic titles and Grant Fisher secured a bronze medal distance double. To cap the evening, both American 4x400m relay teams took home gold medals.

See below for full event recaps, highlights, athlete soundbites and more.

RESULTS

Until the final week of July, Tamirat Tola wasn’t even supposed to be in Paris this summer.

And yet the 32-year-old found himself hurling his body through the idyllic streets of Paris, past the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, as he won the men’s marathon gold medal in Olympic record time.

Despite running on the most challenging course in Olympic marathon history, Tola’s time of 2 hours, 6.26 seconds beat the previous the record set by Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru (2:06.32) by six seconds.

“I am happy today because I fulfilled my goal," Tola said. "I prepared well. I trained hard so I could win.

In my life, this is my great achievement.

Most astonishingly of all, Tola only found out recently that he was bound for Paris. On July 26, it was announced that Tola, the 2023 New York Marathon winner, would step in as a replacement for Sisay Lemma on the Ethiopian Olympic marathon team —Lemma had been forced to withdraw due to injury.

Tola is a second-time Olympian — he took 10,000m bronze in Rio and now joins rarified air as a medalist in two distance events. His still-growing résumé also includes a 2022 world title in the marathon, plus top-three finishes at the Tokyo and London Marathons.

Now, he can add some gold to the list.

On Friday, Tola broke out to a commanding lead by the 18-mile mark and only ballooned it from there. The trio of Deresa Geleta, Benson Kipruto and Bashir Abdi hounded him for a stretch — and Tola continually looked over his shoulder at them. But the Ethiopian didn't need to. He only continued to separate himself as downtown Paris came fully into view.

By the 24-mile mark, Tola’s advantage stood at 24 seconds. At the vaunted 26.2 miles, it was over. Running in the shadow of the striking Esplanade des Invalides, Tola — whose Olympic reality only set in 15 days ago — became an Olympic champion.

The Ethiopian held both hands high to the sky. Then, he placed them over his forehead in a daze. He draped his nation’s green, red and yellow flag over his back as the life-changing moment set in. Tola’s victory breaks a 24-year Ethiopian drought in the event — he’s the first gold medalist since Gezahenge Abera at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Behind him, Abdi (2:06.27) took silver, the best Olympic marathon finish in Belgium’s history. Kenya's Kipruto claimed bronze in 2:07.00.

The American training partner duo from Utah of Conner Mantz and Clayton Young fittingly finished back-to-back: Mantz eighth, Young ninth. Halfway through, Mantz was still in the top two, trailing Tola by just a second. U.S. teammate Leonard Korir finished 63rd in 2:18.35.

Tola aced the tricky test with the record that now belongs to him, the same test that claimed two-time defending Olympic champion and marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya. Kipchoge, 39, came up gimpy as the incline began to set in — he was seen grabbing his left leg. Kipchoge slowed down and did not finish. The hills consumed another top favorite: 42-year-old Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, a three-time Olympic champion in the 5000m and 10,000m. 

And Tola — who didn't have Paris on his summer plan — will soon fly home with a record-breaking Olympic gold.

RESULTS

As the calendar flipped to 2024, Masai Russell was without any titles – no NCAA titles, no U.S. titles, no world titles.

Then in June, Russell took home the national title, winning the women’s 100m hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials to qualify for her first Olympics.

Now, the 24-year-old from Potomac, Maryland can add an Olympic title to her résumé. Russell won gold in the Paris Olympic women’s 100m hurdles final on Saturday in a photo finish, edging Frenchwoman Cyrena Samba-Mayela by one hundredth of a second for her first Olympic medal.

"I just took off running," Russell said. "It's literally what I imagined. I could barely sleep last night. I was tossing and turning because I kept dreaming about my name coming up No. 1.

When it actually came up, I was like, 'stop playing me, stop playing me.'

Russell posted a time of 12.33 seconds, which was enough to barely squeak by Samba-Mayela, who took silver at 12.34. Samba-Mayela, who crumbled to her knees overcome with emotion as the French crowd roared for her, can also claim Olympic medal No. 1.

Defending gold medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn started on fire but fizzled late and, at 12.36 seconds, is the bronze medalist.

RESULTS

For the eighth consecutive Olympics, the U.S. women’s 4x400m relay team stands atop the podium.

Shamier Little, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas and Alexis Holmes ran a dominant relay in 3:15.27 to take home gold. That time is the second-fastest in history and just a tenth of a second shy of the world record set in 1988 by the Soviet Union.

McLaughlin-Levrone erupted for a 47.71-second split in her second leg sprint, which pulled the Americans far beyond the field. In the women’s 400m flat race, that time would stand as the second-fastest in history.

This continues a stretch of dominance for the American women’s 4x400m relay squad that dates back to the 1992 Barcelona Games. And after the women’s 4x100m quartet of Thomas, Sha’Carri Richardson, Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry and Melissa Jefferson took home gold, the U.S. women have swept the relays in four of the past five Olympics.

Thanks to the relay victory, Thomas leaves Paris with three gold medals (200m, 4x100m and 4x400m relays), and McLaughlin-Levrone heads home with two (400m hurdles and 4x400m relay).

RESULTS

The U.S. men’s 4x400m relay team has claimed its 19th gold medal. No other nation has more than two.

Chris Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Bryce Deadmon and Rai Benjamin posted an Olympic-record time of 2:54.43 to topple Botswana and Great Britain, who took silver and bronze, respectively.

The U.S. men’s 4x400m team has now topped the podium in six of the past seven Olympic Games – and their triumph serves as relief for the U.S. men’s relays after another frustrating disqualification by the men’s 4x100m relay team.

In an electrifying final 200m, Benjamin went step-for-step with Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo in a matchup of two men fresh off gold medals (Benjamin in the 400m hurdles, Tebogo in the 200m). Benjamin soared down that last stretch, holding off an intense challenge from the 21-year-old Botswanan. In the end, Benjamin secured U.S. gold by just one tenth of a second.

"It's nothing that we don't see at home," Benjamin said. "We know what to expect.

This is the easy part, coming out here and believing in ourselves and trusting each other.

Since he ran in the heats on Thursday, 16-year-old Quincy Wilson, 16, breaks Bob Mathias’ record as the youngest male Olympic track and field gold medalist ever.

With the relay gold, Bailey has also captured his first Olympic medal.

RESULTS

After stunningly failing to earn a medal in the men’s 1500m final – which he won in Tokyo – Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen has ensured he’ll head home with hardware. The 23-year-old claimed gold in the men’s 5000m Olympic final with a time of 13:13.66.

Ingebrigtsen entered as a favorite to earn a medal after winning back-to-back world championships at the 5000m distance. He didn’t run in this event at the Tokyo Games and now is one-for-one in the Olympic 5000m.

Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi secured silver, his first Olympic medal. It's also Kenya's 10th medal in the men's 1500m, trailing only Finland (13) in history.

Continuing his Paris Olympic triumphs, American Grant Fisher completed a historic bronze medal distance double. After taking 10,000m bronze to start his Paris Olympics, Fisher stormed ahead in the bell lap in this final to claim 5,000m bronze, adding to his collection. Fisher came to Paris without any Olympic hardware – he’ll soon return home to Michigan with two Olympic bronzes. Fisher is the first American man in history to secure medals in each event. 

"After the first medal, it was a bit of a relief," Fisher said. "With this one, I had nothing to lose. I’ve been dreaming about a medal for so long. Sometimes it comes slowly, and then all at once. This Olympics, it came all at once. It’s really challenging to do that double. 

My legs are completely toast now, but it feels really, really good.

The U.S. has now claimed a medal in nine of the 10 individual men's track events at the Paris Olympics.

RESULTS

For an unprecedented five consecutive Olympics, a Kenyan reigns supreme in the Olympic men’s 800m.

22-year old Emmanuel Wanyonyi edged Canadian Marco Arop by one hundredth of a second in a near-photo finish to win his first Olympic gold medal. Wanyonyi’s time of 1:41.19 is the fifth-fastest time in the history of the event, and he’s become the youngest 800m gold medalist ever.

“This race was tough for me," Wanyonyi said. "I told myself that this race is not easy because it’s the Olympics, so I need to run my [personal best] to win this. That’s why I decided to run in front."

For Kenya, their astounding streak of dominance lives on. Not since the 2004 Athens Games, when Russia’s Yuri Borzakovsky took gold, has a non-Kenyan won this event.

Arop, the silver medalist by .01, has earned his first Olympic medal while setting a lifetime best. He was eliminated in the semifinals at the Tokyo Games and now graces a podium. It's Canada's first men's 800m Olympic medal since Bill Crothers took silver in 1964.

"I had a great night," Arop said. We've been fighting for this day all year long and we thought we'd timed it right.

I just couldn't be happier with the way I performed.

 Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati claimed bronze for his first Olympic medal. American Bryce Hoppel missed the medal podium by just 0.17 seconds. His time of 1:41.67 sets a new U.S. record.

Never before have four men broken 1:42 in an 800m race – and tonight in Paris, these four athletes did just that.

RESULTS

Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon has become the first woman in history to win the 1500m Olympic final three times. After victories in Rio and Tokyo, Kipyegon has prevailed in Paris. 

On top of it, the 30-year-old legend set a new Olympic record with her time of 3:51.29, winning by over a full second. She joins a trio of track icons — Paavo Nurmi, Usain Bolt and now Kipyegon — as the only athletes in Olympic history to win an individual track race at three Olympic Games.

"I knew the Olympic record was going to go down today," Kipyegon said. "All the women were very strong, everybody was in good shape and everybody was going for this gold medal.

This is what was in my mind, just execute and just defend the title.

Australia’s Jessica Hull, a former NCAA champion at the University of Oregon, kicked hard at the stretch to secure a silver medal, the first women’s 1500m Olympic medal in Australian history.

Georgia Bell of Great Britain took home a bronze medal with her time of 3:52.61. After injuries took her away from the sport for five years, Bell has completed a phenomenal comeback all the way to an Olympic podium. Her time also sets a new British record in the event.

Americans Nikki Hiltz and Elle St. Pierre finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

RESULTS

New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr took down American Shelby McEwen, clearing a height of 2.34 meters in a dramatic jump-off to seal his first Olympic gold medal.

Kerr and McEwen both hit lifetime bests of 2.36m earlier in the night to force the jump-off, where the Kiwi sealed the deal. The 6-foot-6 Kerr is an Olympic champion for the first time – he also held off McEwen in a razor-close battle at 2024 World Indoors, where Kerr took gold and McEwen silver.

McEwen’s silver makes him the first U.S. man to earn an Olympic medal in high jump since Erik Kynard won gold in 2012. Kynard was initially awarded a silver medal, but it was upgraded to gold when Russia’s Ivan Ukhov’s result was disqualified for doping. Kynard officially received his gold medal at a ceremony under the Eiffel Tower on Friday.

In his final competition before retiring, 33-year-old Mutaz Barshim of Qatar secured his fourth Olympic medal (2012 silver, 2016 silver, 2020 gold, 2024 bronze). Barshim reached a max height of 2.34m to go out with Olympic hardware.

Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, who shared Tokyo Olympic gold with Barshim, persevered through two Paris hospital visits (including one earlier on Saturday morning) to make it to Stade de France in time for the competition, where he cleared 2.22m to valiantly finish 11th.

RESULTS

Japan's Haruka Kitaguchi took home women's javelin gold, the first medal in the event for Japan. Kitaguchi stormed to the lead with an opening throw of 65.80 meters and held on to become an Olympic champion. The medal is the first for Japan in Olympic track and field since 2004, when Mizuki Noguchi won women's marathon gold.

"I cannot believe this," Kitaguchi said. "This wasn’t easy for me. Before, I couldn’t train well, but my physio and my team believed in me. Without their help, I can't get gold today."

South African Jo-Ane van Dyk took silver with a 63.93m toss, and Nikola Ogrodnikova of Czechia claimed the bronze medal.