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They set records that everyone saw coming and others that surprised the experts.
They suffered, fought and spoke their truth in a way that had never been heard before.
For nine days at the almost empty Olympic Stadium, the women of athletics put on a memorable spectacle, both inside and outside the lines.
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Here are some of the athletes who defined competition in Tokyo: Allyson Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, Sifan Hassan, Raven Saunders, Elaine Thompson-Herah.
It was a sport that needed a big boost, not only because of the one-year delay caused by the virus, but because no matter when they returned Usain Bolt would no longer draw eyes to the track simply by showing up.
The women delivered – not so much with the up-to-the-minute wellness and dance vibe that Bolt brought in, but with a series of performances and inspirational messages that showed the heart of their sport is still beating hard.
Some highlights included:
– Hassan and his relentless journey to three medals – two gold and one bronze – in three of the longest races held on the track.
She started with gold in the 5,000m, then came back with bronze in the 1,500m. She closed the show on Saturday with a run for the gold medal in the 10,000 – a race in which her vision was so clouded with exhaustion that she admitted she couldn’t see the finish line .
“I’m so happy,” she said after the odyssey ended – six races over eight nights covering 65 laps and 24 kilometers – “I’m relieved. I’m done. I can sleep.”
– McLaughlin, whose round-trip 400-meter hurdles with American teammate Dalilah Muhammad peaked at the Olympics.
It was a race that had been eagerly awaited and almost preordained to once again reset the world record that either had broken in three previous encounters.
And they lived up to the hype. McLaughlin lowered his own mark to 51.46 seconds. Equally impressive, Muhammad’s silver medal time of 51.58 would also have been a world record.
“I think these are two athletes who want to be their best,” McLaughlin said, “and knowing that there is another great girl who is going to help you get there.”
– The sprinters were fast throughout the run-up to the Olympics, so it was no surprise to see that pace continue in Tokyo.
But while most of the pre-Games buzz went to Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100) and American Gabby Thomas (200), who each briefly claimed their second-most-woman titles. fast in history over their respective distances, was Thompson-Herah who ended up there at the end.
After a slow start to the season with an Achilles tendon injury, Thompson-Herah swept the 100 and 200 sprints for the second time in a row. One more like that and she’ll match Bolt.
She ran the 200 in 21.53 and set the Olympic 100 record in 10.61 seconds. While this record might not be the most formidable of the benchmarks set by Florence Griffith Joyner a generation ago, in 1988 it had been around just as long.
Flo Jo’s world records of 10.49 and 21.34 are still valid. But for how long ?
“By the time I get to the Olympics, I’ll probably see what I’ve done,” said Thompson-Herah, who at 29, assures us that she is not yet finished. “Right now I’m just a normal girl.”
– The story of Raven Saunders has been an inspiration to all who have been overlooked or left behind. The black and gay American shot putter started wearing “Incredible Hulk” masks on the court – a way to project her fierce competitive spirit, but also a lighter side underneath.
After receiving his silver medal, Saunders crossed his arms and formed an “X” on the medal holder. “The meeting point for all oppressed people,” she explained.
It was the kind of message that many believe should not only be tolerated, but embraced, when Olympic athletes get their too short time in the limelight. The IOC, which after much debate and discussion over the past two years has consistently chosen to ban such protests, said it would look into the matter. All investigation was cast aside when Saunders’ mother unexpectedly died just hours after winning the medal.
– And Felix closed the show.
During five Olympics spanning 16 years – make that 17 – she was the epitome of class and speed. At 35, she called it a career, but not without doing what she does better than any living runner: winning medals.
Her bronze in the 400 and gold in the 4×400 relay gave her 11. She now has more than any track athlete in history, with the exception of one Finnish long-distance runner, Paavo Nurmi, who in won 12 between 1920 and 1928.
Felix has more to do. Since having baby, Cammy, in 2018, she has transformed into one of the most vocal advocates for women in sport.
“I feel like it was definitely a journey for me to get to the point where I guess I had the courage to do it,” Felix said.
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She won the platform with two decades of racing in which she won and lost, and kept coming back for more.
Now it’s time to see who takes their place.
Earlier in the competition, someone asked the hurdler Muhammad what she thought of all this female domination on the track – of the seven American gold medals in track and field, they won five.
“Women do it better,” she joked.
After watching them break records, overcome obstacles and deliver their messages for nine days and nights on the Olympic track, it was hard to say she was wrong.
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