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:As the 2024 athletic season comes to a close, one of the most compelling stories emerges from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam made history in the combined events. Thiam retained her Olympic heptathlon title for a second time, becoming the first combined events athlete to win three Olympic gold medals.

Thiam's victory was hard-fought, with a tight competition against Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson. The Belgian athlete finished with 6880 points, just 36 points ahead of Johnson-Thompson, who scored 6844 points. This narrow margin was reminiscent of Thiam's previous Olympic win in Rio 2016, where she edged out Jessica Ennis-Hill by a single point.

The competition saw several lead changes between Thiam and Johnson-Thompson. Thiam took the lead after achieving an outdoor personal best of 15.54m in the shot put, but Johnson-Thompson stayed close, regaining the lead overnight. However, Thiam's season-best javelin throw of 54.04m gave her the initiative going into the final 800m event. Despite Johnson-Thompson's strong performance in the 800m, clocking a personal best of 24.90, Thiam secured the gold with a personal best of 2:10.62.

Noor Vidts, Thiam's compatriot, earned her first major outdoor medal with a bronze finish and a personal best score of 6707 points. The event also saw five women surpass the 6600-point mark, a notable achievement in the heptathlon.

On the men's side, Markus Rooth of Norway won the decathlon with a national record of 8796 points, ahead of Germany’s Leo Neugebauer and Lindon Victor of Grenada. This decathlon was marked by high scores, with all three medallists exceeding 8700 points, a rare feat in Olympic history.

#:Paris2024,#NafissatouThiam,#Heptathlon,#Decathlon,#OlympicGames