Gold: Nafissatou Thiam (Belgium)
Silver: Jessica Ennis-Hill (Great Britain)
Bronze: Brianne Theisen-Eaton (Canada)
Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis-Hill ran a season’s best in the 800m, the final event of the heptathlon, but it was not enough to catch Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam.
Since winning the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, Ennis-Hill got married and had a son.
Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton, the wife of U.S. decathlete Ashton Eaton, earned the bronze medal. It was the first Olympic heptathlon medal for Canadian athlete.
Throughout the two-day competition, Eaton supported his wife by wearing a red “Canada” hat.
Several social media users were critical of Eaton’s attire, even calling him a “traitor.” Eaton fired back:
USA Track and Field and Athletics Canada helped diffuse the situation, referring to the couple as “#TeamNorthAmerica.”
Eaton will begin his quest to defend his Olympic decathlon gold medal on Wednesday.