Women’s shot put: Michelle Carter
Carter claimed her gold medal in dramatic fashion. On her final throw, she overtook two-time defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand.
“It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Adams said to the Associated Press.
Men’s long jump: Jeff Henderson
Like Carter, Henderson claimed the gold medal on his final attempt, surpassing South Africa’s Luvo Manyonga and defending champion Greg Rutherford of Britain.
“I knew it was the winning jump after I saw it,” Henderson said to the Associated Press.
Men’s triple jump: Christian Taylor
Christian Taylor successfully defended his Olympic triple jump gold medal.
Will Claye, who also competed for the University of Florida, earned the silver medal.
“To do this with my brother, it’s a dream come true,” Taylor said to NBC’s Lewis Johnson.
Women’s 100m hurdles: Brianna Rollins
Brianna Rollins was the first to cross the finish line, followed by fellow U.S. hurdlers Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin. It was the first time U.S. women went 1-2-3 in an Olympic track event.
“We are genuinely friends,” Rollins told reporters afterwards.
Women’s long jump: Tianna Bartoletta
Tianna Bartoletta won the gold medal with a jump of 7.17m (23 feet, 6 ¼ inches). She edged fellow American Brittney Reese, the 2012 Olympic champion.
Bartoletta knew exactly how she wanted to celebrate.
“I am going to eat pizza,” she told reporters afterwards. “I have been on a strict diet for about 10 months now, so it will be nice to just not to think about what I am eating.”
Men’s 400m hurdles: Kerron Clement
Kerron Clement had the slowest reaction time in the field, but he recovered to clock 47.73 seconds.
Afterwards, he took his victory lap with an American flag that his mother gave him.
“Before we left the states, I told her to bring the flag, because I knew I was going to win,” Clement told reporters afterwards.
Men’s shot put: Ryan Crouser
Crouser smashed the Olympic record on his way to winning the shot put gold medal.
“It’s been a long road, and to get here and have everything to go essentially perfectly, words can’t describe how I feel right now,” he said to reporters afterwards.
Men’s decathlon: Ashton Eaton
Eaton became the first man to successfully defend an Olympic decathlon gold medal since 1984. Pushed by France’s Kevin Mayer, Eaton tied the Olympic record.
“I’m glad that this wasn’t just an easy walkthrough,” Eaton said to reporters afterwards. “I guess the decathlon is never just an easy walk through, but Kevin Mayer was there to push me to the test and I think I passed the test. I’m glad he was there to do that.”
Women’s 400m hurdles: Dalilah Muhammad
Muhammad won the first gold medal for a U.S. woman in the event.
“I had little hiccups in the race, but you have little hiccups in every race, and no race is perfect,” she said to reporters afterwards. “I just worked as hard as I could possibly work off the last hurdle.”
Women’s 4x100m relay team
The U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team ran the second-fastest time ever, after a baton gaffe in the first round that nearly cost the U.S. the opportunity to defend its 2012 Olympic title. The U.S. team featured, in order, Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, English Gardner and Tori Bowie.
“It was a team effort,” Bartoletta said to reporters afterwards. “It’s fun to be able to share that story, that crazy story, with these other ladies.”
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