Defending Olympic gold isn’t easy -- Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium made sure of that. Thiam overcame Jessica Ennis-Hill in the women’s heptathlon to win gold in Rio, scoring 6,810 points to break the Belgian national record.
Olympics 2016: Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium wins gold medal in women’s heptathlon
The 21-year-old had a huge second day to overcome Jessica Ennis-Hill, the defending Olympic champion.
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Ennis-Hill of Great Britain finished second with 6,775 points while Canada’s Brianne Thiesen Eaton won bronze with 6,653 points.
The heptathlon is a seven-event competition held over two days. The women compete in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin throw and 800 meters, with a set amount of points awarded based on the athlete’s performance in each event.
Thiam outscored Ennis-Hill by 107 points on the second day of competition -- the long jump, javelin and 800 meters -- to win the gold over the defending champion. For Thiam, the daughter of a Belgian mother and a Senegalese father, it was her first Olympic medal in her first Olympic Games. At 21, the already dominant athlete has a bright future in the sport.
Thiesen Eaton is married to Ashton Eaton, the world’s best decathlete (a 10-event competition, also held over two days). Ashton Eaton wore a Canada hat while cheering for his spouse, much to the ire of Twitter.
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