At the halfway point of the men’s 10,000 meters final, Norway’s Sander Eitrem was about 1.5 seconds ahead of the pace set by the fastest time in the earlier heats, which belonged to Czechia’s Metodej Jilek.
Eitrem couldn’t keep the pace up, though, and Jilek takes the gold medal! It’s Czechia’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport, men’s or women’s, since 2014.
Silver goes to Vladimir Semirunniy of Poland, and bronze to Netherlands’ Jorrit Bergsma.
Italy’s Davide Ghiotto, the bronze medalist four years ago in Beijing, finished fourth, less than a second off third.
All three medalists are overjoyed at the result, jumping up and down and receiving lots of hugs.