Rio 2016: Clement clings on for gold

Kerron Clement clung on in the closing metres to take gold in the 400 metre hurdles final to claim his first individual Olympic title.

Clement produced a controlled performance and was able to hold off Boniface Tumuti and Yasmani Copello to take the honours in 47.73 seconds – a season's best.

Jamaica's 4x100m relay teams cruised into the men's and women's finals, even though the men were without Usain Bolt.

Great Britain also qualified for both – the men as fastest losers – but the United States' women will have to wait to seal their place after dropping the baton in heat two.

A botched handover between Allyson Felix and English Gardner saw the baton hit the track, but after the former appeared to be impeded by the arm of a Brazilian athlete they appealed and were granted a re-run in Thursday's second session.

Ashton Eaton's advantage in the decathlon stands at 115 points with three events remaining, the American having had solid performances in the 110m hurdles and discus.

In the men's shot putt Joe Kovacs, Ryan Crouser, Darlan Romani, Tomas Walsh, Konrad Bukowiecki and Jacko Gill all achieved the automatic qualifying distance of 20.65m, with six others joining them in the final.

Meanwhile, Spain's Ruth Beitia led 17 qualifiers into the women's high jump final.

HIGHLIGHT

Clement was able to shrug off a false start from Javier Culson to make his mark on the Olympic stage, the American leading throughout to seal gold by 0.05 seconds from Tumuti.

RECORD BREAKERS

Season-best marks were beaten in the 4x100m relays, with Jamaica's female quartet heading that list with a time of 41.79 seconds.

United States' men achieved the same feat as they won heat two in 37.65secs, while Clement's gold-winning time was his best of 2016 and Tumuti claimed a new Kenyan record to take silver.

QUOTES

"I think I got propelled at about 20 miles an hour. When a foreign object comes in front of you, it's going to mess up the momentum and the handover," Allyson Felix explains her relay troubles.

"If you can't be happy with a lifetime best, I would be lying if I said I was complaining but I was so close - 0.5 of a second and I think I could have found it. Fourth is the worst place as you are so close," Ireland's Thomas Barr on his fourth place in the 400m hurdles.

"We are putting things together well but we'll have to change a few things for the final. There will be some changes that you will see tomorrow, Elaine (Thompson) will definitely be on," Jamaica ready to call on Thompson, says Veronica Campbell-Brown.

WHAT'S NEXT

Usain Bolt – who sat out the men's 4x100m relay – returns to the Olympic Stadium as he looks to claim the second part of his triple triple in the 200m, while Eaton will look to become the first man to retain decathlon gold since Daley Thompson in 1984.