U.S. track veteran Tianna Bartoletta had a figurative gold medal in her grasp and a literal grin on her face as she readied herself for a final attempt in the long jump. She didn’t have to make a final attempt. There were no competitors left to beat her. She was last in line.
Maybe she just wanted the joy of running down the approach one final time in the Olympic Games, or maybe she wanted to show that the jump of 7.17 meters that would win the women’s competition wasn’t any sort of fluke. Bartoletta put aside her smile long enough to surge down the ramp, hit the takeoff mark and set down another jump of 7.