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AFP
Rio de Janeiro
Two days of gruelling competition came down to two crucial seconds in the final 800m race, as Belgian pretender Nafissatou Thiam usurped Jessica Ennis-Hill as Olympic heptathlon champion.
At the end of a gripping competition, Thiam went into the two-lap race with a 142-point lead over the defending champion. Given the duo's personal bests over 800m, that equated to Thiam getting around within 9.47sec of Ennis-Hill to claim victory.
Although the Briton produced a sterling gun-to-tape showing, Thiam came in 7.47sec behind to ensure gold by the narrowest of margins.
"I went into the 800m knowing I had about nine or 10 seconds on Jessica," said the 21-year-old Thiam, whose gold was only Belgium's fourth athletics medal and first since 2008.
