LONDON — Greg Rutherford rode the atmosphere of a vocal, capacity crowd to win the long jump Saturday and deliver Britain its second Olympic track and field gold medal.
Rutherford collected his first medal in a major international meet with a best leap of 27-3 1/4. Mitchell Watt of Australia took silver at 26-9 1/4 and Will Claye of the United States secured bronze with a mark of 26-7 3/4.Texas Longhorns football standout Marquise Goodwin finished 10th with a best jump of 25-7 1/4.Reigning champion Merritt pulls out of 400 prelimDefending champion LaShawn Merritt of the U.S. pulled up in the backstretch of his 400-meter preliminary heat, stopped in his quest for a second straight Olympic title by an ailing left hamstring.Merritt got off to a bad start, fell behind early and stopped running after about 200 meters. He limped slowly off the track, an unsatisfying end to a tumultuous four years for the sprinter.Merritt served a 21-month drug suspension between Olympics and needed a ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport to become eligible for these games.He was the gold-medal favorite coming into London, but hurt himself in a tuneup race. His coach said this week that Merritt’s status for the Olympics was shaky.Merritt was expected to lead the Americans in the 4x400-meter relay, which starts Thursday.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
