USA's Jeff Henderson wins the gold medal in the Long Jump final to take gold. The American edged out South Africa's Luvo Manyonga by a single centimetre after jumping 8.38m.

Coming into the final, China's Wang Jianan had jumped the furthest with a jump of 8.24m. Jeff Henderson was one of the favourites for the title jumped 8.20m which put him in second. Uruguay's Emiliano Lasa jumped 8.14m and came into the final with the third fastest jump. Greg Rutherford the Olympic champion snuck into the final in 8th place following a 7.90m jump after receiving two fouls in his opening two jumps. 

Competition hots up

In a hotly contested final, the gold medal was up for grabs. Olympic champion Greg Rutherford, Jeff Henderson, Jarrion Lawson and Luvo Manyonga were all in with a shout of winning the title. 

After completing the leap of his life in what would be his las jump of the night, Lawson was threatening to snatch the gold medal. The 22-year-old had dragged his left hand into the sand behind him. 

Greg Rutherford who had just snuck into the top 10, threw in a fine jump on his first jump. The Milton Keynes-born athlete jumped 8.18m on his first jump. 

Jeff Henderson of the United States competes during the Men's Long Jump Fina (Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Jeff Henderson of the United States competes during the Men's Long Jump Final (Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The American duo of Henderson and Lawson were able to match him. Henderson took the lead with a huge jump of 8.20m with his teammate just a centimetre behind him with a jump of 8.19m. 

Henderson retained the lead throughout the second round of jumps. However, Greg Rutherford on his third jump went into the gold medal position landing at 8.22 to take advantage. Lawson, on the other hand, had different ideas. On his third turn, he overtook Rutherford and went top with a jump of 8.25m. 

Luvo Manyonga who had been watching the three battle it out then joined the party. On his fifth turn, he jumped 8.37m and went top. With one jump left, Henderson went all out and stole the gold from Manyonga by one centimetre with a jump of 8.38m. Rutherford still had one jump left but could only manage 8.29m which meant he came away with a bronze medal. Lawson finished down in fourth with a jump of 8.25m. 

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