RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Ashton Eaton retained his title by tying the Olympic record in the decathlon, Ryan Crouser led an American one-two in the shot put with a new games record, and Kerron Clement delivered another gold for the United States in the 400 hurdles.
The "awesome hour" of the night before had evolved into a pretty great 24 hours for the U.S by Thursday night.
Also, the U.S. women's 4x100-meter relay team stayed on track for a medal, getting through on their second chance after re-running their race on their own because Allyson Felix was bumped making a handover in the preliminaries.