RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The noise echoing around the Olympic stadium swung suddenly from boos and jeers to victorious cheers around midnight, when Thiago Braz da Silva delivered Brazil's first track and field gold medal with unlikely win in the pole vault.
The 22-year-old Braz da Silva didn't wilt despite the dominance of defending champion Renaud Lavillenie, producing an Olympic record vault of 6.03 meters on Monday for a victory to delight the host nation.
Braz da Silva had misses at earlier heights, while the world-record holder Lavillenie was clean through 5.98.
The Olympic record put him gold-medal position, but Lavaillenie still had a chance to win.