The penultimate day of track and field at the Paris Olympics is already halfway done following a morning of qualifying.

The first rounds of both the men's and women's 4x400m came and went as the favorites avoided chaos, and there some big moves in the standings of the women's Heptathlon, including a new gold medal favorite.

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16-Year-Old Quincy Wilson Makes Olympic Debut, Botswana Leads Qualifiers

Even though he's not even a day removed from winning his country's first Olympic gold medal, Botswana's Letsile Tebogo got the job as he clocked 44.40 on the first leg. His countrymen brought the baton home in 2:57.76, the fastest time of the morning.

Great Britain and the United States finished second and third, both running under three minutes in 2:58.88 and 2:59.15.

It wasn't easy by any means, but Vernon Norwood's composed 43.70 split kept the Americans in contention as they eventually finished third with an automatic qualifier. In his Olympic debut, the 16-year-old phenom gained valuable experience and helped his team to the final.

Both Japan and Zambia went through on time as well, with the top five nations in heat one advanced to the final. 

It was a European sweep in the second heat, as France, Belgium and Italy ran or matched their season best, with the French clocking 2:59.53.

Nafissatou Thiam Overtakes Heptathlon Lead With 800m To Go, Anna Hall 130 Points From Podium

After keeping things close the first day, Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam made a huge pass on Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the two-time world champion. 

Thiam made her move by winning the javelin, the Heptathlon's penultimate event. The two-time defending Olympic champion put herself in a strong position to win an unprecedented third straight gold medal. 

Thiam was the second best performer in this morning's long jump, and the third best in the javelin, notching 1917 points in total, while Great Britain's Johnson-Thompson tallied 1748 in both events.

Thiam sits in the gold medal position with 5924 points, while Johnson-Thompson has 5803.

This evening's 800m race could potentially produce a lot of movement throughout the leaderboard, especially with a group of women fighting for bronze.

United States Women Run Season Best, Lead 4x400m Qualifiers

It was business as usual for the U.S. women, as they led all qualifiers in the first round of the 4x400m. 

Running a season's best of 3:21.44 and being the only team under 3:22 should give the defending champions a little confidence heading into the final, but there are more than a few countries that would love to take down the favorites.

Great Britain, France, Jamaica and Belgium all ran under 3:25 as they qualified, followed by Netherlands, Ireland and Canada.

In the grand scheme of things, the Americans are the overwhelming favorite in part to their unmatchable depth, but it will be interesting to see what happens after all eight countries reveal their final four.

Bryce Hoppel, Gold Medal Favorites Advance To 800m Final

There were a few familiar names that didn't quite make it through to tomorrow's final, but it was smooth sailing for the most part.

Algeria's world leader Djamel Sedjati and Botswana's Tshepiso Masalela held on in a close opening heat, as the pair ran 1:45.08 and 1:45.33 to take the only two automatic spots.

Defending world champion Marco Arop and France's Gabriel Tual led the way in the middle semifinal, both cruising through in 1:45.05 and 1:45.16.

The final heat was unsurprisingly the fastest heat, as Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi and America's Bryce Hoppel crossed in a brisk 1:43.32 and 1:43.41.

Great Britain's Max Burgin and Spain's Mohamed Attaoui earned both time qualifiers, with the Brit snagging a PB along the way to the final.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn & All Three Americans Punch Ticket For 100mH Final

It's going to be a battle of the ages in Saturday's 100mH final, while a trio of American women will try and take down Puerto Rico's defending gold medalist, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

Alaysha Johnson led the way for all qualifiers, running 12.34 in the second heat. Camacho-Quinn and former collegian Grace Stark dipped under 12.40, as the pair went 12.35 and 12.39.

American Masai Russell went 12.42 to finish second in the final heat, while Devynne Charlton (BAH) and Nadine Visser (NED) took second in the first two heats to earn themselves a spot in the final. 

When Are The Paris 2024 Olympic Games?

The Olympics begin on July 26 and end on August 11. The track and field events began on Aug. 1. 

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