Watch track and field … athletics, most of the world calls it … and you will see some strange things. (And, no, that does not include U.S. teams throwing the baton and throwing the baton during the 4×100 or 4×400 relays; that happens at every Olympics.)

Not many recent episodes, however, have been stranger that a red-headed Brit winning the men’s long jump, and a Brit and a Yank finishing 1-2 in the men’s 10,000.

How exotic was all this?

Greg Rutherford won the long jump with a mark of 8.31 meters (27 feet, 3.25 inches), the shortest leap to win Olympic gold since 1972, and the first victory by a Briton in the event since 1964.

It’s not a bad jump, but certainly nothing special. This list of the longest jumps in history indicates no fewer than 573 longer long jumps have been recorded in official competition.

And Rutherford won by 15 centimeters over an Australian, Mitchell Watt, and by 19 centimeters over the American Will Claye.

When Rutherford won, I had a mental image of 1 million American men in their 20s wishing they had taken up the long jump.

From 1896 through 2004, Yanks dominated long-jump gold at the Olympics, winning 22 of a possible 25 times (setting aside 1980, when the U.S. boycotted the Moscow Olympics; that would make it 22 of 26). Carl Lewis, alone, won it four times, from 1984 through 1996. And every American track fan knows of Bob Beamon’s record-trashing jump at Mexico City 1968.

Apparently, however, Americans have all but given up the event, because Claye’s modest effort, for bronze, was as good as it got.

But, modest jump or otherwise, there was Rutherford, hugging his coach, and the long jump world at his feet. It’s all about taking advantage of your opportunities, and some athletes appear to be having trouble timing their run-ups in the distance jumps at the Olympic Stadium. Rutherford did not.

A few moments later, Mo Farah of Team Great Britain won the men’s 10K, becoming the first holder of a non-African passport to win the event since 1984.  Yes, Farad was born in Somalia, and that is in the same neighborhood as Ethiopia, Kenya and Eritrea, three countries that have produced so many great distance runners over the past two generations, but his father was a British citizen.

Farah has “never run a foot” in Somalia, rising to stardom in Britain and training, ahead of the London 2012, in Oregon.

Just as big a surprise was who finished second — Galen Rupp, an American. No U.S. citizen had medalled in the 10,000 since 1964, when Billy Mills staged his upset victory at Tokyo.

Team Great Britain got another gold from Jessica Ennis, in the heptathlon, but anyone paying attention had seen that one coming.

The other two were shocks, and happily endorsed by Team GB, who only a few days before had been in agony while waiting for Gold No. 1 — but now are up to 14 gold, and counting, behind only the U.S. and China.