That's why I think there should be two silver medals, immediately given to the winner of two semi-finals. If you think about any sport with a one-on-one final,

That's why I think there should be two silver medals, immediately given to the winner of two semi-finals. If you think about any sport with a one-on-one final, the silver medal is for the loser of that final. But the same team/athlete won a semi-final and were probably excited when they did. So just hand them the medal at that point. Things are a tad more complicated for tournaments with 3+n finalists. But I have the feeling that being the second-fastest out of ten sprinters is not a bad thing.