By A Correspondent
Sydney McLaughlin wins 400 hurdles gold in world record time
The question when the women’s 400m hurdles participants lined up for the final on Friday at the Hayward Field was not whether Sydney McLaughlin could add her second World championships individual gold to her collection that included the Olympic title. It was about whether this amazing 22-year-old American could post yet another world record.
McLaughlin did just that, rewrote her own world record with a time of 50.68s! It was her fourth world record in 13 months.
China’s Olympic javelin champion Liu Shiying could manage only the fourth place (63.25m) after having looked poised to be among the medals at one stage. The defending champion, Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia claimed the gold with a world-leading 66.91m in the third round.
Haruka Kitaguchi who led the qualifiers into the final with 64.32m had to be satisfied with the bronze when American Kara Winger came up with a 64.05m on her last throw to edge the Japanese who had 63.27m. This was Japan’s first medal in the event in the World championships history.
India’s Annu Rani came seventh in the javelin final with 61.12m and was not pleased that she couldn’t produce her best after having done over 63 metres this season. The placing was an improvement over her eighth place in Doha three years ago.
The women’s 400m hurdles was expected to be a three-horse race, among McLaughlin, former world record holder Dalilah Muhammad of the US and the rising Dutch star Femke Bol. In the event, as the race progress it was clear it was going to be a race with just one star in focus.
By the time the runners came through the final bend, McLaughlin was well ahead of the others. Into the straight, she never slackened the pace. She was obviously determined to clock another world record if that could be had.
As she crossed the line to the full-throated cheers of the home fans, there was no wild celebrations, as is her wont. She sat down on the track as she accepted the congratulations from the rest of the field with a smile and then ran into her family and team waiting for her at the edge of the stands.
Bol split the American 1-2 with her second-place finish in a season best 52.27s, also her second best ever, while Muhammad, batting injuries and playing second fiddle to McLaughlin after taking the world title at Doha three years ago, timed her season best of 53.13s for third.
The final time of 50.68s beats the national record of many countries for the women’s 400m flat! Is it possible for McLaughlin to further better it? That would be the question from now onwards. It was a Herculean effort on Friday though she made it look like a simple one almost throughout with her pace and hurdling technique.
“Honestly, I just wanted to run and go for it,” Mclaughlin said. “That last 100 really hurt. “Through the final stages with the clock ticking away, the American grimaced a little, just fleetingly.
Michael Norman realised his ambition of winning a global medal, nailing the 400m in great style against the fast-finishing Kirani James of Grenada in dope44.29s.
It was not the best of timings the American could have hoped for to clock in winning the world title but it must have been highly satisfying for someone who had found it tough to win at the highest level.
World junior champion in 2016, Norman was out in the semis in the last World championships in Doha and finished fifth in the final of the Tokyo Olympic Games with 44.30s. He has a personal best of 43.45s clocked in 2019.
For a moment as the runners came through the final bend, it looked James might produce one of his typical bursts to grab the gold. That did not happen. Over the final 80 metres, Norman slowly inched ahead and finished comfortably with James home in 44.48s and Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith took bronze in 44.66s
The women’s 400m gold went to two-time Olympic champion Shuane Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas in a world-leading 49.11s. She led from start to finish, with Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino taking the silver after a strong finish down the straight that edged Barbados’s Sada Williams in 49.60s. Williams clocked a national record of 49.75s
In the women’s 35km walk, Peru’s Kimberly Garcia Leon added one more gold to go with her 20km walk title won earlier. She clocked 2:39:16 after having led through the race.
In a replica of the 20km walk results, the silver and bronze winners were also able to take their second medals from the championships. Poland’s Katarzyna Zdzieblo took the silver in 2:40:03, a personal best, while China’s Shijie Qieyang won the bronze in an Asian record of 2:40:37.
The sprint relays in both sections saw the Americans asserting their supremacy with world-leading times to coast through to the finals.
In the men’s qualification, China timed a season best 38.83s to finish 12th overall while Japan had the mortification of being disqualified along with Nigeria.
In the women’s 4×100 heats, China was ninth overall with 42.93s, its best for the season, while Japan finished 12th in 43.33s.
All 12 qualifiers for the men’s pole vault final recorded 5.75m but there was no direct qualification at 5.80m. The qualifiers included world record holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden and Filipino Ernest John Obiena. Saudi Arabia’s Hussein Assem Al Hizan, Japanese Seito Yamamoto and Chinese Bokai Huang, all with 5.65m at different placings, were among those who failed to go through.
