Photo Credit: Christel Saneh for World Athletics
Kitaguchi out of javelin final
Jefferson-Wooden and Lyles take 200m gold
On a sensational day of athletics at the World championships in Tokyo on Friday, Pedro Pichardo grabbed the men’s triple jump gold in dramatic fashion in the final round with a world-leading 17.91m, Noah Lyles took his fourth 200m gold in a row and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed a sprint double .
World record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway was beaten in the men’s 400m hurdles final, finishing fifth in 47.58s.
Femke Bol expectedly retained her women’s 400m hurdles title in a world-leading 51.54s, without a challenge, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone having shifted her target to the pure flat and having won in the world best time in 40 years on Thursday.
America had success in the men’s 400m hurdles final, too, though that success seemed to have been jeopardised for a few anxious minutes when Rai Benjamin was disqualified and then re-instated to his and his country’s great relief. The Olympic champion was initially disqualified for having hit the final hurdles which the officials said impeded the others, but the gold was quickly restored on protest.
Benjamin who won his first world title said he thought he might have stepped on the line but in the end, it was all fine, he added.
It was a day when Japan and Asia had to endure the disappointment of seeing one of their three gold medallists from the last edition, javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi go out of the race in the qualification round. With 60.38m. Just as it was when defending men’s champion Neeraj Chopra finished eighth on Thursday in the men’s final and Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem came in tenth.
As though as slight compensation for the loss in women’s javelin came the bronze medal for Qatari Abderrahman Samba in the 400m hurdles in a season best 47. 06s. He had won the bronze in the 2019 edition at home, and was fifth at the 2021 Olympics and sixth at the 2024 Olympics. He is the reigning Asian Games champion and has a PB of 46.98s, also an Asian record clocked in 2018.
Another Olympic champion, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana bit the dust on Friday in the men’s 200m final, Lyles storming through the second half of the race, as is his wont, in brilliant fashion in 19.52s, his second best for the season behind his semifinal timing of 19.51s.
Pichardo kept asking his camp followers and those who wanted to shake hands with him as he went up to his Portuguese followers and officials: “Who is the best, who is the best”, after he produced that stunning 17.91m jump on his last attempt when Italian Andrea Dallavalle of Italy had seemingly taken the gold with his own last jump, a personal best 17.64m. The Italian, who had not won a global medal previously had celebrated spontaneously after his final jump but realised moments later that a more accomplished jumper was yet to come.
Lazaro Martinez of Cuba who was the silver medallist in the Budapest edition took the bronze with a season best 17.49m, on his second attempt. He had four fouls after that and also got injured in the last round.
Defending champion Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso did 16.92m on his fourth attempt to finish seventh. Outdoor world champion in Budapest he was making his last appearance on the world stage.
"I’m at peace with my decision to retire,” said Zango. He is an electrical engineer and plans to teach in Africa. He added that his academy would help young athletes get into American universities that could open up athletics careers.
At the very stadium where he had to settle for the bronze in the 200m, a pumped-up Lyles was unmatched this day over the last 50 metres in the 200m title defence.
“I can't wait for 2027 to become the only man to win five 200m titles,” he said.
“I don't have good memories from Tokyo in 2021. At that time, I was depressed, but this time I am energised,” said Lyles, the showman. Tebogo , the man who beat Lyles in the Tokyo Olympics did not know how he had botched up He was dejected.
American Kenny Bednarek, the perennial silver medallist once again settled for the second place in 19.58s while Jamaican Bryan Levell had the bronze in a PB 19.64s.
Was there any doubt about Jefferson-Wooden’s sprint double. Though Jamaican Shericka Jackson was a strong contender to take her third World title in succession, there was no matching Jefferson-Wooden. The American was able to build up an unbeatable lead coming into the final 50 metres that she just pulled away without challenge to clock 21.68s, the eighth fastest on the world all-time lists. She also became the first US woman to take the sprint double.
Briton Amy Hunt denied Jackson the silver in 22.14s. Jackson clocked 22.18s, visibly slowing down towards the finish after having unsuccessfully challenged the eventual champion up to the bend.
“Being the first American to win the women's 200m at a World Championships since Allyson Felix means a lot. I looked up to her so much growing up,” said Jefferson-Wooden.
“It is just a testament to my journey and how much faith I have, not only in myself but the people around me. Now I have one more gold to win” she said indicating that the shorter relay was her target next.
Femke Bol expectedly took the women’s 400m hurdles title for the second edition in succession. She clocked 51.54s, never untroubled on the finishing straight as American Jasmine Jones came home for second in 52.08s. Former champion and world record holder, Dalilah Mohammed of the US finished seventh in 54.82s.
Chinese Su Lingdan made the javelin final with 62.18m coming seventh in qualification while India’s Annu Rani came overall 29th with 55.18m. She had a season best of 62.59. Japanese Momone Ueda also did not progress with 60.49m.
India’s Gullveer Singh who had earlier failed in the 10,00m, failed to make the final in the men’s 5000m, finishing just a rung below Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who barely managed the last qualifying spot at eighth in his group with a sprint past the Indian over the final ten metres. Ingebrigtsen clocked 13:42.15 while Gulveer had 13:42.34. Eight top men each from the two heats qualified for the final.
Comments are closed.