World Athletics Championship: Barshim, Rojas claim third successive titles

Here are all the major results from Day 4 of the World Athletics Championship.

Published : Jul 19, 2022 09:42 IST

Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim (left) and Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas
Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim (left) and Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas | Photo Credit: AFP
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Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim (left) and Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas | Photo Credit: AFP

Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim won a third successive world high jump gold in style on Monday as he cleared a world-leading 2.37 metres with ease as all his rivals struggled to get close.

Barshim, who famously shared Olympic gold with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi last year, jumped beautifully all night to go well beyond his own season’s best of 2.30.

The title was just about secure after he had cleared 2.35 but he then eased over 2.37 as well. With the gold medal in the bag he had one attempt at a championship record 2.42 but failed.

World indoor champion Woo Sang-hyeok of South Korea needed three attempts to get over 2.33 but then also cleared 2.35 at the second attempt to take silver. Ukraine’s Andriy Protsenko collected bronze on the back of his 2.33 clearance

Tamberi had a nervous path into the final, twice failing at 2.25 and then twice again at 2.28 in Friday’s heats. In the final he failed twice at 2.30 but then cleared 2.33 in the second attempt before bowing out at 2.35 to finish fourth.

Rojas collects third straight triple jump world title

Meanwhile, Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas underlined her status as queen of the triple jump after the Olympic champion jumped 15.47 metres to win a third straight world title.

Jamaican Shanieka Ricketts collected her second consecutive world silver with a best first effort of 14.89m, leaping from the sand on her final attempt and running to the stands to hug her supporters.

American Tori Franklin took bronze, the United States’ first world medal in the women’s event.

Rojas, who bettered her own world record in March with 15.74m and is the first woman to win the triple jump outdoor championship three times, smiled broadly as the Venezuelan national anthem played at Hayward Field.

Rojas has set a goal to breach the 16m mark but after whipping up the crowd for her final attempt on Monday she finished well short.

Lyles puts 200m field on notice with red-hot heat

Reigning world champion Noah Lyles showed he is no mood to give up his 200 metres crown after setting a red-hot pace to win his heat.

The sprinting showman rounded the curve with ease before wagging his finger at the rest of the field down the straight to finish in 19.98 seconds and advance to Tuesday’s semifinals.

Celebrating his 25th birthday, Olympic bronze medallist Lyles said he had jitters during the three-day wait to compete in front of the home crowd.

His rivalry with fellow American Erriyon Knighton is expected to produce fireworks.

Lyles denied the 18-year-old a place on the podium at the Tokyo Olympics and ran past him down the stretch to clinch the national championship last month, prompting Knighton to storm off during a post-race interview.

Knighton got off to an explosive start on Monday before easing up near the halfway mark and cruising to victory in his heat in 20.01.

“I cannot ask for more, I am at the spot where I want to be,” said Knighton. “One of my best years, if not my best and I am just happy.”

Alexander Ogando, who helped the Dominican Republic pick up gold in the 4x400m mixed relay on Friday, equalled Knighton’s time in his heat, cruising past the U.S. Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek down the straight.

Two days after leading an American sweep of the 100m, Fred Kerley jogged through to the finish to win his heat but said he was “still in recovery mode”.

Canadian Andre De Grasse, the Olympic champion who took silver at the worlds three years ago, withdrew from the 200 after failing to qualify for the 100m final on Saturday.

Another Canadian, Aaron Brown, stumbled and fell forward after his blocks slipped but was issued a green card and allowed to run, finishing second in his heat behind 400m indoors champion Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago.

Thiam stands tall in 800m to win world heptathlon gold

Belgium’s double Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam reclaimed the world heptathlon title in emphatic style when she produced a personal best in the final 800 metres to see off the challenge of Dutch rival Anouk Vetter.

Vetter, who won silver behind Thiam in Tokyo last year, had gone into the final event 19 points ahead, equating to 1.3 seconds over 800m, but her personal best was more than two seconds slower than Thiam’s.

She was never able to pose a serious threat though, looking tired from the start, while Thiam showed her class by posting a massive personal best by more than two seconds of 2:13.00 to claim a second world gold after 2017.

“I worked really hard on the 800 so knew I could do a good time but think I needed that extra push of someone behind me,” Thiam said.

Thiam had lead at the end of Sunday’s action as she tallied her best-ever first day’s points total.

Vetter hit back with a personal best long jump and a strong javelin on Monday morning to edge into that slender lead.

American Anna Hall, 21 and a great prospect for future titles, took bronze and also had the pleasure of being cheered home as the winner of the 800m.

Britain’s defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who edged out Thiam in the 2019 worlds, was below-par throughout and finished eighth.

Brilliant Kipyegon storms to emphatic 1,500m gold

Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon stamped her authority on the women’s 1,500m final almost from the start and drove on relentlessly to take her second world gold in a startling three minutes, 52.96 seconds.

Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay and Briton Laura Muir, who matched Kipyegon stride for lung-busting stride until the last 300m, took silver and bronze.

Kipyegon, winner of the last two Olympic 1,500m titles, the 2017 world title and who picked up a world silver in 2019 a year after having a baby, came to Eugene on the back of posting the year’s fastest time on the same Hayward Field track in May.

She almost matched it on Monday as any thoughts of the sort of tactical race often seen in finals disappeared on the back of a 55.1 second opening lap.

The leaders went through 800m in 2.03 minutes, with the rest of the field flailing distantly in their wake. They stayed locked together through the bell but the Kenyan began to create daylight on the back straight and powered clear.

Tsegay, second in the world this year, finished in 3:54.52 while Tokyo silver medallist Muir clocked 3:55.28.

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