Golden double for Hassan

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands completed an unprecedented 1500m and 10,000m double at the World Athletics Championships at the Khalifa Stadium in record time.

The 26-year-old ran the sixth all-time best in the distance, recording a championships record of 3:51.95.

Defending world champion and reigning Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon finished a distance second with a Kenyan record of 3:54.22.

Bronze went to Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, who slashed more than three seconds from her previous in a personal best 3:54.38. In a top quality race, Shelby Houlihan of the US posted a regional best of 3:54.99 in fourth while Laura Muir of Great Britain set a season’s best 3:55.76.  Muir’s training partner Gabriela Debues-Stafford set a Canadian record of 3:56.12 in sixth.

In a further measure of the remarkable quality of the race eight women dipped under the previous championship record of 3:58.52 set by Tatyana Tomashova in Paris 2003.

It was Debues Stafford who led at the start ahead of Houlihan, but that lasted only for 300m. Hassan surged to the front and never looked back. She was closely followed by Tsegay and Kipyegon and as the race settled into a pattern.

She reached the two-lap mark in 2:05.92 with Kipyegon in second from her countrywoman Winny Chebet in third. On the penultimate lap Muir was the big mover accelerating quickly down the back straight from mid-pack to slot in behind Hassan.

She reached the bell in 2:52.69 and quickly opened up an advantage, leaving the rest of the field to fight it out of the other medals.

At the home straight she held a massive 15m lead and crossed the line in 3:51.95 for a European record time.The time has only been bettered once in the last 22 years and is the fastest women’s 1500m time ever achieved the world championships series.

 “This is amazing for me. This is such an honour. It was amazing when I crossed the line and I saw the time. I was so happy. I felt good after the 10k, so I decided to go for the 1500m. It looked like it was easy for me but it took so much hard work,” said the jubilant Hassan.

Magical shot put

Joe Kovacs, Ryan Crouser and Tom Walsh combined to put on the greatest shot put competition in World Championships history, trading blows in the final round that bludgeoned the world all-time list.

With the opening effort of the men’s shot put final, Ryan Crouser produced the longest throw in World Championships history with 22.36m. By the end, that mark was just the equal-seventh best of the night in what proved to be the greatest – and closest – shot put competition ever.

USA’s 2015 world champion Joe Kovacs produced one of the biggest upsets of the championships by unleashing a final-round effort of 22.91m to take the title. After a thrilling final round, just one centimetre ultimately separated the three medallists with Crouser taking second place on countback from Tom Walsh, both throwing 22.90m.

The opening round had very much set the tone. Crouser’s initial 22.36m added 13 centimetres to the championship record that had been held by Switzerland’s Werner Gunthor back in 1987. Brazil’s Darlan Romani opened with 21.61m and New Zealand’s Jacko Gill followed with 21.41m. The distances could have given them them gold at all World Championships from 1991 to 2013.

In the final throw of the first round Walsh sent his 7.26kg shot flying out to 22.90m – the fifth-best throw in history, the longest in the world since 1990 and enough to move the New Zealander up to fourth on the world all-time list.

More big throws came in round two. Romani unleashed a 22.53m put to move into second place and Kovacs managed 21.63m to climb up to fourth place.

At the half-way point, Canada’s Tim Nedow (20.85m), Czech Republic’s Tomas Stanek (20.79m) and Croatia’s Filip Mihaljevic (20.48m) all missed out on making the top-eight cut, despite producing marks that would have been sufficient for a medal at the 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997 World Championships.

Kovacs moved up the standings again in the fourth round, improving to 21.95m. Romani followed it with 22.13m, and then Crouser improved to 22.71m, the second-best throw of his life to close in on Walsh’s lead. For the third round in succession, Walsh sent his shot flying way out beyond the 22-metre line but fell out of the circle.

The leader board took another shake-up in the sixth and final round. Kovacs stepped into the circle for one last time, spun around and produced the throw of his life. As it landed beyond the 22-metre line, it was clear that he had got into the medal standings but he had to wait a few moments for the score board to confirm his mark. His 22.91m was not only a lifetime best, but it had moved him into the lead, one centimetre ahead of Walsh.

Romani was next to throw but he spun out of the circle. It was then Crouser’s last chance to improve – and that he did, matching Walsh’s 22.90m effort. Given his superior next-best mark of 22.71m, Crouser moved into second place.

With the crowd still roaring in delight following the mammoth efforts from Kovacs and Crouser, Walsh walked into the circle to take the final throw of the final. Once again, his shot landed beyond the furthest-placed white line, but once again he failed to stay in the circle.

Walsh ended the competition as the sixth-best thrower in history but just the third best on the night. The final produced three of the seven best throws in history. It was also the first competition in which four men threw beyond 22 metres and the first major championships final with eight men throwing beyond 21 metres.

“Coming into this competition, I was hoping for a PR, and then I saw Ryan throwing far and the others throwing far.  I just cannot be happier to get the gold medal. This is definitely the final that made history,” said Kovacs, who took Olympic silver in 2016 and world silver in 2017.

Obiri’s smashes record

In the women’s 5000m final Kenya’s Hellen Obiri retained her title in a championship record of 14:26.72. The race saw eleven finalists breaking their personal bests.

The Kenyan was suitably rewarded for a run of utter determination from the moment she took the lead towards the end of the second lap – a lead she never relinquished.

Obiri’s team-mate Margaret Kipkemboi overtook Konstanze Klosterhalfen in the home straight for silver clocking a personal best of 14:27.49, with her German rival winning the bronze in 14:28.43.

Obiri took over from the early leader, Eilish McColgan of Britain, and by the 3000 metres she was leading a group of six who were clearly going to contest the medals.

At the bell it looked as if Kipkemboi was about to make a move, but before she could, Obiri had made her own, moving into top gear.

“We have such great runners in Kenya. I worked hard to prove that we can win. It was not easy to run the Championship record without pacemakers! But I felt the energy from the crowd and stayed focused.

“I just told my coach to let me focus on the 5000m and I will do my best. It was a long season – the cross-country events, the Diamond Leagues, then the Championships. I think I need to take one month off and then we will see. Maybe I can try the 10,000m for the Olympics,” said Obiri.

Rojas soars again

Twenty-three year old Yulimar Rojas won her second consecutive world title in the triple jump.

The Venezuelan took command early with a 14.87m effort in the opening round and all but sealed the victory in the second, reaching 15.37m, the second farthest leap of her career, just four centimetres shy of the personal best she set just one month ago in Andujar, Spain.

Only three women have ever jumped farther than Rojas’s winning leap tonight; behind her nobody could come remotely close.

“It’s been a long and successful year. I came out to break the world record – I tried in the first three rounds but then I felt tired and my legs didn’t respond as I wanted. But I am super happy and grateful,” she said.

Jamaican Shaneika Ricketts, who upset Rojas to take the Diamond League title in Zurich in late August, managed a 14.92m jump in round three, just a centimetre shy of her winning mark in Zurich. But t was only good enough for silver.

Colombian Catherine Ibarguen took the bronze with a 14.73m effort in the fifth round secured the bronze.

Fraser-Pryce adds relay gold

Individual 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce added yet another gold medal to her collection by helping Jamaica to victory in the women’s 4x100m.

And the Jamaican’s did it without double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, who withdrew from the championships before the 200m got under way. 400m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson was drafted in her place.

They were still a dominant force as they won comfortably in 41.44, holding off Great Britain & Northern Ireland (41.85) and USA (42.10).

Natalliah Whyte got the team off to a strong start and was level with Britain’s Asha Philip and USA’s Dezerea Bryant at the first exchange. Each of the big three teams had put their strongest runner on the second leg and Fraser-Pryce put Jamaica into the lead at the half-way point, edging ahead of 200m winner Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain and US 100m champion Teahna Daniels.

Jamaica’s 100m finalist Jonielle Smith ran a storming bend to extend her team’s lead before handing over to Jackson on anchor. The 25-year-old, who clocked a windy 11.03 for 100m earlier this year, received the baton with a clear lead and, if anything, extended it down the home straight, crossing the line in 41.44, the eighth fastest performance in history.

 “This success did not come without hardship and pain and sacrifices.There are so many things that have happened on this journey,” said Fraser-Pryce.

Coleman leads the way in relay

The American men’s 4x100m relay team led off by individual 100m champion Christian Coleman and anchored by individual 200m champion Noah Lyles stormed to the gold in a time of 37.10.

It was the second fastest time ever run behind the 36.84 recorded by the Jamaican team that Usain Bolt anchored to victory at the London 2012 Olympic Games. It also beat the US record of 37.38 set at the 2015 World Relays.

Despite losing their title, the British quartet were also left smiling as they put it all together to take silver in a European record of 37.36, eclipsing the time of 37.47 they had run in securing a home victory in London’s Olympic Stadium two years ago.

Bronze went to Japan, who broke through with a superbly coordinated effort that ended with Abdul Hakim Sani Brown briefly threatening to overtake Britain’s last leg runner Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake before crossing in an Asian record of 37.43.

There was a symmetry in the US team as Coleman, aged 23, and Lyles, running in his first World Championships aged 22, book-ended two of their nation’s longest standing sprinters in 37-year-old Justin Gatlin, the 2017 individual champion, and 34-year-old Michael Rodgers.

“We had a meeting at breakfast, and decided if we ran a super-fast time we could do this,” Rogers said on the infield in the aftermath of the first US victory in this event since 2007, at the Osaka World Championships. It’s been a long wait.

Lyles was in exuberant mood, taking the opportunity to praise his more taciturn colleague Coleman for “stepping up as a leader” before announcing to the wider world: “USA won all the gold medals!”

Britain’s team of Adam Gemili, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Mitchell-Blake had won their opening heat in 37.56, the fastest time in the world since their gold medal in London in 2017, from Brazil, who equalled the South American record of 37.90, and the United States, who recorded a season’s best of 38.03.

For Japan, this was another superb flourish to follow their silver-medal winning performance at the Rio 2016 Games, when they were promoted from bronze following the disqualification of the United States, running an Asian record of 37.60.           

In the heats

Jamaica’s world leader and 2015 world champion Danielle Williams laid down a clear marker as to her gold medal intentions by blitzing to a 12.51 clocking – the equal fastest time ever recorded in the World Championships first round – to win heat three of the women’s 100m hurdles.

Behind, Andrea Carolina Vargas grabbed second in 12.68 to slice 0.07 from the Costa Rican record.

Nigerian Tobi Amusan trimmed 0.01 from her lifetime best to record 12.48 in heat five from Jamaica’s Janeek Brown (12.61). The African and Commonwealth champion could be the athlete to smash the US-Jamaican duopoly in this event.

World record-holder Kendra Harrison took top spot in heat one in 12.55. 2015 world silver medallist Cindy Roleder of Germany followed the world indoor champion home in a season’s best of 12.76.

Two-time world indoor champion Nia Ali also looked in great shape, recording a blistering 12.59 to bank top spot in heat one. Jamaica’s Megan Tapper (12.78) also advances to Sunday’s semi-finals.

2013 world champion and Olympic champion Brianna McNeal false started and is out of the race. In her absence, Italy’s Luminosa Bogliolo profited by grabbing the heat two win in a handy 12.80 – 0.05 clear of Jamaica’s 2013 world U18 champion Yanique Thompson.

It was a mixed bag for the four-pronged German challenge in an intriguing men’s javelin qualification. Defending champion Johannes Vetter fired the javelin out to a mighty 89.35m to head the qualifiers.

But it was not such good news for his compatriots Thomas Rohler and Andreas Hofmann who were eliminated. Rohler, the Olympic and European champion, looked out of sorts and could only produce a best of 79.23m and Hofmann, the European silver medallist and 90m thrower, was also below par and had to be satisfied with a modest 80.06m.

The fourth German, Julian Weber with 84.29m, was one of seven men to go beyond the 84.00m automatic qualification distance. Second in the preliminaries was Diamond trophy winner Magnus Kirt, the left-handed Estonian impressing with his second-round effort of 88.36m.

The other men to bank the 84.00m automatic qualification mark were Pan Am champion Anderson Peters of Grenada (85.34m), Sweden’s Kim Amb (84.85m), 2012 Olympic champion Kershorn Walcott (84.44m) of Trinidad & Tobago and 2017 world silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch (84.31m) of the Czech Republic.

European champion Malaika Mihambo looks headed for another gold, as she heads the women’s long jump qualifiers.

The German soared 6.98m – the longest leap in a World Championship qualification session for 20 years.

However, there will be no place in the final for four-time world champion Brittney Reese. The US long jumper struggled to find her groove and was teetering on the edge in 12th with a best of 6.52m as Chanice Porter took to the runway for the final jump of qualification. Agonisingly for Reese, the Jamaican broke the sand at 6.57m to relegate the American to 13th – one place and one centimetre from a final spot.

Only two other women exceeded the 6.75m automatic qualification distance as Nigeria’s Ese Brume sailed out to 6.89m and 2017 world 100m champion Tori Bowie of the US registered 6.77m.

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