Your guide to the action at the Tokyo Athletics World Championships – Day 3, Monday September 15.
The world’s greatest pole vaulter with 13 world records will once again try to touch the sky as “Mondo mania” takes hold inside the National Japan Stadium in Tokyo.
Mondo Duplantis only needed two jump to qualify for the Tokyo final. Image: world Athletics
Armand Duplantis, known to the world as Mondo, has set two world records this year, the last being 6.29m at Budapest in August.
The Swedish dual Olympic and world champion has the floppy hair and Hollywood looks to match his talent, which is why the Japanese crowds at the Tokyo World Athletics Championships love to love him.
Mondo also occupies an impressive amount of real estate in Tokyo as his face and feats are plastered all over Tokyo trains, train stations and billboards around the city.
Duplantis flashes his Hollywood looks after the pole vault qualification. Image: Nick La Galle
The stadium will be full again with a 70,000 crowd to watch Duplantis defend his title and take home another gold medal. In doing so he also stands to boost his bank balance by $US170,000 ($A260,000) if he wins and sets another world mark.
Gold medal winners in Tokyo receive $US70,000 and there is a $US100,000 bonus for world records set in Tokyo. Of course that’s on top of his personal sponsorships and bonuses.
While the gold medal may seem Mondo’s, there is hot competition for the minor medals between a group of three including Australia’s Commonwealth champion Kurtis Marschall.
A pensive Kurtis Marschall will chase world record holder Duplantis. Image: Nick La Galle
Marschall has finished second or third behind Duplantis on six occasions over the European summer.
“Staying in the top three is really nice and I want to try to do that for the rest of the season,” Marschall says.
But Marschall is yet to clear the magical 6.00m barrier, with a personal best of 5.95m, which is testament to the huge gap between Duplantis and the rest of the field.
Adcock celebrates a PB and victory at the Rome Diamond League meet. Image: Diamond League AG
Another Australian chasing a possible medal at the world championships is long jumper Liam Adcock, who finished on the podium six times on the European tour including two victories.
Self-trained Adcock will contest the long jump qualifying in what has been a breakout year for the 29-year-old.
“I’m old now which is tough, it’s making it difficult to get any interest from sponsors but I just keep showing up and doing what I can,” he says.
Femke Bol after anchoring the Dutch to gold at the Paris Olympics. Image: Dan Vernon, World Athletics)
The other highlights of day three in Tokyo include the men’s 1500m semi finals featuring Britain’s defending world champion Josh Kerr and USA Paris Olympic champion Cole Hocker.
The heats of the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles also get underway with defending champions Karsten Warholm from Norway and Holland’s Femke Bol respectively leading the fields.
And the women’s pole vault qualifying will get under way with American favourite Katie Moon who shared the 2023 world champion title with Australia’s now injured Olympic champion Nina Kennedy.
Nina Kennedy wins the pole vault gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Image: Nick La Galle
Highlights Day 3 – Mon Sept 15
Five finals
07:30 (08:30 AEST) – men’s marathon
19:40 (20:40 AEST) – men’s pole vault final with Swedish world record holder Mondo Duplantis and Australia’s world No.4 Kurtis Marschall
21:00 (22:00 AEST) – women’s hammer throw final
21:55 (22:55 AEST) – men’s 3000m steeple chase final
22:20 (23:20 AEST) – women’s 100m hurdles final
America’s joint world champion and Olympic silver medallist Katie Moon. Image: World Athletics
Other highlights
09:05 (10:05 AEST) – women’s pole vault qualification with defending world champion Katie Moon
11:20 (12:20 AEST) – women’s 400m hurdles heats with Holland’s defending champion Femke Bol
19:35 (20:35 AEST) – men’s 400m hurdles heats with Norway’s world record holder and defending champion Karsten Warholm
19:40 (20:40 AEST) – men’s long jump qualification with Greek Olympic and defending champion Miltiadis Tentoglou and world No.5 Australian Liam Adcock.
21:30 (22:30 AEST) – men’s 1500m semi finals with Britain’s defending world champion Josh Kerr and US Olympic gold medallist Cole Hocker
Louise Evans is an award-winning journalist who has worked around Australia and the world as a reporter, foreign correspondent, editor and media executive for media platforms including The Sydney Morning Herald (eight years), The Australian (11 years) and Australian Associated Press (six years in London, Beijing and Sydney).
A women sports’ pioneer, Louise was the first female sports journalist employed by The Sydney Morning Herald and the first female sports editor at The Australian. Louise went on to work at seven Olympic Games, six Commonwealth Games and numerous world sporting championships and grand slam tennis events.
Louise is the Founding Editor of AAP FactCheck, the Creator of #WISPAA – Women in Sport Photo Action Awards and national touring Exhibition and the author and producer of the Passage to Pusan book, documentary and exhibition.
In 2019 she was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) Queen’s Honour for services to the media and sport and named an Australian Financial Review Top 100 Woman of Influence for services to the arts, culture and sport.
In 2020 she won a NSW Volunteer of the Year Award plus the NSW Government Community Service Award for her women-in-sport advocacy work.
Michael Osborne has been a journalist for more than four decades including 35 years with the national news agency Australian Associated Press, rising from junior reporter to Editor.
He was AAP Editor for 11 years and served four years as Head of Sport and Racing. He was also posted to London and Beijing as AAP’s Bureau Chief and Foreign Correspondent.
He has worked at seven Olympics and five Commonwealth Games, covered tennis grand slams, golf majors, international cricket, rugby world cups and numerous sporting world championships. He also co-ordinated and managed AAP’s teams and coverage at three Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
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