Beatrice Chebet and Maria Perez both produced a repeat performance of their previous global doubles on day eight of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
Chebet, who won the 10,000m earlier in the championships, added the 5000m title to her collection, replicating her double victory from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Perez, meanwhile, added the 20km race walk gold to the 35km crown she’d won on the opening day of the championships.
On what proved to be a good day for Kenya, Emmanuel Wanyonyi took the men’s 800m title in a championship record in a race of unprecedented depth.
Anna Hall was another pre-event favourite who lived up to her billing, the US all-rounder taking the heptathlon title. There were also victories from Jessica Schilder in the shot put, Juleisy Angulo in the javelin and Caio Bonfim in the 20km race walk.
Chebet repeats Paris distance double
Beatrice Chebet beat her teammate and close friend Faith Kipyegon, winner of the 1500m at these championships and the defending champion at this distance, to take 5000m gold and add it to the 10,000m crown from earlier in the championships.
In a relatively slow but tactical race, Kipyegon and Chebet sat on the shoulder of Italy’s Nadia Battocletti on the final lap before kicking away in the closing stages.
Chebet crossed the line in 14:54.36 and Kipyegon followed in 14:55.07. Battocletti, the 10,000m runner-up, claimed bronze in 14:55.42, meaning all podium finishers earned their second medal of the championships.
Full report
Result: 1 Beatrice Chebet (KEN) 14:54.36, 2 Faith Kipyegon (KEN) 14:55.07, 3 Nadia Battocletti (ITA) 14:55.42
Perez double race walks champion once more
Just as she had done in Budapest, Maria Perez made more history in Tokyo. The Spaniard achieved her second world race walk title double, retaining her 20km crown to go with the 35km gold she claimed on the first day of competition.
The 29-year-old is now a four-time world champion and a two-time Olympic medallist, and she secured her latest title in 1:25:54 – the second-fastest time of her career.
She was chased over the finish line by Mexico’s Alegna Gonzalez in a North American record of 1:26:06. Nanako Fujii delighted the home fans by earning bronze in a Japanese record of 1:26:18 – her nation’s first medal in this event in World Championships history.
Full report
Result: 1 Maria Perez (ESP) 1:25:54 WL, 2 Alegna Gonzalez (MEX) 1:26:06 AR, 3 Nanako Fujii (JPN) 1:26:18 NR
Wanyonyi breaks 800m championship record
Emmanuel Wanyonyi led a field of record depth to win the 800m title at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, setting a championship record of 1:41.86 to add world gold to his Olympic title.
The Kenyan 21-year-old managed to hold off a fierce challenge from Canada’s defending champion Marco Arop and a fast-finishing Djamel Sedjati of Algeria. It was Sedjati who stormed through for silver in 1:41.90 and Arop got bronze in 1:41.95.
Cian McPhillips ran a big Irish record of 1:42.15 to finish fourth, ahead of Mohamed Attaoui, Max Burgin, Navasky Anderson and Tshepiso Masalela.
It is the first time that eight men have ever dipped under 1:43 in a single race.
Full report
Result: 1 Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN) 1:41.86 CR, 2 Djamel Sedjati (ALG) 1:41.90, 3 Marco Arop (CAN) 1:41.95
Hall dominates heptathlon
World leader Anna Hall became the first US woman to win a world heptathlon title in 32 years, taking gold with 6888.
She led from the second event and continued to extend her lead with almost every discipline. She ran 13.05 in the 100m hurdles, cleared 1.89m in the high jump, threw 15.80m in the shot, ran 23.50 in the 200m, jumped 6.12m in the long jump, threw a PB of 48.13m in the javelin and finished by winning the 800m in 2:06.08.
Kate O’Connor smashed the Irish record to take silver with 6714. Defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson shared bronze with USA’s Taliyah Brooks, both scoring 6581.
Full report
Result: 1 Anna Hall (USA) 6888, 2 Kate O’Connor (IRL) 6714 NR, =3 Katarina Johnson-Thompson (GBR) & Taliyah Brooks (USA) 6581.
Schilder wins shot with last-round thriller
Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands became the first European athlete in a decade to win the women’s world shot put title – and the first ever from her country – with a last-round effort of 20.29m that tipped the final on its head.
Up until that point, it looked as if victory was destined for New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche, who had led with a first-round throw of 20.06m to equal her personal best.
But Schilder’s sixth-round effort ended as the best mark of the day and withstood a late challenge from defending champion Chase Jackson, who threw 20.21m in the final round to claim silver, bumping Wesche into bronze.
Full report
Result: 1 Jessica Schilder (NED) 20.29m, 2 Chase Jackson (USA) 20.21m, 3 Maddison-Lee Wesche (NZL) 20.06m =PB
Bonfim turns silver into gold
A week after claiming silver in the 35km event, Brazil’s Caio Bonfim went one better to win gold in the men’s 20km race walk.
Japan’s world record-holder Toshikazu Yamanishi had led for much of the second half, but he was hit with a two-minute time penalty, taking him out of contention. That allowed Bonfim to take up the lead with a few kilometres to go.
Bonfim, winner of two global silver medals and two bronze, held on to win his first major gold in 1:18:35. China’s Wang Zhaozhao took silver in 1:18:43 ahead of Spain’s Paul McGrath (1:18:45).
Full report
Result: 1 Caio Bonfim (BRA) 1:18:35, 2 Wang Zhaozhao (CHN) 1:18:43, 3 Paul McGrath (ESP) 1:18:45
Angulo delivers shock of the championships
There have already been many surprise medallists in Tokyo, but Ecuador’s Juleisy Angulo produced arguably the biggest shock of the championships so far by winning the women’s javelin.
The 24-year-old produced a national record of 65.12m to take victory. She was the only athlete to throw beyond 65 metres, but Latvia’s Anete Sietina came close in the final round with a PB of 64.64m to take silver.
Australia’s Mackenzie Little earned bronze with her first-round throw of 63.58m.
Full report
Result: 1 Juleisy Angulo (ECU) 65.12m NR, 2 Anete Sietina (LAT) 64.64m PB, 3 Mackenzie Little (AUS) 63.58m
Decathlon state of play
US champion Kyle Garland leads after the first day of the decathlon. He opened with a 10.51 run in the 100m, then a 7.92m leap in the long jump put him into the overall lead. He extended his leading margin after topping the shot put with 17.02m.
World indoor champion Sander Skotheim also got off to a good start. His 10.91 run in the 100m was a little bit down on his best, but he sailed out to 7.97m in the long jump and followed it with 14.50m in the shot put.
The Norwegian closed the gap on Garland in the next two disciplines, jumping 2.14m to Garland’s 2.11m in the high jump, then clocking 47.86 to his US rivals 48.73 in the 400m.
Nevertheless, Garland remains in the lead with a day-one score of 4707, just seven points shy of his half-way score from the US Championships, where he scored a PB of 8869. Skotheim’s current tally of 4543 is 68 points shy of the pace he set when scoring his world-leading 8909.
In the rounds…
There was no shortage of drama and dropped batons in the heats of the relays.
Botswana topped the men’s 4x400m qualifying round with 2:57.68, but USA failed to automatically advance after being impeded by the Zambian team during one of the exchanges. The US and Kenya have an opportunity to re-run tomorrow.
The US had more success in the women’s 4x400m, advancing with ease with 3:22.53. Jamaica also impressed, but Great Britain were surprisingly a few places shy of making the cut.
Ghana sped to a national record of 37.79 to lead the qualifiers for the men’s 4x100m. Canada and USA also advanced, but Jamaica and Great Britain were not so fortunate. South Africa failed to finish after being impeded by the Italian team, but they too will have an opportunity for a rerun tomorrow.
All the big favourites – USA, Jamaica, Great Britain and Germany – made it through to the women’s 4x100m final.
There were few surprises in the qualifying round of the men’s discus. Defending champion Daniel Stahl, 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh and world record-holder Mykolas Alekna will all clash in tomorrow’s final.
AloJapan.com