The Japan’s National Stadium witnessed another electrifying day of athletics. USA’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed a stunning sprint double, sweeping the 100m and 200m titles. Dutch 400m hurdles star Femke Bol delivered her fourth best timing, while Cuban born Portuguese athlete Pedro Pichardo kept fans on the edge until the very last jump. Rai Benjamin finally captured his long awaited first world crown in the 400m hurdles and Noah Lyles stormed to fourth consecutive 200m world title.
Melissa became the first-ever American woman to win both 100m and 200m at the World Championships. Clocking a world leading timing of 21.68s, she edged Britain’s Amy Hunt (22.14s) by a good margin to claim the 200m gold. Jamaica’s defending champion Shericka Jackson had to settle for bronze in 22.18s.
Drama unfolded after the men’s 400m hurdles final. USA’s Olympic champion Rai Benjamin won the race in an impressive 46.52s but was initially disqualified for displacing a hurdle. Later, he was reinstated as the gold medallist. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos secured silver with 46.84s, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba made a strong comeback to the podium after six years with bronze, clocking 47.06s.
After missing out on the 100m world title earlier on Day 2, Tokyo USA’s Noah Lyles made a brilliant return in the 200m, clocking a blistering 19.52s to win his fourth straight 200m world title. His compatriot Kenneth Bednarek took silver in 19.58s, while Jamaica’s Bryan Levell clinched bronze with a personal best of 19.80s. Reigning Olympics champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana finished fourth.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Femke successfully defended her crown with a timing of 51.54s. USA’s Jasmine Jones, who ran a personal best of 52.08s, won the silver and Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalova settled for bronze with 53.00s.
In the triple jump final, kept the crowd on edge. Pichardo led for most of the contest with a leap of 17.55m, until Italy’s Andrea Dallavalle briefly stole the top spot with 17.64m. Egged on by Tokyo’s crowd support, Pichardo saved his best for last, soaring to 17.91m to clinch his second world title. Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez claimed bronze with 17.49m.
In the men’s 5000m heats 2, India’s Gulveer Chaudhary produced an impressive run and came very close to reaching the final, but boxed in the pack in the last 50m, he was edged out by Norway’s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen by just 0.2 seconds in the dying moments. He finished ninth, clocking 13:42.34.
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