Each evening at these Worlds has surprises in store and Tuesday’s session did not escape this observation. In a 1,500m started on very fast bases, the Briton Jake Wightman won in the sprint ahead of the reigning Olympic champion, the Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The latter took the lead 800m from the line, setting a very steady pace. But 200m from the line, Wightman attacked, before managing to pass around the bend and resist on the final straight to win in 3’29”23 ahead of Ingebrigtsen (3’29”47) and the Spaniard Mohamed Katir (3’29”90).
If the form and the potential of the Brazilian Alison dos Santos were not a secret, it was still necessary to beat at home the Olympic vice-champion Rai Benjamin, in the final of the 400m hurdles. In a mad race, Dos Santos won in 46”29, ahead of the Americans Benjamin (46”89) and Trevor Bassitt (47”39). Frenchman Wilfried Happio finished 4th, two hundredths from the podium in 47”41. The Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm, who made a mistake at the end of the race before exploding, took 7th place (48”42).
Patterson knocks down Magoutchik in high jump
A few minutes before these great athletic moments, the high jump final also had an unexpected outcome. Ukrainian Yaroslava Magoutchik, who was the big favorite with 2.03m achieved at the end of June, had to bow to Australian Eleanor Patterson. The two jumpers cleared 2.02 m, but Patterson, vice-world indoor champion this winter, only needed one attempt, against two for the 20-year-old Ukrainian.
Fifth in the Olympic Games last year, she equals the Oceania record of her compatriot Nicola Olyslagers (née McDermott), Olympic vice-champion and 5th in the competition with 1.96 m. Patterson is the first Australian to be crowned at the height at the Worlds.
Ceh, new record boss
On disc, young Mykolas Alekna, son of double Olympic and world champion Virgilijus Alekna, had fun teasing Slovenian Kristjan Ceh. At only 19 years old, the Lithuanian was at his level with 69.27m, very close to his personal best, and climbed to his first world podium, a year after his victory as a junior.
But it was Ceh who, with a new Championship record (71.13m), took his revenge at the Tokyo Olympics, where he finished only 5th. The other Lithuanian in the final, Andrius Gudzius, completes the podium with 67.55m. The Swedish Daniel Stahl, Olympic champion, finished 4th with 67.10 m.
Jackson and Lyles impress in 200m, no final for Kerley
In the semi-finals of the women’s 200m, an extremely high level, Jamaican Shericka Jackson was very impressive and took advantage of the perfect conditions (hot weather, very favorable wind) by winning her race in 21”67 (+ 2m /s), 12th fastest in history, while releasing his effort in the home stretch! Second, the Nigerian Aminatou Seyni (22”04) will also be in the final on Thursday.
In the second semi-final, the American Tamara Clark beat the Briton Dina Asher-Smith by one hundredth in 21”95 (+ 1.4 m/s), leaving Elaine Thompson-Herah (21”97) in third place, and therefore at the mercy of a quick elimination in the third semi-final.
In this last race, if Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was very comfortable (21”82, wind: -0.1 m/s) ahead of the American Abby Steiner (22”15), it went slower behind (Favour Ofili, 3rd in 22”30) so that Thompson-Herah as well as the Swiss Mujinga Kambundji (3rd in the first semi-final with a national record in 22”05) obtained time their ticket to the final. Will we see a new Jamaican hat-trick? Even a world record, as Jackson seems to be flying the distance now?
The men’s 200m semi-finals started with a surprise, relative after his burst of energy to win the 100m a few days earlier: Fred Kerley only took 6th place in his race (20”68) , unable to keep up the pace right out of the corner due to right hamstring cramps. The young Dominican Alexander Ogando (22) won in 19”91 (-0.1 m/s), a new national record, ahead of the Liberian Joseph Fahnbulleh (19”92), well known on the NCAA circuit , where this formidable finisher who also has American nationality, evolves under the colors of the Gators of the University of Florida.
The 2019 Doha world champion, Noah Lyles, then sent a message for the final: we will have to be strong to steal his title. Winner of his semi-final in 19”62 (+ 1.1 m/s) ahead of his compatriot Kenneth Bednarek (19”84), the Floridian was then able to closely study the behavior of the American Erriyon Knighton in the third semi-final.
The 18-year-old prodigy always shows great ease in the turn and won in 19”77 (+ 0.3 m / s), with more than 30 hundredths of a margin over the Canadian Aaron Brown (20”10 ). The two qualified on time for Thursday’s final are Trinidadian Jereem Richards (19”86, 3rd in the 2nd semi-final) and South African Luxolo Adams (20”09, 4th in the 2nd semi-final) .
The stars of the 400m hurdles at the rendezvous
The favorites in the 400m hurdles wandered in the series, Femke Bol in the lead (53″90). The Dutchwoman was delighted to have inherited lane 8, which allowed her to ” to feel the track, to know what we need to do “. This was not the case for the American world record holder Sydney McLaughlin: ” lane 8 wasn’t ideal, but I just had to do what I had to do “, namely unroll, and finish in 53 “95. The reigning world champion Dalilah Muhammad (54 “45) will also be at the rendezvous of the semi-finals, scheduled for the night of Wednesday to Thursday, at 3:15 a.m. French.
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