On Day 8 of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Friday, August 25, the anticipation reached a fever pitch as fans from all over the world tuned in to witness five thrilling finals. The air was thick with excitement, and the athletes, primed for glory, delivered performances that were nothing short of electrifying. As records tumbled and new champions were crowned, it became a day that would forever be etched in the history of athletics.
Armand Duplantis won his second world outdoor title in the pole vault by clearing all heights at 5.55m, 5.85m, 5.90m, 5.95m. 6.00m, 6.05m and 6.10m in his first attempt. Duplantis made three attempts at the world record height of 6.23m.
Duplantis becomes the third pole vaulter after Sergey Bubka and Sam Kendricks to successfully defend a men’s pole vault world title.
Huang Bokai, Wang Jie, Claudio Stecchi, Ben Broeders and Zac McWorther cleared 5.75m, but they failed three attempts at 5.85m.
Christopher Nilsen cleared 5.85m in his third attempt.
Five men successfully vaulted 5.90m for the first time ever in the same pole vault competition. Thibault Collet from France improved his lifetime best to 5.90m on his first attempt. Duplantis cleared 5.90m and 5.95m easily on his first attempt. Obiena also cleared these heights at the first time of asking.
Marshall equalled his PB of 5.95m. Nilsen also cleared this height to join Marshall in third place.
Obiena failed one try at 6.05m and two at 6.10m. Duplantis secured the title with 6.10m at the first time of asking.
Armand Duplantis: “I am really happy about all these consecutive gold medals. I don’t know where this one ranks, but I am happy to keep winning. This was the craziest atmosphere I have ever competed in so it meant a lot to be able to turn on a pole vault show for them. There were so many Swedish supporters. It almost felt like it was in the Stockolm stadium. I will be ready for Paris and the Olympic Games but right now I want to live in the moment and enjoy these World Championships and this title."
Ernest John Obiena from the Philippines equalled his Asian record of 6.00m on his second attempt to win the world silver medal one year after claiming the bronze medal in Eugene.
Kurtis Marshall from Australia and Christopher Nilsen won the bronze medal with 5.95m on countback. Thibaut Collet improved his PB to 5.90m to finish fourth.
Christopher Nilsen: “This Is my fourth medal from international competitions in a row. To fight my way back to the podium means a lot. I feel this is the most important for me. My beautiful fiancée Brée is here in the stands. This is the first ever European competition she travelled to with me and that makes the competition really special."
Eleven athletes cleared 5.75. This depth was only bettered once at the World Championships in Osaka 2007.
Women’s 5000 metres:
Faith Kipyegon won the women’s 5000 metres final in 14:53.88 becoming the first middle-distance runner to win the 1500-5000 metres double in the same edition of the World Championships.
Kipyegon launched her final kick in the final lap. Sifan Hassan followed closely. Beatrice Chebet moved past Gudaf Tsegay.
Kipyegon clocked 56 seconds in the final lap to clinch her fourth world titles in her career (thee in the 1500 metres and one in the 5000m). Hassan came through to win the silver medal in 14:54.11. Beatrice Chebet claimed bronze in 14:54.33 beating Margaret Kipkemboi by nearly two seconds. Ejgayehu Taye, world bronze medallist in the 10000 metres, finished fifth in 14:56.85.
Faith Kipyegon: “This has been an amazing year for me. Making history today, winning two gold medals in a championship is what I was dreaming for this season. I have been patient, waiting to be able to break world records and win double gold medals, but my dream just came true. It is amazing. The race was not easy. It was a tactical race, but I am mentally stable and I have managed to push myself."
Men’s 4x100 relay final:
The US team formed by Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Brandon Carnes and Noah Lyles won the world gold medal in a world leading time of 37.38. Lyles crowned a very successful edition of the World Championships with his third gold medal.
Noah Lyles: “This is the third gold for me here. It’s sensational, amazing You can’t do better. It’s out of control. I love Team USA because everybody is coming here thinking I am going to win. We are able to put that into a team effort and then we are unstoppable. The individual races are all business but the team is fun. We all know we are fast. We don’t have to worry about whether were are going to win. It is just about getting the stick around and trust each other. It’s fun to do this. I don’t put pressure. On myself. Right now I am happy, but I am joyful for life."
The Italian team featuring Roberto Rigali, Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta and Filippo Tortu won the silver medal in 37.62. Italy came just 0.12 off the national record set when Patta, Jacobs, Eseosa Desalu and. Filippo Tortu won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo.
The bronze medal went to the Jamaican team formed by Ackeem Blake, Oblique Seville, Rylem Forde and Rohan Watson in 37.76. The British team formed by Jeremiah Azu, Zharnel Hughes, Adam Gemili and Eugene Amo Dadzie finished fourth in 37.80 ahead of Japan (37.83).
Women’s 4x100 relay:
World 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson anchored the US team to a championships record of 41.03, improving the previous time set by Jamaica in Jamaica in Daegu. The US team was also formed by Twanisha Terry and Tamari Davis and Gabby Thomas, who won the silver medal in the 200 metres in 21.81.
Double world 200m champion Shericka Jackson crossed the finish-line in 42.21. The Jamaican team was also formed by Natassha Morrison, Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, Shashalee Forbes. Fraser Pryce has won a total of 16 world medals (10 gold, 5 silver and one bronze), four shy of the record tally held by Allyson Felix. Jackson has collected 11 medals (4 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze) in her record.
The British team formed by Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Daryll Neita won the bronze medal with 41.97.
The Italian team including Zaynab Dosso, Dalia Kaddari, Anna Bongiorni and Alessia Pavese finished fourth in 42.49 after breaking the Italian record with 42.14 in the heat.
Men’s decathlon:
Canada’s Pierce LePage won the world gold medal in the decathlon with a world leading mark of 8909 points.
LePage finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and won the silver medal in Eugene with 8701 points. Last May the Canadian athlete took the win at the Hypo meeting di Goetzis.
LePage started with a fourth place in the 100 metres in 10.45 behind Damian Warner (10.32), Ayden Owens Delerme (10.43) and Manuel Eitel (10.44).
Warner leapt to 7.77m to keep the overall lead. LePage remained fourth overall with a jump of 7.59m. Leo Neugebauer from Germany improved to his lifetime best to 8.00m to move up from 10th to 2nd in the overall ranking.
Neugebauer improved her lifetime best to 17.04m in the shot put to move into the lead. Warner threw 15.03m to hold on to second in the overall ranking. LePage moved to third after throwing to 15.81m.
Kevin Mayer withdrew from the competition before the shot put. Olympic bronze medallist threw 14.09 before withdrawing from the competition.
LePage cleared 2.08m in the high jump. Warner and Neugebauer threw 2.05m and 2.02m.
LePage clocked 47.21 to Warner’s 47.86. Neugebauer clocked 47.99 to end the first day with a lead of 30 points over LePage.
Lindon Victor from Grenada finished second in the shot put with 15.94m and ended the first day with 2.02m in the high jump and 48.05m in the 400 metres to move into fourth in the overall standing.
Karel Tilga from Estonia threw 15.75m in the shot put before clearing 2.05m in the high jump.
Le Page clocked 13.77 in the 110 metres hurdles to move into the overall lead. Warner clocked the fastest time with 13.67m to move ahead of Neugebauer, who hit the first hurdle but managed to clock 14.75.
LePage threw 50.82m to Warner’s 45.82m in the discus throw to extend his lead. Victor set a championships record of 54.97m to move from fifth into third in the overall standings. Neugebauer threw 47.63m, eight metres off his PB set the NCAA Championships.
Harrison Williams cleared 5.30m in the pole vault to move into fifth in the overall standings. LePage vaulted 5.20m beating Neugebauer (5.10m), Warner (5.10m), Warner (4.90m), Victor (4.80m) and Tilga (4.80).
LePage had a margin of 195 points over Neugebauer with two events to go. The Canadian athlete second best throw of his life with 60.90m to lead with 8228 points after nine points. Victor threw 68.05m to move into second in the overall standings with 8074. Warner threw 63.09m to bring his tally to 8044.
Janek Oiglane from Estonia produced the best throw of 70.45m in the javelin. Tilga threw 66.42m. Neugebaurer threw 57.95m to slip to fourth in the overall standing.
LePage built up a gap of 154 points over Victor and 184 points over Warner before the 1500 metres.
Warner ran the fastest time with 4:27.73, but LePage maintained his lead with his 4:39.88 to end the competition with 8909 points to Warner’s 8804.
LePage set the second best winning mark in the history of the decathlon at the World Championships behind Ashton Eaton’s then-world record of 9045 points in Beijing 2015. LePage improved his PB by more than 200 points to move into sixth on the all-time list.
Victor set a PB of 4:39.57 to win the bronze medal with a national of 8756 points. Tilga improved his PB to 8681 to finish fourth ahead of Neugebauer (8645). Oiglane and Johanes Erm set PBs of 8524 and 8484 respectively. Harrison placed seventh with 8500 beating Markus Rooth from Norway (8491) and Sander Skotheim (8263).
Seven men have broken 8500 points for the time.
Pierce LePage: “This decathlon did not really start the best, and that’s why I fought really hard today. I went all in from this morning and it makes him proud. I had a close calls. First, when I landed in the pit during long jump, I twisted my shoulder. It was tough. Then I got cramp at 1.99m during the high jump. This morning I pulled my harmstring before the hurdles. This is the decathlon. We are used to a lot of injuries, you get through it”.
Men’s 800 metres final:
Marco Arop crossed the finish-line in 1:44.24 to become the first Canadian gold medallist in the l in the men’s 800 metres one year claiming the bronze medal in Eugene.
Nineteen-year-old Emmanuel Wanyoinyi from Kenya, won the silver medal in 1:44.53 two years after claiming the world under 20 gold medal in Nairobi 2021.
Ben Pattison from Great Britain came through in the final straight to win the bronze dmedal in 1:44.83 holding off Adrian Ben from Spain (1:44.91).
Wanyonyi went through the first 400 metres in 52.68 at the bell. Arop was last at the bell and came from behind and launched his kick with 250 metres to go. The North American athlete of Sudanese origin pulled away in the final straight to win the gold medal.
Marco Arop: “This means everything to me. I am glad to finally be able to do this on the world stage. I don’t want to be known as the guy who can only run one way. I tried to be patient tonight and put myself in a position where I could attack. I knew it was going to be a tactical race. I was up late last night figuring out different ways to win. One scenario was to kick from behind in the way I did. I guess it was worth staying up late.”
Women’s shot put:
Chase Ealey won her second world gold medal in the women’s shot put with a seasonal best of 20.43m. The US shot putter has joined an elite club of multiple world champions that includes Valerie Adams, Gong Lijao, Huang Zhihong and Astrid Kumbernuss.
Ealey took the lead with 20.35m in the opening round. Last year’s Commonwealth champion Sarah Mitton set a seasonal best of 20.08m in the fifth round. Ealey improved to 20.43m to seal the win.
Gong Lijao and Auriol Dongmo both threw 19.69m, but the Chinese athlete beat her Portuguese rival with a better second throw. Danniell Thomas Dodd finished fifth 19.59m ahead of Maggie Ewen (19.51m).
Chase Ealey: “It’s even more satisfying than last year because thus year I have struggled to get my technique sorted and get everything right. So for it to come together at the right time is perfect. I have been training really well and I was really confident. I wanted to set a good early a good early mark and set the pace. I think I did that. I risked this gold because I changed my technique to get better for the Olympic Games in Paris. That was what the change of technique was for. So hopefully in the future I will have more consistent throws like tonight”.
Women’s marathon:
Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso Shankule won the world gold medal in the women’s marathon in 2:24:23 on a warm and sunny morning on the penultimate day of the World Championships in Budapest.
Beriso’s compatriot Gotytom Gebrselase claimed the silver medal in 2:23:34. Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra clinched the bronze medal in 2:25:17 preventing the Ethiopian podium sweep. Last year’s world bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter finished fourth in 2:25:36 ahead of Yalemzerf Yehualaw (2h26’13). Rosemary Wanjiru was the best Kenyan athlete in sixth place 2:26:42 ahead of Selly Chepyego Kaptich (2:27:09).
Lindsay Flanagan was the top US runner in ninth place in 2:27:47. Keira D’Amato, who broke the US record in the half marathon, suffered from pain in the upper right leg after the 21 km and finished 17th in 2:31:35.
The 26-woman leading pack went through at the 21 km mark in 1:14.29. The race hotted up, as Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru increased the pace just after halfway. The leading pack was whittled down to 14 runners at 25 km.
At 30 km nine women remained in the leading group, that included all four Ethiopian athletes. Beriso pushed the pace at 33 km. Four Ethiopian runners pulled away from the rest of the field. Gemechu dropped away as she was in fourth place.
Beriso launched her attack at 36 km over the Szechenyi Chain Bridge reaching this mark in 2:03:47. Yehulaw tried to keep pace, but started to slow at 37 km. Beriso increased her lead to 17 seconds by 37 km.
Gebrselase passed a fading Yehualaw at 39 km to move into second. Before the 41 km Gardadi overtook Yehualaw and pulled away to win the bronze medal.
Yehualaw finished one minute behind Gardadi and was also beaten by Salpeter, who took fourth place.
Beriso ran 17:06 between 20 and 25 km, 16:36 between 25 and 30 km, 16:08 between 30 and 35 km and 16:18 between 35 and 40 km before running the final 2.2 km in 7:33. The Ethiopian runner ran a split of 32:33 from 30 to 40 km.
Beriso made her marathon debut in Berlin in 2016 with 2:20:48. Last December she smashed her PB to 2:16:48 in Valencia. She finished second in Boston last April in 2:21:50.
Amane Shankule Beriso: “We knew if we worked together, we could do a better result. We got the lead group down to six and then we pushed away with four of us. That was our plan because there was such a strong field”.
Men’s 4x400 relay heats:
The US team formed by Trevor Bassitt, Matthew Boling, Christopher Bailey and Justin Robinson ran the fastest overall time of the two heats with 2:58.47. India (Mohamed Yahya, Amoj Jacob, Muhmmad Varyathodi and Rajesh Damesh improved the Asian record with 2:59.05. Great Britain (Lewis Davey, Charles Dobson, Rio Mitcham and Alex Haydock Wilson sealed the third qualifying spot with 2:59.42.
Jamaica (Rusheen McDonald, Jevaughn Powell, Zandrion Barnes, D’Andre Anderson won the win in the second heat in 2:59.82. France (Ludvy Vaillant, Loic Prevot, David Sombe and and Teo Andant and Italy (Davide Re, Edoardo Scotti, Lorenzo Benati, Alessandro Sibilio) qualified in second place with 3:00.05 and 3:00.14 respectively.
Women’s 4x400 relay heats:
The British team formed by Laviai Nielsen, Amber Nielsen, Nicole Yeargin and Yami Mary John won the first heat with 3:23.33 beating Belgium (Naomi Can de Broeck, Hanne Claes and Helena Ponette), second in 3:23.63. The Italian team formed by Alice Mangione, Ayomide Folorunso, Alessandra Bonora and Giancarla Trevisan) improved the national record to 3:23.86.