The roar of the fans at Hayward Field was the backtrack as American Anna Hall pushed herself in the final lap of the 800m women’s heptathlon, on monday July 18.
Hall led the entire race, and held off Poland’s Adrianna Sulek in the final 100m . She won the race in 2 minutes, 6.67 seconds, securing a personal best total score of 6,755 and a bronze medal. This is the United States first medal in heptathlon in 21 years. Nafi Thiam of Belgium won the heptathlon for her 3rd consecutive medal in the event.
All three Americans finished in the top ten of the women’s marathon; Sarah Hall, fifth, ran a season’s best 2:22:10. Emma Bates, seventh, crossed the finish line at 2:23:18, a minute faster then her previous personal best. Kiera D’Amato finished eighth with a time of 2:23:34.
Africa continued its distance domination in the women’s marathon this morning. Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia set a championship record winning the gold medal in 2:18:11. She is the first Ethiopian woman to win the event since 2015.
“The Kenyan runner asked me to pass her, but I stayed patient,” Gebreslase said. “Towards 40km, I felt strong and decided to leave. Tola’s win yesterday motivated me a lot today. I plan to prepare well and defend my title in Budapest.”
Silver went to Kenyan Judith Jeptum Korir, who was nine seconds behind at the finish. Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel won bronze in 2:20:18. All three women on the podium were first time medalists.
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok had a heated high jump battle. Barshim leaped a world leading 2.37m earning the gold and his third consecutive world title. Woo finished second with a national record of 2.35m.
“The target for me for today was a gold medal,” Barshim said. “The World Record is the thing I still miss. Three worlds golds in a row is something that’s never been done before. It takes so much work, dedication and passion to show the real quality of high jump.”
Like the 100m dash, all four American men qualified for the semifinals of the 200m. 100m gold medalist Fred Kerley, World Champion Noah Lyles and 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton won their respective heats. Kenneth Bednarek placed second in heat four, behind Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando, who set a national record.
“I am ready to go to the semi-final,” Knighton said. “Could not ask for more, to be in front of the home crowd so just happy to be here. I did not feel any wind. I am at the spot where I want to be. One of my best years, if not my best and I am just happy.”
Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas, venezuela, won her third consecutive gold medal in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 15.47m. Rojas recorded the longest outdoor jump of 2022. American Tori Franklin took bronze with a season’s best 14.72m.
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya won the gold medal in the women’s 1500 in a time of 3:52.96, the second fastest 1,500m at the World Championships. This is her second gold in the event, winning in 2017.
“I have to say I am thankful for my second medal,” Kipyegon said. “I knew it was going to be fast so I was well prepared for that. I knew everything was possible. This was my dream to be a world champion and now I really want to get a new personal best.”
Olympic champion Valarie Allman threw an automatic qualifying 68.36m in the women’s discus. Allman threw almost four meters further than the next competitor, German Shanice Craft, 64.55m. Allman admitted to a lot of pressure and intensity performing as an Olympic champion, but she is excited to compete on home soil.
“Seeing my fellow American throwers crush it, I’ve been so excited to join them in the action,” Allman said. “We Americans have felt such excitement and pride to showcase Hayward as our home track and part of it is us putting on great performances. The crowd is so engaged.”
After a historic performance at the NCAA championships, Abby Steiner ran the third fastest time in the women’s 200m. She will be joined in the semi-finals by fellow Americans Tamara Clark and Jenna Prandini. All three of the Jamaican medal winners in the women’s 100m dash on Sunday also qualified, setting the stage for a battle of nations in the semis.
Steiner believes if she can get the final she has a chance of attacking the podium as long as she manages the first 100m well and does the job she’s supposed to on the home straight.
“The strategy was attacking at the first 50m and just doing what I needed to do to get the big Q coming out of that heat,” Steiner said. “I always love chasing so I guess I have to say I like the role of underdog. But I am really just looking forward to enjoying this event, especially on US soil.”
The men’s 3000m steeplechase began with a dysfunctional first lap. A barrier was added after the race began as an unaware camera operator was in lane two, forcing the runners to maneuver around him. Despite the obstacles, Morocco’s Soufaune El Bakkali took gold with a time of 8:25.13.
“I positioned well in the last lap,” El Bakkali said. “I am very strong in the 400m and it worked out for me. This is my second time in the United States. I came here for the World U20 Championships in 2014. That was my first international experience. I returned eight years later as a champion.”
America sits on top of the medal table with 16. Ethiopia and Kenya are tied for second with six.
Day five of the World Athletics Championships kicks off at Hayward Field on Tuesday night, at 5:15 p.m. The day will feature finals of the men’s high jump, discus throw, 1500m and 400m hurdles.
