★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
/Updated/Sunday’s final session of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo had pleasant, 78 F temperatures, starting with 53% humidity but turning into rain by the time of the relays.
The rain delayed the discus, but the running events were held, with a big day for the U.S.:
● Men/5,000 m: Americans Grant Fisher and Nico Young, plus 2023 World road 5 km winner Hagos Gebrhiwet (ETH) moved to the front and picked up the pace after 800 m, not wanting to repeat the slow 10,000 m, where he was passed on the final lap.
At 2,000 m, Young led Gebrhiwet and Fisher and the field was strung out and then Gebrhiwet took the lead and had it with six laps to go. With five laps to go (3,000 m), Fisher took over again over Gebrhiwet and Paris sixth-placer Biniam Mehary (ETH) and Tokyo Olympic sixth-placer Birhanu Balew (BRN).
The field bunched up again and then two-time defending champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) moved to the front, with three laps left. It was tight with two laps to go, with Ingebrigtsen still in front, now with Isaac Kimeli (BEL) right behind. At the bell, it was Mehary in front and then Kimeli and Balew.
With 200 to go, Mehary, Kimeli, 10,000 m winner Jimmy Gressier (FRA) and Paris 1,500 m winner Cole Hocker of the U.S. were in position. Into the straight, Kimeli had the lead but Hocker roared ahead and won easily in 12:58.30, with Kimeli second in 12:58.78, then Gressier third in 12:59.33.
Mehary fell to fifth in 12:59.95, Young was sixth in 13:00.07, Fisher eighth in 13:00.79 and Ingebrigtsen faded to 10th in 13:02.00. Gebrhiwet ended up 13th in 13:07.02.
Hocker was disqualified in the 1,500 m semis because he was boxed in on the straight and pushed his way through. This time, he came on the outside and had a clean run to the line, with speed no one could match. It was the first U.S. medal in the race since 2017 and the first win since Bernard Lagat in 2007.
● Men/4×100 m: The defending champion U.S. had a new order with Christian Coleman, Kenny Bednarek, Courtney Lindsey and Noah Lyles in lane seven and lots of questions about passes, as the rain came down steadily. No Jamaica after a drop in the heats, but Olympic winners Canada in five with Andre De Grasse on anchor.
Coleman was out hard and got to the lead right away and his pass to Bednarek was just fine and he was clearly the leader. His pass to Lindsey was shaky – it took a couple of tries – but Lindsey charged around the turn and made a good pass to Lyles.
No one was catching him and Lyles roared home over De Grasse in a meet record 37.29, the no. 5 performance of all-time and no. 2 in American history. Canada was second in 37.55, followed by the Netherlands in 37.81 and then Ghana in 37.93.
That’s three wins in the last four for the U.S. at the Worlds and Coleman and Lyles have been on all three.
● Men/4×400 m: The rains had come and the U.S. came out with a new squad of Vernon Norwood, national champ Jacory Patterson, Khaleb McRae and 400 m hurdles winner Rai Benjamin, in lane one. Botswana had three in the 400 m final, plus Paris 200 m winner Letsile Tebogo on second leg and 400 m winner Busang Collen Kebinatshipi on anchor.
It was raining hard at the start, with Lee Eppie starting well on the first leg for Botswana and Norwood also passed close to the front. Patterson took the lead on the backstraight and he and Tebogo broke away and they passed 1-2. This was close and McRae and Ndori dueled down the backstraight with South African star Wayde van Niekerk coming up to challenge.
McRae was up by a meter on the pass to Benjamin but this was going to be close. Benjamin stayed in front on Kebinatshipi as Zakithi Nene (RSA) closed in around the final turn.
On the straight, Benjamin charged ahead with about 80 m left, but could not shake Kebinatshipi who came on in the final 10 m to win in 2:57.76, the no. 4 performance in history. Nene also closed with a rush, but Benjamin barely held on for second in 2:57.83 (no. 6 performance all-time) with South Africa given the same time for third.
For Botswana: Eppie 45.16, Tebogo 44.05, Ndori 44.41, Kebinatshipi 44.14, in the hard rain. The U.S. had Norwood in 44.60, Patterson 44.22, McRae 44.61 and Benjamin in 44.40.
● Men/Discus: Australia’s Paris bronze winner Matt Denny slipped on the second throw of the event due to the rain-soaked, wet ring, and the competition was stopped, and only resumed with warm-ups a half-hour after the track events had finished, but with the ring still very slippery.
The crowd didn’t mind, singing along to “Sweet Caroline” (1969), “Y.M.C.A.” (1978) and “Boogie Wonderland” (1979), all released before the first World Championships in 1983!
The throwing started at 10:15 p.m., with six fair throws and six fouls, then world-record holder and Paris 2024 runner-up Mykolas Alekna (LTU) staying steady in the ring and out to 67.84 m (222-7) to take the lead. Denny quickly followed at 63.18 m (207-3) to move into second, then was passed by Sweden’s Tokyo Olympic winner – in this stadium – Daniel Stahl at 63.74 m (209-1).
Suddenly, it all picked up and by the end of the second round, Mario Diaz (CUB) was second at 64.71 m (212-3) and Alex Rose of Samoa third (64.63 m/212-0). Denny moved into second in round three at 65.57 m (215-1) and Stahl passed him, throwing 65.60 m (215-3). It was still raining and the ring was being dried frantically by eight helpers between throws. But it was still a challenge.
Stahl got loose in round four and improved to 67.47 m (221-4) in second and Rose – born in Michigan, but who has been throwing for Samoa since 2013 – threw 66.96 m (219-8) in round five to move into third!
The rain lessened, but Alekna appeared to hurt himself on his fifth round throw and did not improve. In the sixth, Rose had a foul and won a bronze, Samoa’s first-ever medal in the Worlds. Then Stahl went wild with a brilliant throw of 70.47 m (231-2) and took the lead!
Alekna was the last thrower and fouled and Stahl won his third Worlds gold (2019-23-25), joining Lars Reidel (GER/4: 1991-93-95-97) and Robert Harting (GER/3: 2009-11-13) as three-time winners of the event at the World Championships. What a way to finish, at 11:05 on a rainy night in Tokyo!
● Men/Decathlon: In the discus, Germany’s Paris runner-up Leo Neugebauer led as expected, getting out to 56.15 m (184-2) – the best throw ever in a decathlon competition – ahead of Lindon Victor (GRN: 52.34 m/171-9). Overall leader Kyle Garland of the U.S. was fifth at 48.06 m (157-8).
Harrison Williams of the U.S. led in the vault at 5.20 m (17-0 3/4) and Garland was ninth at 4.80 m (15-9), while Neugebauer cleared 5.10 m (16-8 3/4) and moved up.
Niklas Kaul (GER) led the javelin at 78.19 m (256-6), way in front of the field. Neugebauer was fifth overall at 64.34 (211-1), a lifetime best and into the lead. Garland managed 59.78 m (196-1), but fouled a much better throw. So, going into the 1,500 m, Neugebauer was in front at 8,072, with Garland at 8,057 and Puerto Rico’s 2022 NCAA champ Ayden Owens-Delerme at 7,958. Kaul was standing fourth at 7,732 and Estonian Johannes Erm at 7,681.
In the 1,500 m, there was about a two-second gap between Neugebauer and Garland, but with Owens-Delerme lurking with a much faster best in the event. And Owens-Delerme took the lead from the start and was way ahead of Neugebauer and Garland.
But Neugebauer moved up and while Owens-Delerme finished in 4:17.91, the German got a lifetime best of 4:31.89 to win the gold by 20 points. Garland got a seasonal best of 4:45.45.
Overall, Neugebauer got the gold at 8,804, his no. 3 score ever, just enough to edge Owens-Delerme (8,784, a national record) with Garland taking bronze at 8,703. Americans Heath Baldwin and Harrison Williams finished 6-7 at 8,337 and 8,269.
● Women/800 m: Olympic champ Keely Hodgkinson was the favorite, but defending champ Mary Moraa (KEN) took the lead. At the bell, Moraa led with a speedy 55.73, and had Hodgkinson on her shoulder and they were even down the backstraight.
Into the straight, it was Hodgkinson who was surging and with a clear lead. But British teammate Georgia Hunter Bell – third in the Paris 1,500 m – who was coming hard. But both were passed by Kenyan Lilian Odira, who made it to the Paris semifinals last year, in the final 50 m and she ran away to win in a brilliant 1:54.62, now no. 7 on the all-time list and ending the season nearly four second faster than when she started!
Hunter Bell was also closing hard and got Hodgkinson right at the line for second at 1:54.90, a lifetime best and now no. 9 all-time. Hodgkinson, who had come back from injury and only run twice prior to Tokyo, ran 1:54.91 and took bronze.
American Sage Hurta-Klecker got a lifetime best of 1:55.89 in fifth, now no. 3 all-time U.S.! Moraa faded to seventh in 1:57.10, still a season best.
● Women/4×100 m: The U.S. changed only its starter, adding 100 m champ Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (!) on first leg and keeping TeeTee Terry, Kayla White and Sha’Carri Richardson as 2-3-4. The Jamaicans were a lane outside of the U.S. in six, with superstar Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Tia Clayton, Tina Clayton and Jonielle Smith.
The rain was back on, and Jefferson-Wooden and Fraser-Pryce were even after the first leg. Tia Clayton had the lead on Terry on the second leg, but the exchange to White was good enough and White took the lead on the turn.
White had some trouble with the baton and had to switch hands, but got the stick to Richardson early in the zone. And that was it. Richardson took off and was in the lead over Smith and held on to win in 41.75. Smith brought Jamaica home in 41.79, with Gina Luckenkemper anchoring Germany in third in 41.87; Great Britain was fourth in 42.07.
It was the third win in a row for the U.S. in the Worlds and four out of the last five. Terry now has 4×1 golds in 2022-2023-2024-2025, Jefferson-Wooden won in 2022-2023 (ran in prelims)-2024 and 2025 and Richardson has wins in 2023-24-25.
● Women/4×400 m: The rain had let up, but it was still wet, with the U.S. fielding Bella Whittaker, Lynna Irby-Jackson, Aaliyah Butler and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, in lane five. The defending champion Netherlands, with Femke Bol on anchor, was in nine.
Whittaker passed first (50.12), just ahead of Jamaica’s Dejanea Oakley (50.50) and Irby-Jackson (48.71) rolled into the lead and had a 5 m lead with 200 m to go. Jamaica’s Stacey Ann Williams (49.59) moved up for second and Irby-Jackson handed a 10 m lead to Butler.
Butler (49.96) and Andrenette Knight (50.66) broke away and were 1-2 at the handoff, with an 8 m lead. McLaughlin-Levrone led Nickiska Pryce (48.50) into the straight by 20 m and raced home with a dominant gold in 47.82 and 3:16.61, the no. 5 performance all-time.
Bol anchored the Dutch home in third, running 49.10 and 3:20.18.
The U.S. won its 11th Worlds gold in this race and now four of the last five. McLaughlin-Levrone won for the third time: 2019, 2022 and 2025.
● Women/High Jump: The wet conditions hampered the jumping, but not for two-time Olympic runner-up Nicola Olylsagers (AUS). She cleared her first three bars and had the lead at 2.00 m (6-6 3/4).
But only six cleared 1.97 m (6-5 1/2), and Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) missed her first try at 2.00 m and passed to the next height. The rain continued and only Maria Zodzik (POL) made 2.00 m on her final try for a lifetime best.
So at 2.02 m (6-7 1/2), Olyslagers missed twice, but so did Mahuchikh and she had to settle for bronze in a tie with 2024 European silver winner Angelina Topic (SRB), who was also perfect through 1.97 m.
Zodzik was still in it and also missed twice at 2.02. On her third try, Olyslagers kicked the bar off with her heels and it was up to Zodzik. She missed and Olylsagers won her first Worlds medal – a gold – after two Olympic silvers and two World Indoor victories in 2024 and 2025.
¶
The final medal table showed the U.S., with six medals on the day, at 26 total (16-5-5), and Kenya second at 11 (7-2-2) and Jamaica with 10 (1-6-3). The placing table, scored 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 to measure overall team strength, had the U.S. at 308, with Kenya at 118 and Jamaica at 98.
Prize money for the Worlds is $70,000-35,000-22,000-16,000-11,000-7,000-6,000-5,000 for individual events and $80,000-40,000-20,000-16,000-12,000-8,000-6,000-4,000 for relays.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 699-event International Sports Calendar for 2025, 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
