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≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
Sunday morning’s action at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo (JPN) focused on the women’s marathon, and some more morning qualifying, with plenty of excitement. The one final:
● Women/Marathon: Even with the race start moved to 7:30 a.m., it was 79 F, humid and cloudy for the 73 starters from 43 countries. By the 10 km mark, the U.S. duo of Susanna Sullivan and 2024 Olympic Trials fourth-placer Jessica McClain were in front of a large group of 15, including Paris 2024 silver winner Tigst Assefa (ETH) and Kenya’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic champ Peres Jepchirchir.
Sullivan, 58th at the 2023 Worlds marathon, pushed the pace on her own and broke to a 25 m lead, ahead of Osaka 2025 runner-up Kana Kobayashi (JPN), McClain and Rotterdam 2025 winner Jackline Cherono (KEN).
By 14 km, Sullivan – in her 14th career marathon – was 150 m up, but the chase pack of eight had caught McClain, Kobayashi and Cherono. But Kobayashi and McClain surged again, while Sullivan stayed well in front. Fatima Gardadi (MAR), the 2023 Worlds bronzer, moved ahead of the larger pack and into fourth and then up with McClain at 18 km.
By the half, Sullivan was running at roughly a 2:26 pace and had 30 seconds on McClain, Gardadi and Kobayashi and more than a minute on the large chase pack. McClain moved 10 seconds ahead of other two by 23 km, and then the chase group of nine was 1:01 back. By 25 km, Sullivan was 27 seconds up on McClain and the chase group was seven, with Kobayashi and Gardadi having fallen back.
Now the chasers got busy, as Assefa, Kebede and Jepchirchir caught and passed McClain and set their sights on Sullivan, closing to 15 seconds by 26.4 km. The chasers finally caught and passed Sullivan by 28 km as Assefa and Jepchirchir took over.
By 30 km, Assefa and Jepchirchir were together, 30 seconds up on Magdalyne Masai (KEN) and Paris 2024 seventh-placer Stella Chesang (UGA), then Sullivan in fifth. The two leaders stayed together, but with Masai edging ahead of Chesang for third at 33 km, but Chesang was back to third by 35 km.
Behind the leaders, unheralded Julia Paternain (URU), in her second career marathon, moved into a stunning third place; her only prior marathon was a 2:27:09 national record on 30 March at the McKirdy Micro in Congers, New York. And at 40 km, Sullivan had passed Chesang into fourth, 41 seconds behind the Uruguayan.
Assefa and Jepchirchir, side by side, were right together with 800 m to go and Jepchirchir led into the stadium. Jepchirchir pushed, but Assefa stormed into the lead, but couldn’t drop the Kenyan. Then Jepchirchir mounted one last sprint and got to the line, winning in 2:24:43 to 2:24:45.
It’s Jepchirchir’s fourth Worlds gold, but the other were all in the Half Marathon, in 2016, 2020 and 2023. But she has a World title to go with her Olympic title in Sapporo four years ago and is now 3-3 in marathons run in Japan. In 11 career marathons, she has now won seven.
Paternain won the bronze in 2:27:33, then Sullivan in fourth in 2:28:17. Finland’s Alisa Vainio was fifth in 2:28:32, then Kobayashi in 2:28:50. McClain was eighth in 2:29:20.
The third American, Erika Kemp, finished 52nd in 2:50:35.
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There was also three qualifying events in the morning, with some shockers:
● Men/1,500 m: There were four heats with the top six in each to advance to the semis. Norway’s Narve Nordas, the 2023 Worlds bronze winner, took the bell in heat one, just ahead of Federico Riva (ITA), 2023 World Champion Josh Kerr and Ethan Strand of the U.S.
Nordas held on and won in 3:35.90, with Kerr moving well on the straight for second in 3:35.98, then Strand at 3:36.27 and Riva fourth in 3:36.28. World leader Azeddine Habz (FRA) was fifth into the straight, but faded and was eliminated in seventh (3:36.62).
The second heat had Dutch star Niels Laros, brilliant in the Diamond League, as the one to watch and he was in charge at the bell and leading Pietro Arese (ITA) and Adam Spencer (AUS). Isaac Nader (POR) moved up off the final curve and Arese and Nader passed Laros and tied for the win in 3:40.91. Laros was an easy third in 3:41.00 and moved on.
Olympic champ Cole Hocker of the U.S. and 2019 World Champion Tim Cheruiyot (KEN) headlined heat three and Hocker surged to the lead at the bell, ahead of Robert Farken (GER). Hocker stayed clear and in front through the final lap and crossed first in 3:41.88, then Farken (3:42.06), Britain’s Neil Gourley (3:42.13) and Cheruiyot (3:42.20).
Kenya’s teen sensation Phanuel Koech was in heat four, facing Norway’s Tokyo 2020 winner Jakob Ingebrigtsen – back from injury – and 2022 World Champion Jake Wightman (GBR). But as Jose Carlos Pinto (POR) took the bell, almost everyone was in contention, with Wightman second and as Koech made a move in lane two, he tripped and fell and was out of contention.
Wightman had the lead with 200 m to go, passing Pinto and Sweden’s Samuel Pihlstrom coming up to challenge. Ingebrigtsen was on the inside and looking for space on the straight, but he was passed by American Jonah Koech, and others and faded to eighth. Wightman won in 3:36.90, with Pinto at 3:37.09 and Jonah Koech at 3:7.11. Phanuel Koech was 12th (3:42.77); he filed a protest, but this was denied.
● Women/100 m hurdles: Olympic champ Masai Russell of the U.S. had no trouble in heat one, winning in 12.53 (wind: +0.2 m/s), well ahead of Marione Fourie (RSA: 12.86). Same for two-time World Champion Danielle Williams (JAM), winning heat two in 12.40 (0.0), with American Alaysha Johnson coming on in the second half of the race for second in 12.76.
Two-time Olympic finalist Nadine Visser (NED) was an easy winner of heat three in 12.48 (-0.2), winning by 0.35; Jamaica’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Megan Tapper was injured and did not start.
Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent was the winner in heat four in 12.54 (+0.5), just ahead of Swiss Dita Kambundji (12.59). American Grace Stark, the Olympic fifth-placer in 2024, won heat five in 12.46 (+0.1), barely ahead of Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska (12.51).
World-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR) rolled to the heat six win in 12.53 (0.0), with two-time World Indoor champ Devynne Charlton (BAH) a clear second in 12.69. Except for Tapper, everyone who should be in the semis is on to the semis.
● Women/Hammer: The automatic qualifying distance was 74.00 m (242-9) and in the first group, Finland’s Silja Kosonen (75.88 m/248-11) and 2019 World Champion DeAnna Price of the U.S. (74.99 m/246-0) advanced on their first and second throws, respectively.
World leader Brooke Andersen of the U.S., the 2022 World Champion, failed to get a legal mark and was eliminated; this had also happened to her at the 2023 Pan American Games and at the 2024 Olympic Trials.
Defending champion Cam Rogers (CAN) got her auto-qualifier right away in the second group at 77.52 m (254-4) on her first toss, as did China’s Jie Zhao at 74.24 m (243-7).
Two-time Worlds medalist Janee Kassanavoid of the U.S. reached only 71.95 m (236-0) on her second try but ended up ninth overall and on to the final. Rachel Richeson, the world no. 3 for 2025, could manage only 66.95 m (219-8) and did not qualify in 28th place.
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The evening session will have finals in the men’s and women’s 100 m, the men’s 10,000 m and the women’s long jump and discus.
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.
The meet is being shown by NBC in the U.S., primarily on Peacock, but also on CNBC and USA Network.
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