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≡ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
Friday’s session at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo continued cooler, with 74 F temperatures, but continued high humidity at 71%. But it was a hot night for the U.S., with three golds on the track!
● Men/200 m: Olympic champ Letsile Tebogo (BOT) was in lane five, three-time defending champ Noah Lyles of the U.S. was in six, Bryan Levell (JAM) in seven and Olympic runner-up Kenneth Bednarek of the U.S. in eight.
Levell had the best start and Lyles was fourth at best. But Lyles was rolling around the turn and they were four across into the straight. Lyles moved up and got to the lead with 75 m to go and although it was close, Lyles got to the line first at 19.52 (wind: 0.0).
Bednarek actually passed Levell first, then Lyles took over. But Bednarek was strong to the finish and got silver in 19.58, with Levell edging Tebogo for the bronze, 19.64 to 19.65.
This wasn’t a classic from Lyles, but a brilliant finish to a season that started with injuries. No one else can muster his finishing speed. And after a bronze – with Covid – in Paris, he is back on top. Bednarek now has two Olympic and two Worlds silvers.
● Men/400 m hurdles: Tokyo Olympic champ Karsten Warholm (NOR) was in four, Paris Olympic champ Rai Benjamin of the U.S. was in seven and Alison dos Santos (BRA) in nine in one of the most eagerly-anticipated finals of the meet.
Warholm hit hurdle three, but was still even with Benjamin into the turn. They were even after six hurdles, but then Benjamin surged over hurdle seven and took firm control of the race.
He rolled into the straight in total charge and was clearly going to be the winner … until he slammed into the 10th hurdle and had to regain his balance! But he recovered and won easily in 46.52, the equal-9th performance all-time (Benjamin has five of the nine).
Behind him, Warholm faded badly off the 10th hurdle and was passed on the run-in by dos Santos (46.84) for second, Qatar’s Abderrahmane Samba (47.06) for third and then NCAA champ Ezekiel Nathaniel (NGR: 47.11) for fourth. Warholm was fifth in 47.58 and American Caleb Dean finished seventh in 48.20.
Afterwards, NBC reported that Benjamin was shown as disqualified for his smash of the 10th hurdle impacting the hurdle of the lane inside of him. But the results were confirmed with him as the winner. Benjamin told NBC’s Lewis Johnson that the plan was to run hard and clean through four hurdles – and he did, using 12 strides – and he then knew he would be good through eight. At that point, he said, he was just hanging on. And he did.
● Men/Triple Jump: Tokyo Olympic champion Pedro Pablo Pichardo (POR) got out to the lead at 17.07 m (56-0), but the first round heated up with 2024 World Indoor runner-up Yasser Triki (ALG) at 17.25 m (56-7 1/4) and Cuba’s 2022 World Indoor champion Lazaro Martinez into third at 17.16 m (56-3 3/4).
That did not impress Pichardo, who boomed out to 17.55 m (57-7) in round two to re-take the lead. Then Martinez moved up to second at 17.49 m (57-4 3/4), and Pichardo repeated his 17.55 m distance in round three.
Nothing changed until round six, when Italy’s Andrea Dallavalle, the 2022 European silver medalist, exploded into the lead at 17.64 m (57-10 1/2), a lifetime best by more than 11 inches! Martinez finished with four fouls and won bronze. Pichardo passed his fifth jump, then got way out there and won it with a clutch finale at 17.91 m (58-9 1/4), the world leader in 2025!
It’s Pichardo’s second Worlds gold, also in 2022, to go with his Tokyo Olympic victory.
● Women/200 m: Defending champ Shericka Jackson (JAM) was in seven with favorite Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the U.S. in six and U.S. Olympic bronzer Brittany Brown in three. The U.S. had four finalists, with McKenzie Long in two and Anavia Battle in eight.
Anthonique Strachan (BAH) false-started in lane one; her left leg was heavily bandaged after an injury in the semis. On the re-start, Jackson was off well but Jefferson-Wooden got to the lead by 100 m and ran away from the field to win in a world-leading 21.68 (-0.1)! She’s now no. 8 all-time.
Behind her, Jackson was second, but Amy Hunt (GBR) came on in the final 50 m to get a surprise second in 22.14 to 22.18. Battle was in the fight for a medal and came up just short in fourth in 22.22. Brown was sixth in 22.54 and Long was eighth in 22.78.
Jefferson-Wooden was the first U.S. woman to win the 100 and 200 at the Worlds and it’s the first U.S. win in this event since Allyson Felix won her third straight in 2009.
● Women/400 m hurdles: This was expected to be the Femke Bol Show, with the Dutch star defending her title from 2023 in lane five. But there were also Americans Dalilah Muhammad – the Rio 2016 winner – in lane nine, Olympic silver winner Anna Cockrell in six and Paris fourth-placer Jasmine Jones of the U.S. in seven.
Bol was in front by hurdle three and it was Bol and Jones 1-2 into the straight. But Bol ran away and won easily in 51.54, the world leader and the no. 9 performance ever.
Jones was a clear second in a lifetime best of 52.08, moving to no. 5 all-time. Cockrell was third around the turn and over hurdle 10, but Emma Zapletalova (SVK) was rolling over hurdle 10 and got the bronze on the run-in at 53.00, a national record.
Cockrell was fourth in 53.13; Muhammad was in contention early, but in what is expected to be her last race, faded to seventh in 54.82.
● Women/Heptathlon: American Taliyah Brooks had the fastest 100 m hurdles at 12.93 with world leader Anna Hall third at 13.05, a great start. Olympic champ Nafi Thiam (BEL) took the high jump at 1.89 m (6-2 1/4) and Hall equaled her, with Brooks eighth at 1.77 m (5-9 3/4).
In the shot, Hall went crazy, getting a lifetime best of 15.80 m (51-10), way ahead of Thiam at 14.85 m (48-8 3/4), who was next best!
That gave Hall 3,125 points going into the 200 m, with Thiam at 2,978. But in the first race in the 200 m, Thiam was last in 25.52, a sub-par performance. In race three, Abigail Pawlett (GBR) won in 23.25 and Hall was second in 23.50.
That gave Hall 4,154 points for day one and a big lead over Kate O’Connor (IRL: 3,906) and defending champ Katerina Johnson-Thompson (GBR: 3,893) in third. Brooks stands fifth at 3,828, then Thiam at 3,818 in sixth.
American Michelle Atherley is 12th (3,704) and Timara Chapman, the 2024 NCAA champion, stands 21st at 3,442.
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The qualifying was predictably – for this meet – crazy, with unbelievably fast times to advance in the women’s 800 m:
● Men/5,000 m: The pace quickened in heat one with four laps to go, with Swede Andreas Almgren in front with Nico Young of the U.S. at 3,000 m. Young led at the bell and the sprinting started with 300 m to go and Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet and Kenyan Mathew Kipsang took the lead.
In the straight, Kipsang moved to the lead but Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli zoomed by everyone to get to the line in 13:13.06 to win, with Kipsang at 13:13.33. Cole Hocker of the U.S. moved well to get into a qualifying third in 13:13.41 and Young was fourth in 13:13.51. Gebrhiwet advanced in fifth.
Heat two had defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) – on his 25th birthday – who went right to the back as he often does, running with Dutch 1,500 m star Niels Laros, the Diamond League winner.
American Grant Fisher had the lead at 3,000 m as the race slowed considerably (8:42.57). Saymon Amanuel (ERI) took the lead and increased the pace to 61.1. Fisher and Laros were 1-2 led with three laps left and Fisher and Biniam Mehary (ETH) were in front as Laros left the race after apparently being spiked.
Paris Olympic sixth-placer Mehary took the lead at the bell and the pressure increased, with 2024 European silver winner George Mills (GBR) and 10,000 m winner Jimmy Gressier (FRA) and Fisher. Into the straight, Mehary and Gressier led a crush of runners to the line and Mehary won in 13:41.52, with Gressier second (13:41.64), Mills fourth (13:41.76), Fisher sixth (13:41.83 and Ingebrigtsen, biding his time and running hard at the end, got in eighth in 13:42.15. The top 10 finished within 1.04 seconds of each other.
The U.S. has all three into the final.
● Women/800 m: Defending champion Mary Moraa (KEN) headlined semi one and she took the lead right away, ahead of Paris 1,500 m bronze winner Georgia Hunter Bell (GBR). Moraa took the bell in 58.91, with Natoya Goule-Toppin (JAM) moving up to challenge.
Those two led into the straight, but Hunter Bell moved inside to get a clear second, 1:58.40 and 1:58.62. Eloisa Coiro (ITA) and Claudia Hollingsworth (AUS) passed Goule-Toppin for third, 1:59.19-1:59.50-1:59.58. Maggi Congdon of the U.S. was seventh in 1:59.95.
Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi, the 2019 World Champion and Tsige Duguma (ETH), the 2024 World Indoor winner, figured to be the ones to beat in semi two, along with Diamond League winner Audrey Werro (SUI). Duguma took the lead and took the lead ahead of Werro in 58.53.
Australian 1,500 m star Jess Hull, came up for third with Nakaayi by 500 m, then into the straight, Werro was in front. But Kenya’s Lilian Odira came from behind on the outside and passed everyone to win at a fast 1:56.85. Werro was second at 1:56.99, then Hull with a national record of 1:57.15 for third. American Sage Hurta-Klecker also blasted the straight to get fourth in 1:57.62, relegating Duruma – the Paris silver winner – in fifth in 1:57.70. Naakayi also faded, to sixth in 1:57.79, a time that would have easily won semi one.
Olympic champ Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) lined up in semi three, and went to the lead, taking the bell at 59.02. Hodgkinson and Abbey Caldwell (AUS) were 1-2 with 300 to go, but Anais Bourgoin (FRA) ran into third on the straight. But it was Kenya’s Sarah Moraa, the younger sister of Mary, who barreled down the straight and almost caught Hodgkinson at the line, with both timing 1:57.53. Bourgoin ran 1:58.00 for third and did not make the final.
Hull and Hurta-Klecker both advanced on time.
● Women/Javelin: The automatic qualifiers from group one were two-time European silver winner Adriana Vilagos (SRB: 66.06 m/216-9), Australia’s 2023 Worlds bronzer Mackenzie Little (65.54 m/215-0) and Juleisy Angulo (ECU: 63.25 m/207-6 national record!). From group two, three made the 62.50 m (205-1) standard: Anete Sietina (LAT: 63.67 m/208-10), world leader Victoria Hudson (AUT: 62.85 m/206-2) and Tori Moorby (NZL: 62.78 m/206-0).
Olympic champ Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan did not qualify, finishing 14th overall at 60.38 m (198-1). Madison Wiltrout of the U.S. was 18th at 59.58 m (195-6) and Evelyn Bliss finished 19th at 58.88 m (193-2).
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A big day for the U.S., now atop the medal table with 17 total (11-3-3), followed by Jamaica with eight (1-4-3), then Kenya (7: 4-1-2) and Italy (6: 1-3-2). The placing table, scoring eight places from eight points down to one, as a measure of team strength, has the U.S. at 220 now, to 80 for Kenya and Jamaica.
The Saturday morning schedule has the 20 km walks, plus the continuation of the women’s heptathlon, the start of the men’s decathlon and qualifying in the men’s discus and women’s shot.
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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