The world athletics championships were, not for the first time, the Armand Duplantis show on Monday although though New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish did his best to share the spotlight after a shock win in the 3,000 metres steeplechase.
Duplantis kept the drama going to the end in Tokyo — after the Swede retained his crown he went on to break the world record for the 14th time, on his third and final attempt at 6.30 metres.
The 53,000-strong crowd had stayed rooted to their seats even though the action on the track had ended long before.
They witnessed Duplantis jumping into the stand and enjoying a long and passionate kiss with his fiancee Desire Inglander before embracing his parents.
Beamish had been a great warm-up act.
The long-haired Kiwi beat two-time defending champion Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco by a hair’s breadth on the line to deliver New Zealand their first ever world track gold.
Swiss 100m hurdler Ditaji Kambundji sprang an even bigger surprise in her final, the 23-year-old giving her country their first medal in the hurdles.
There was to be no such rocking of the establishment in the women’s hammer, Canada’s Olympic champion Camryn Rogers retaining her title, charging into the stands to embrace her team.
Duplantis, though, deservedly took centre stage.
The showman never fails to deliver, and with his winning smile, wrapped up the gold with a vault of 6.15m before his piece de la resistance.
His rivals never laid a finger on him — Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis took silver with a best of 6.00m, then helped to keep Duplantis cool with an electric fan, and Australian Kurtis Marschall claimed bronze with a personal best of 5.95m.
“I felt the only way to leave Japan was to set the world record,” said Duplantis.
“That was my mentality. I don’t know what is next for me at this moment, I don”t care.
“I will just enjoy this right now. I was feeling really good the whole day. I knew I had the record in me.”
The distance races, especially the men’s events, have been full of surprises at these championships and the 3,000m steeplechase proved to be no exception.
Beamish, 28, came down the outside as El Bakkali charged for the line believing a third title was in the bag.
Beamish, though, gained on him and they breached the line together but the Kiwi had done just enough, timing 8min 33.88sec to the Moroccan two-time Olympic champion’s 8:33.95.
“This was a turn-up, wasn’t it? That was pretty unreal,” said Beamish with masterly understatement.
“It’s unreal. I’m pretty stoked. I did a lot in the last 200 metres. I knew I had it in me tonight.
“It’s a first track gold for New Zealand at a world championships, which is pretty cool.”
El Bakkali was utterly distraught and collapsed to the ground sobbing before being consoled by teammate Salaheddine Ben Yazide.
“It’s very difficult for me to accept this result but I have to because this is high performance sport,” said the 29-year-old.
Kambundji was not the first from her family to appear in a final at the track because her sister Mujinga ran in three finals at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Monday’s heroine looked stunned at winning as Olympic champion Masai Russell, who had thought she might break the world record, trailed in in fourth.
“I am just enjoying the title,” said Kambundji. “It’s amazing to be a world champion. My family is here in the stands — my mum, dad and my aunt, and it feels amazing to be able to share this moment with them.”
The men’s 1500m looks like it could be going to Britain for a third successive time as US Olympic champion Cole Hocker was disqualified, he joins Jakob Ingebrigtsen on the sidelines.
Britain will have three finalists, all of them from Scotland, including defending champion Josh Kerr and 2022 victor Jake Wightman, who both denied Ingebrigtsen gold.
AFP
