The beauty of sport is its ability to surprise and Isaac Nader produced one of the biggest ever in international 1,500 metres finals as he won the world title on Wednesday while Katie Moon was a more predictable winner of a third successive pole vault crown.
Portugal had never had a medallist in the 1,500m but Nader’s storming run in the home straight was enough for the 24-year-old to deny Jake Wightman of Britain a second title.
“Some people criticised me and said I would never achieve this but here I am — world champion and the first Portuguese athlete to win a global gold in the 1,500m,” said a beaming Nader.
While Wightman celebrated his silver after an injury-plagued three years since he won the title in 2022, there was misery for reigning champion Josh Kerr after the Briton was left hopping along midway through the race, apparently with an injury.
Even at 34, Moon is pretty much unbeatable in an event that has failed to match the heights of the men’s event in which Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis broke the world record for the 14th time in Tokyo.
Moon triumphed with a best vault of 4.90 metres, a considerable 16 centimetres shy of the world record set by Yelena Isinbayeva 16 years ago.
“It feels fun watching girls getting in shape in real life,” said Moon. “I am 34 now and I have seen several athletes come in young and blossom.
“All my medals are special but this one is the one. The older you get, it gets harder.”
The men’s long jump went to Italian Mattia Furlani, 20, who confirmed his Olympic bronze last year was no fluke with a winning effort of 8.39m.
Defending champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece was totally out of sorts and finished 11th.
One lesson to be learned is beware Kenyan women distance athletes called Faith.
Faith Kipyegon romped to the 1500m title on Tuesday and on Wednesday it was the turn of Faith Cherotich to triumph in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Femke Bol has had the misfortune to compete in the 400m hurdes at a time when the phenomenon that is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been around.
McLaughlin-Levrone, though, has turned her attention to the 400m flat and is favourite to add that world title to her tally on Thursday.
Bol, three times a minor medallist behind the American, can take advantage of her absence to retain her world crown, just as she did in the 2023 championships.
Bol had far too much pace in her semi-final for former Olympic and world champion Dalilah Muhammad, who at 35 is 10 years older than the Dutchwoman.
The climax to the men’s event is a rematch of the three medallists from the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo.
Karsten Warholm, who set a memorable world record on that scorching day, takes on runner-up Rai Benjamin, who avenged that defeat in winning Olympic gold in Paris last year, with bronze medallist, 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos, completing the trio.
The stage is set for perhaps the most keenly awaited clash in the field events, the men’s javelin final on Thursday, between Olympic gold medallist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and the man he deposed in Paris last year India’s Neeraj Chopra.
However, the script came close to being torn up by Nadeem until he saved face in qualifying with his third and final throw.
Chopra feels right at home in the stadium where he won Olympic gold four years ago, albeit with empty stands owing to Covid restrictions.
“That Olympic gold medal changed everything for me,” he said. “After winning it, I started to believe in myself.”
Nadeem may have pulled it out of the fire but it was not the case for another Olympic champion, Spanish triple jumper Jordan Diaz.
The 24-year-old’s dream of a full house of titles, he is also European champion, ended, as he pulled up with a quadriceps injury in qualifying.
All the favourites in the men’s and women’s 200m — in which Melissa Jefferson-Wooden is bidding to become the first to achieve the individual sprint double since Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013 — eased into Thursday’s semi-finals.
Joining them is 17-year-old Australian Gout Gout, of whom great things are expected.
The Australia-born son of South Sudanese parents took his first experience of a global championships in his long stride.
“It’s a great experience for me, running against the big dogs,” said Gout.
After the action was followed by big crowds early in the champions, Wednesday’s action attracted just shy of 36,000, leaving thousands of empty seats.
AFP
AFP
AFP
