Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi has qualified for the final of the women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Yavi finished on top in the first heat yesterday, clocking 9 minutes 19.18 seconds. She will return to the track on Sunday – the final day of the championship – for the final.
Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew and Kemi Adekoya will be seen in action at the championships today. Balew will take part in the men’s 5,000m heats while Adekoya will target a podium finish when she competes in the women’s 400m hurdles final.
Briton Josh Kerr pulled off one of the shocks of the World Championships when he beat Olympic champion and hot favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen in an absolute carbon copy of last year’s final to take 1,500m gold.
Favourite in 2022, Norway’s Ingebrigtsen was outkicked by Britain’s Jake Wightman to miss out on gold and Kerr, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist behind Ingebrigtsen, made his move at about the same spot with 200 metres to go.
Kerr dug deep to stay in front and won in 3:29.38 with Ingebrigtsen, whose 3:27.14 run in Poland five weeks ago made him the fourth-fastest man in history, taking silver in 3:29.65.
Fast-finishing Norwegian Narve Gilje Nordas secured the bronze in 3:29.68.
American Katie Moon and Australia’s Nina Kennedy decided to share the gold medal in a dramatic women’s pole vault final yesterday.
The two women cleared 4.90 metres in an event that stretched two hours and 10 minutes, but both missed on all three attempts at 4.95 and decided to share the victory rather than go to a jump-off.
It was the second consecutive world title for Moon, who also won Olympic gold in Tokyo. Armed with a personal best of 4.95 and a season’s best of 4.90, the 32-year-old Moon appeared to be the favourite.
But Kennedy had other ideas. She surpassed the Australian record and her own personal best by eight centimetres when she sailed over 4.90, and then held back tears as she looked up at the steady bar in joyful disbelief.
The two chatted briefly to decide the outcome, then embraced, conjuring memories of the Tokyo Olympics where good friends and rivals Mutaz Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy opted to share men’s high jump gold.
Wilma Murto of Finland tied her season’s best of 4.80 for bronze, missing all three of her attempts at 4.85. The 25-year-old became the first Finnish woman to win a Diamond League title when she beat Moon at the London event on July 23.
The event captivated the National Athletics Centre crowd who – prompted by an ominous rhythmic thumping over the sound system when each jumper stepped up to the runway – clapped in time.
Karsten Warholm of Norway returned to the top of the global medal podium, racing to gold in the 400-metres hurdles.
The world record holder and Olympic champion ran 46.89, pulling away from American Rai Benjamin heading into the home straight.
The 27-year-old won the 2017 and 2019 world championships, but struggled to seventh at the worlds last season in Eugene when he was hampered by an injury.
“It feels incredibly good to have the gold around my neck again,” Warholm told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “I fought all I could in the last 100 metres.”
Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands crossed in 47.34 for silver
Benjamin, silver medallist last year in Eugene, faded to take bronze in 47.56.
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