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Report16 Jul 2022


Fajdek makes it a fantastic five as Gidey sprints to a first gold in Oregon

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Letesenbet Gidey wins the world 10,000m final for her first global gold in Oregon (© Getty Images)

For Pawel Fajdek, the gold medal feeling was nothing new during the day two morning session at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the peerless Pole taking his tally of men’s hammer titles to five in a gripping contest at Hayward Field.

For Letensbet Gidey, after three world records on the track and on the road, it was a maiden Midas touch that the 24-year-old Ethiopian brought to bear as a classic women’s 10,000m final came down to a thriller of a sprint finish.

You have to go back to Daegu in 2011 to find the last men’s hammer world champion who was called something other than Pawel Fajdek.  

Eleven years on from Japanese thrower Koji Murofushi’s victory in South Korea, the 33-year-old Fajdek had to summon all of his competitive powers to complete a fifth successive successful mission.

The competition burst to life in round two. First Fajdek’s Polish compatriot, Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki, uncorked an 80.07m effort. Then Fajdek himself threw 80.58m – only to find himself behind Norway’s Olympic silver medallist Eivind Henriksen’s 80.87m.

Nowicki regained the lead with 81.03m at the start of round three but this time Fajdek responded with a decisive 81.98m world lead.

The positions remained unchanged, Fajdek taking gold, Nowicki silver and Henriksen bronze. 

With five World Championships titles in the same individual event, Fajdek now finds himself level with German discus thrower Lars Riedl, who won five discus golds between 1991 and 2001 (a bronze in 1999 breaking his run), and one behind Sergei Bubka, who won six successive pole vault golds between 1983 and 1997, competing for the Soviet Union and Ukraine.

Poland's Pawel Fajdek competes in the hammer final at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Poland's Pawel Fajdek competes in the hammer final at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (© Getty Images)

At 24, Gidey has time on her side to build on her hard-earned tally of one.

In June last year she became the fastest woman in history over 25 laps, obliterating Sifan Hassan’s two-day-old world record of 29:06.82 with a stunning 29:01.03 in the Ethiopian Olympic trial race in Hengelo in the Netherlands.

In Eugene on Saturday she added a global 10,000m title to her CV at the third time of asking, having taken world silver in Doha in 2019 and Olympic bronze in Tokyo last year as Hassan sprinted to the golds.

Running only her second race of the season, Hassan moved into position to strike again off the final bend at Hayward Field but faded to fourth in 30:10.56 as Gidey sprinted to victory in 30:09.94.

Two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri took silver in 30:10.02, a lifetime best, with fellow Kenyan Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi snatching bronze ahead of Hassan in 30:10.67.

Already the first woman since Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen to hold the 5000m and 10,000m world records (and with a sensational 62:52 half marathon global mark also in her locker), Gidey will have the chance to complete a rare 5000m-10,000m double later in the week.

Only two women have accomplished the feat before at the World Championships: Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba in Helsinki in 2005 and in Osaka in 2007 and Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot in Daegu in 2011.

Beyond that, Gidey intends to look to the challenge of the marathon and will make her debut at the 26.2 mile distance in Valencia on 4 December.

Warholm clears comeback hurdle but Roberts crashes out 

Karsten Warholm emerged from his hamstrung state to breeze through the heats of the men’s 400m hurdles with his first completed race of the outdoor season.

Struck by a hamstring problem after hitting the first hurdle in the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Rabat on 5 June, the world and Olympic champion went off hard in heat three, easing off the gas in the home straight to win in 49.34, with Belgium’s Julien Watrin second in 49.83.

“The 400m hurdles was longer than I remembered, “Warholm quipped. “But it was good.”

Asked about his prospects of defending his title, the Norwegian world record-holder replied: “It’s tough to say, when you haven’t raced before this year. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles heats at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Karsten Warholm in the 400m hurdles heats at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (© Getty Images)

Also through to Sunday’s semifinals as heat winners were Warholm’s main rivals: Olympic silver medallist Rai Benjamin of the US (49.06) and Brazil’s Olympic bronze medal winner Alison dos Santos (49.41).

To the chagrin of the home crowd, there was a notable spill alongside the thrills in the men’s 110m hurdles heats. Daniel Roberts, winner of his second US title on the Hayward Field track last month, came to grief while comfortably leading heat three.

Wearing tights in cool conditions, the 24-year-old fell off balance when clattering into the fifth flight and, though he managed to negotiate the next barrier, he smashed into the one after that with his trail leg and ground to a messy halt.

It was Roberts’ second successive failure to finish a heat at the World Athletics Championships. In Doha three years ago he was disqualified in the first round after knocking a hurdle and falling into the adjacent lane.

In contrast, Roberts’ three US teammates enjoyed untroubled passages through to Sunday’s semifinals. Reigning champion Grant Holloway (13.14), Trey Cunningham (13.28) and Devon Allen (13.47) were all heat winners. The second-fastest heat winner, behind Holloway, was Jamaica’s Olympic champion Hansle Parchment with 13.17.

Rojas sails through qualifying on triple jump triple title mission

It took Yulimar Rojas just one attempt to secure her place in the women’s triple jump final on Monday (18). With the opening jump of the qualifying competition, the Venezualan sailed comfortably past the required mark of 14.40m with a 14.73m (0.5m/s) effort that was just 10cm down on her only previous performance of the outdoor season.

The 26-year-old will be attempting to become the first triple winner of the women’s triple jump world title – and perhaps to win her third global title in 12 months with a world record, having achieved the feat at the Olympic Games and World Indoor Championships.

The second-best mark, 14.54m, came from Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk, the multi-talented Ukrainian who took world outdoor long jump silver in Doha three years ago and world indoor triple jump silver behind Rojas in Beijing in March.

Ana Lucia Jose Tima was next best with 14.52m, a Dominican Republic record, followed by Finland’s Kristiina Makela with 14.48m. Jamaica’s 2019 world silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts progressed with a first-time 14.45m.

Kazakhstani Norah Jeruto was in red hot form in the heats of the women’s 3000m steeplechase, scorching to victory in the opening race in 9:01.54 - the second-quickest ever time at the World Championships, including finals.

Norah Jeruto in the 3000m steeplechase heats at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Norah Jeruto in the 3000m steeplechase heats at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (© Getty Images)

Uganda’s Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai and 2017 world champion Emma Coburn of the US both progressed from their heats as non-automatic qualifiers, while the in-form Alice Finot won heat two in 9:14.34, a French record.

In the women’s high jump, Ukraine’s world indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh was one of five athletes who progressed to Tuesday’s final with perfect records up to and including 1.93m – together with compatriot Iryna Geraschenko, Italy’s Elena Vallortigara, Safina Sadullayeva of Uzbekistan and Australia’s world indoor silver medallist Eleanor Patterson.

There were notable casualties, Ukraine’s 2017 world silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko (1.90m) and 20016 world indoor champion Vashti Cunningham (1.86m), failing to make the cut. Britain’s 2014 world U20 champion Morgan Lake was a non-starter because of Covid-19.

Simon Turnbull for World Athletics

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