The final day of the World Indoor Championships featured 12 finals, delivering a packed schedule of thrilling action on both the track and the field.
Here are some of the standout moments in the middle-distance events from Day 3 in Kujawy Pomorze:
Men’s 1500m
Spain’s Mariano Garcia adopted a straightforward strategy in the men’s 1500m: move to the front and stay there until the finish line. In the last lap, the 2022 world indoor 800m champion held off Portugal’s Isaac Nader to win in 3:39.36, with Nader finishing close behind in 3:40.06.
“It’s my first year seriously preparing for the 1500m, and what better way than winning a World Indoor Championships? Hopefully, in the coming years, I will stay at this level because I’m still a rookie; they don’t really know me yet.
“In this race, nobody had me under control, but I think from now on my rivals will be watching me more closely. I just wanted to sneak into the final and see if I could fight for a medal, but when I found myself leading, I said that now I can fight for gold,” said Garcia.
Australia’s Adam Spencer secured third place with a time of 3:40.26.
Women’s 1500m
Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom tried a similar front-running tactic, breaking away just after the gun. However, the pack reeled her in during the penultimate lap.
Great Britain’s Hunter Bell and Australia’s Jessica Hull led the chase and were rewarded for their persistence. Bell claimed gold in a world-leading 3:58.53, Hull took silver in a new Australian record of 3:59.45, and the USA’s Nikki Hiltz earned bronze with a personal best of 3:59.68.
Men’s 800m
Seventeen-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus of the USA stunned the field in the men’s 800m, winning in 1:44.24 and becoming the youngest man ever to secure an individual world medal at a world championships. His victory wasn’t entirely unexpected, given he had set a world U18 record of 1:42.27 in August last year.
Crestan, who was hoping to upgrade his silver medal from the last championships, had to settle for silver again in 1:44.38. “I am happy with the medal, of course, but right after the race, I felt a little bit of disappointment. But Cooper’s acceleration was very strong – he is an incredible talent, winning at 17 years of age. I think he can be the future David Rudisha,” he said after the race.
Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui took the bronze medal home in 1:44.66.
Women’s 800m
Keely Hodgkinson, being the reigning Olympic Champion and world record holder over the distance, lived up to the hype in the women’s 800m, setting a new championship record of 1:55.30 and the second-fastest time in history over the 800m short track.
She led from gun to tape, with the rest of the field struggling to keep up and changing positions behind her.
Audrey Werro of Switzerland (1:56.64) and Addison Wiley of the USA (1:58.36) benefited from the fast pace, setting PBs and finishing second and third, respectively.
