by Alfonz Juck
TOKYO 2025 DAY 2
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“I was so exhausted at 100 meters when I saw the finishing line… let me try if I’m going to win. Thank God that I managed,” Peres Jepchirchir after winning the marathon.
“It is just tremendous feeling to compete in front of Usain here in Tokyo. His coach is my coach and I know that both of them are very proud of me right now. They were like, I am going to be the world champion. But I have proved, in front of him, that I am a champion and I am very proud of that. Now, more gold medals,” Oblique Seville after 100 m, first gold in the 100 m for Jamaica since 2015 by Bolt.
My biggest mistake was that I reacted to Gressier”s spurt too late. My coach said me that 200m before the finish will be the crucial point of our race and I should be ready for any movement of my rivals. But I missed Jimmy”s kick exactly at the 9800m mark. It cost me gold,” Yomif Kejelcha after silver in the 10 000 m.
RESULT OF THE DAY
10.61 100 m by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, 4th all-time, meet record and World lead.
SURPRISE OF THE DAY
Bronze for Uruguay in women marathon, Ingebrigtsen, Habz and Phanuel Koech out in men 1500 m heats, former World champ Andersen out in hammer qualification.
Clayton beating Alfred in women 100 m, Europe getting two medals in the 10 000 m men, last time happened in 1983 and 1987.
MEDALS (from 12 to 20 countries)
USA 5-0-1, KEN 2-0-0, JAM 1-2-0
TITLE RETAINERS
Yes (3): Crouser, Perez, US 4x4mx
No (4): Tsegay, Tausaga, Richardson, Lyles
NC (4): A. Martin, Beriso, Spanovic, Cheptegei
TOP MARKS
CR: 4x4mx 3:08.80 USA, 10.61 Jefferson-Wooden
WL: 4x4mx 3:08.80. USA, 10.61 Jefferson-Wooden, 713 Davis-Woodhall
AR: 1 – Africa
AGENTS (individual gold medals)
Paul Doyle 2, Federico Rosa, Miguel Mostaza, Gianni Demadonna, John Nubani, Riad Ouled, Norman Peart, Stephen Haas, Dunfee no agent.
TOKYO 2025 – DAY 3 PREVIEW (5 finals)
Expectations: Mondo for 630? Men marathon similar scenario like women, Camryn Rogers looks to be succesful title repeater, Is El Bakkali the only candidate, can Masai Russell attack the WR.
Medals prediction
Marathon men, AW: Geleta, Takele, Ngetich, TFN: the same
Pole vault men, AW: Duplantis, Karalis, Sasma, TFN: Duplantis, Karalis, Kendricks
Hammer women, AW: Rogers, Kosonen, Andersen, TFN: Rogers, Price, Zhiao
Steeple men, AW: El Bakkali, Girma, Miura, TFN: El Bakkali, Ruppert, Girma
100mH women, AW: Russell, Amusan, Stark, TFN: Russell, Visser, Stark
TOKYO NEWS
TOKYO (JPN): To add to family relatives competing also Moll sisters Hana and Amanda in the women pole vault.
TOKYO (JPN): Nadia Battocletti has now set NRs in her last three 10,000m races (as well as being on the podium at all three major championships). In fact she has only run five 10,000m races in her life. And what she can do over 5000 m, she set NRs at the 2024 EC (gold, 14:35.29) and 2024 OG (4th 14:31.64) and reduced her Italian NR to 14:23.15 at the Rome Diamond league earlier this summer. A true competitor.
TOKYO (JPN): Photo of first day came from walking as Dominik Cerny kissed Hana Burzalova after finishing the 35 km walk. Two years ago, at the Budapest World Athletics Championships 2023, the same photographer captured when Dominik proposed to Hana at the finish line. The wedding is planned for October 4 in Banska Bystrica. They both still compete over 20 km in Tokyo.
TOKYO (JPN: Walking winnr Maria Perez: “I wanted to go for the world record, but the weather did not help. I need to recover for the 20km (September 20th) and perform to the best of my ability. I was surprised to see so many people on the course. This is emotional. I want to thank all the Japanese. They learned and said my name on the last lap. Although I am so far away from home, it felt like home.”
TOKYO (JPN): Ser-Od Bat-Ochir from Mongolia will make his 12th appearance at the World Championships. The 43-year-old’s longevity embodies the notion that sport is for everyone as he seeks to complete another major marathon. Bat-Ochir, whose personal best stands at 2:08.05, is one of the four Mongolian athletes in Tokyo.
TOKYO (JPN): Different situations for steeple top names. Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks failed to advance, finishing second to last in his heat. Geordie Beamish from New Zealand finished second in the second heat despite dropping back to eighth place with just 300 meters to go after suffering a dangerous fall. Canada’s Jean-Simon Desgagnes also fell and was advanced to the final by judge decision.
TOKYO (GBR): Saturday and Sunday final evenings were sold out with 67 500 spectators each.
TOKYO (GBR): Josh Kerr after advancing in the 1500 m about the distance from warm-up track to stadium. “This new call room situation from the warm-up track and everything, we have practised that a lot of times.”
TOKYO (JPN): The biggest surprise of the race would come later when Julia Paternain a novice marathoner (actually 2nd race at the distance) representing Uruguay who lives and trains in Flagstaff, Ariz.– tiptoed through the field from 15th position at 25-K, to tenth place at 30-K, to sixth place at 35-K. Paternain, who was born in Mexico but grew up in Great Britain before having a collegiate running career at Penn State and the University of Arkansas, moved into third position in the 39th kilometer. She had no idea where she was in the running order. “I had no clue,” Paternain told reporters. “Around halfway there was a pack of maybe ten or 15 women ahead of me, and slowly that pack started to break up. I was just trying to make sure that my miles were consistent. I knew if I stayed consistent that everyone around me could do what they wanted.” From RRW.
TOKYO (JPN): Fastest splits in mixed 4×400 m by legs, first 44.57 by Gardeo Isaacs, second Lynna Irby-Jackson 49.18, in third Jenoah McKiver 43.91 and in fourth Femke Bol 50.06.
TOKYO (JPN): Title defender Antonio Watson was at low-level as the whole season and did not qualify from 400 m heats. In high jumpe Gianmarco Tamberi did not had the shape to advance, surprisingly also olympic medalist Shelby McEwen. Australian Linden Hall was the biggest casualty in women 1500 m semifinals.
TOKYO (JPN): Seven sub 50 times in women 400 m 1st round was special. Salwa Eid Naser with 49.13 was faster than Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 49.41.
TOKYO (JPN): Usain Bolt appeared as star guest during Sunday´s programme at Worlds and also conducted an interview with MC. Predicted Jamaican win in men 100 m.
TOKYO (JPN): Multiple champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce final quote after 100 m final, her 8th record Worlds 100 m final: “I made it to the final so I am very proud of myself and I am grateful to be able to finish sixth. I am looking at it as an athlete and for me it was so good. For me, it is a win. I am walking away today feeling proud of what I have accomplished. I am leaving it all on the track. I look forward to running the 4x100m in a couple of days and I will enjoy it. The ovations here today were really incredible.”
TOKYO(JPN): Italian Marta Zenoni, who had initially qualified for the 1500m, was disqualified for obstruction. Sarah Healy qualifies by right and Neele Wessel has been advanced through which means there will be a 13-woman final
STATS (by Ken Nakamura and WA)
400 m men heats: Jacory Patterson’s 43.90 is the fastest time ever recorded in a 400m heat. It is the 17th time the sub-44 second barrier has been broken in the 400m at the World Championships
400 m wom heats: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran the fastest ever heat in World Championships history with 49.41, beating Marileidy Paulino’s previous mark of 49.90 from Budapest in 2023. However, this accolade lasted all of two races. Salwa Eid Naser clocked 49.13 in heat five, the joint ninth fastest time in World Championships history.
Discus women: Allman’s winning throw of 69.47m was the fifth longest winning throw in World Championships history. Jorinde Van Klinken wins the first ever medal for the Netherlands in the women’s discus in World Championships history
100 m semifinal women: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ran the fastest ever 100m semifinal with 10.73, the equal seventh fastest 100m ever recorded at the World Championships. For the second successive world 100m final, Sha’Carri Richardson only qualified as a non-automatic qualifier.
100 m semifinal men: Kenny Bednarek and Kishane Thompson both stopped the clock at 9.85, the equal second fastest 100m semifinal in World Championships history after Justin Gatlin (USA) ran 9.77 in Beijing. Letsile Tebogo false-started in the finals. For just the second time after the 2015 World Championships, all eight finalists broke the 10 second-barrier in the semifinals
Women’s long jump final: Tara Davis-Woodhall won for the United States’ ninth world long jump title from 20 editions of the World Championships but their first since London in 2017. With bronze in the long jump, Natalia Linares became just the second Colombian woman to win a World Championships medal after Caterine Ibarguen who won five medals in the triple jump. Malaika Mihambo won her sixth successive global medal with silver in the long jump
10 000 m men final: Jimmy Gressier became the first French athlete to win a world title on the track since Pierre-Ambroise Bosse won the 800m in London in 2017. In stifling heat and humidity (30C and 68 percent humidity according to the official results), Gressier’s winning time of 28:55.77 was easily the slowest winning time in World Championships history.
Women’s 100m final: US sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden wins the United States’ 10th world 100m title from 20 World Championships. “Instead of putting the pressure on myself and taking it as something overwhelming, I was just embracing it,” she said.
Men´s 100 m: Oblique Seville ends the United States’ run of four successive men’s 100m titles at the World Championships. Seville’s winning time of 9.77 was the joint third fastest 100m winning time in World Championships history alongside Bolt’s 9.77 from 2013
W Marathon: Jepchirchir became second women (after Mota) to win both World Champ and Olympic Marathon. Patternain won first medal for URU at the Worlds. She also first South American winning a medal in marathon at Worlds. Winning margin of 2 sec is second smallest.
WHT qualifying: 77.52 by Camryn Rogers is the longest throw in the qualification at Worlds. Wlodarczyk with 40 years became the oldest hammer finalist.
W100m first round: 12.40 by Danielle Williams tied second fastest first round time at Worlds.
