Portugal’s Isaac Nader produced a spellbinding victory in the men’s 1500m, edging out Great Britain’s Jake Wightman, while Italy’s Mattia Furlani claimed superb long jump gold on Day 5 of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Wednesday (17).
There was also a first outdoor global medal for 36-year-old Tina Šutej in the women’s pole vault.
Finishing speed key for Nader
Although not among the pre-race favourites in a field that included defending champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain, 2022 winner Wightman, in-form Dutchman Niels Laros, and 2019 world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, Nader’s finishing speed always posed a threat.
And so it proved. With Kerr falling out of contention and Laros, then Wightman, doing much of the early work, Nader found a clear path on the home straight to surge past, winning by 0.02 in 3:34.10.
Furlani adds outdoor gold to indoor crown
Furlani also timed his effort perfectly. Sitting outside the medals for much of the competition, he soared to a personal best of 8.39m in the fifth round to seize gold. None of his rivals could respond, and he added the outdoor crown to the world indoor title he secured earlier this year.
In her 11th major outdoor global final, Slovenia's Tina Šutej finally claimed a medal, winning bronze with a second-time clearance at 4.80m. The competition was won for the third time by Katie Moon of USa with a best of 4.90m.
In her seventh appearance in a World Championships final, Germany’s Gesa Krause clocked a season’s best of 9:14.27 in the women’s 3000m steeplechase.
The race was won by Kenya’s Faith Cherotich in 8:51.59, and although Krause wasn’t close enough to challenge for a medal to add to her bronzes from Beijing 2015 and Doha 2019, she finished a creditable seventh.
Bol qualifies fastest
Femke Bol qualified fastest for Friday’s (19) women’s 400m hurdles final. The Dutch defending champion cruised to victory in the second semifinal in 52.31. Slovakia’s Emma Zapletalová, a former European U23 champion, advanced as the fifth fastest overall after placing third in the first semifinal in 53.22.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, three-time champion Karsten Warholm of Norway eased through to Friday’s (19) final, finishing second in his semifinal in 47.72.
Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith impressed in the women’s 200m, winning heat six in 22.40. Her compatriot Zharnel Hughes also advanced comfortably in the men’s 200m, finishing second in heat four behind world champion Noah Lyles in 20.07.
A huge second-round throw of 87.21m ensured world leader Julian Weber qualified for Thursday’s (18) men’s javelin final. Poland’s Dawid Wegner also produced a breakthrough performance, throwing a personal best of 85.67m to reach the final.
In the men’s triple jump qualifiers, Olympic, world, and European champion Pedro Pichardo booked his spot in Friday’s (19) final with a leap of 17.09m. Austria’s Endiorass Kingley also advanced, setting a national record of 16.85m.