Jessica Schilder joined Dutch teammate Femke Bol as a World Athletics Championships gold medallist, claiming shot put gold with a dramatic final-round effort in Tokyo on Saturday (20).
Earlier in the day Spain’s María Pérez also won a historic fourth world title – completing her second successive race walk double in the 20k event, with teammate Paul McGrath taking bronze in the men’s race.
There were also historic silver medals for Ireland’s Kate O’Connor in the women’s heptathlon and Latvia’s Anete Sietiņa in the women’s javelin on the penultimate day of action at the championships.
Bronze medals for Italy’s Nadia Battocletti in the 5000m and Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson in the heptathlon underlined their reputations as prolific medallists on the global stage.
Superb Schilder
Schilder’s victory in the shot put was the biggest of her career, crowning a superb year that has also brought European indoor gold and world indoor silver. Out of the medals until the final round, she produced a magical throw of 20.29m to snatch glory.
Pérez gave another was another masterclass in the 20k race walk to take gold, while McGrath won his first global medal, taking bronze despite being hampered by cramping in the closing stages.
In the heptathlon, O’Connor delivered five personal bests across seven events to become Ireland’s first world medallist in 12 years and only the sixth in history. Two-time champion Johnson-Thompson showed she still has plenty to offer, sharing bronze with the USA’s Taliyah Brooks.
In a wide-open javelin final, Sietiņa was not among the pre-event favourites but rose to the occasion in the closing rounds. She threw 63.35m in the fifth round to move into third, then improved to a personal best of 64.64m in the final round to secure silver.
Exactly one week after taking silver in the 10,000m, Battocletti returned to win 5000m bronze after a thrilling last-lap tussle with Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon, the Kenyan champions of the 10,000m and 1500m respectively. It is the third global medal of the Italian’s career, adding to her Olympic silver from Paris.
Europeans go close in searing 800m final
European athletes came close in a scintillating men’s 800m final won by Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyoni of Kenya in 1:41.86.
Ireland’s Cian McPhillips broke the national record he had set just two days earlier in the semi-finals, finishing fourth in 1:42.15 after a storming late burst. Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui, the European silver medallist, battled through traffic on the final bend to take fifth in 1:42.21.
Great Britain’s Max Burgin, well-placed in third entering the home straight, could not quite live with the searing pace but still clocked a personal best of 1:42.29 in sixth.
Skotheim poised in second in decathlon
After day one of the decathlon, Norway’s Sander Skotheim sits second with 4583 points, 164 behind USA’s Kyle Garland. It was a solid if unspectacular day for Skotheim, the reigning world and European indoor champion, who is expected to mount a strong challenge in Sunday’s final events.
His 1500m personal best of 4:23.88 is more than 30 seconds quicker than Garland’s. Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme holds third with 4487, while Germany’s Olympic silver medallist Leo Neugebauer (4455) and Estonia’s European champion Johannes Erm (4378) remain in medal contention.
Contenders foiled in relays
In the relay heats, Olympic silver medallists and European champions the Netherlands qualified for Sunday’s women’s 4x400m final, cruising to third in heat two with 3:24.03—where star anchor Femke Bol is expected to return.
In the men’s 4x400m, a Belgian quartet featuring European champion Alexander Doom also advanced, finishing second in heat two in 2:57.98.
There was disappointment in the men’s 4x100m, with European champions Italy and Olympic bronze medallists Great Britain both eliminated in the heats. The Netherlands, however, qualified for the final after placing second in heat two with 37.95, building on their European Team Championships success earlier this year.
In the women’s 4x100m, Olympic silver medallists Great Britain also advanced, finishing third in heat two in 41.88.
Stahl leads discus qualifiers
Defending men's discus champion Daniel Ståhl of Sweden led the qualifiers for Sunday's (20) final with 69.30m. European champion Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia (68.08m), world record holder Mykolas Alekna (65.39m) of Lithuania and his brother Martynas (67.16m) also secured their berths.