35 KM WALKS
Alvaro Martin and Maria Perez completed the walking double in six days for Spain. The race walkers gathered in Heroes’ Square in the morning as all registered contestants started at the same time. On the men’s side, Alvaro Martin walked 4:06 average pace in the first 10K, then remained in the group for a while. When the race leader Aurelien Quinion took a pit-stop after triple warnings, Ecuadorian Brian Daniel Pintado led the race until the penultimate lap. Meanwhile, Martin geared up in the 34th kilometer by producing a crazy 3:52 turn which took him apart from Pintado. Despite being closely followed by Ecuadorian, Alvaro Martin secured the title by finishing four seconds ahead. Martin broke the Spanish record with 2:24:30 as Pintado landed the silver medal with a South American record of 2:24:34. Women’s race was dominated by Maria Perez who broke the world record on May 21 and established a clean victory over defending champion Kimberly Garcia of Peru. Greece’s late-blossomer Antigoni Drisbioti has won a precious gold in 2:43:22.
MEN’S LONG JUMP
Greece’s Miltos Tentoglou has finally secured the world championships title in Budapest after a two-way battle with Jamaican Wayne Pinnock. Jamaican took the lead with 8.50 metres, leaving Tentoglou second best and remaining on top until the last turn. Greece’s Olympic champion had his last chance to change the table and ended with an 8.52m leap, just two centimetres clear over the Jamaican. Pinnock tried to bounce back but came short (8.38) in his final hurrah.
WOMEN’S HAMMER THROW
Canada’s unexpected hammer success continued in the women’s contest. Camryn Rogers, last year’s silver medallist, clinched the gold by a stellar series. The 24-year-old University of California student Rogers threw the 4 kg implement to 77.62 in the first attempt before doing three more attempts beyond 76 metres. Janee’ Kassavanoid and 2019 champion DeAnna Pierce completed the podium respectively with 76.36 and 75.41 efforts.
WOMEN’S 100M HURDLES
Jamaica’s Danielle Williams has become the surprise package of the day in a close final. 2015 world champion ideally got up from the blocks in 0.132 seconds and escaped the mid-lanes congestion on lane one. She wrapped up the race strongly to clock 12.43 – just 0.01 seconds ahead of Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who looked a winner for everybody at first sight. The powerful Puerto Rican lost the closest ever 100H final to Williams, who became the first hurdler to regain the title after eight years. Former world record holder Kendra Harrison left the final with a hard-fought bronze despite her stunning WL opener in the heats, 12.22.
MEN’S 400 METRES
Antonio Watson brought second gold in 15 minutes to Jamaica immediately after women’s 100H final, while at the same time becoming only the second Jamaican to have 400m gold in the history of the event after Bert Cameron’s famous 1983 victory. The 21-year-old clocked 44.22 to beat race favorite and European record holder Matthew Hudson-Smith of United Kingdom who ran 44.31, while former hurdler Quincy Hall secured his first World Championships medal with a 44.37 personal best. In addition to Steven Gardiner’s unlucky injury in the heats, two giants of the distance Kirani James and Wayde Van Niekerk were left empty-handed in the night. James was disqualified by lane infringement while Van Niekerk didn’t make a good pace and finished seventh after merely 45.11 secs.
WOMEN’S 400M HURDLES
Netherland’s darling Femke Bol had compensation in her favorite event, 400 metres hurdles in Day 6 finals. The 23-year-old star easily distanced from the rest of the field to clock yet another sub-52 (second after her 51.45 European record in London) in Budapest National Athletics Stadium. Bol made 51.70 to obtain her maiden World title in the absence of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, as Shamier Little of United States and Rushell Clayton of Jamaica have both gone under 53 (52.80 and 52.81) behind her. Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya registered the third Asian record in four days with 53.09, although the mark wasn’t enough to secure a berth on the podium.
