Alison Dos Santos on Tuesday ended Karsten Warholm’s reign as hurdles king at the world championships, while Britain’s Jake Wightman won his country’s first 1,500m gold in 39 years on a day of upsets.
Warholm might have been behind one of the most iconic moments in Olympic history when he smashed the 29-year-old world record to win the 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Games in a time of 45.94 seconds, but the 26-year-old came to Eugene on the back of a hamstring injury which ultimately put paid to his medal attempt.
Instead, Dos Santos ran the third-fastest time of all time and a championship record of 46.29 seconds to win gold ahead of Americans Rai Benjamin and Trevor Bassitt.
Photo: AFP
“It’s pretty awesome to win the world title on this track. I didn’t care about the time, because this is the first time I win a world title,” Dos Santos said.
Warholm led coming into the home straight, but seized up badly and eventually came in seventh in 48.42 seconds, breaking a winning streak of 22 races, including 18 finals, dating back to September 2018.
“It was a very tough race,” Warholm said. “I had an injury, but to me it’s always your fight and giving your all and leaving it all on the track. I felt I did that. I hope looking back I’ll feel proud of that even though I prefer to take a medal.”
Photo: AFP
While everyone knew Warholm was coming back from injury, serious hopes were pinned on Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s 1,500m.
However, Wightman had not read the script, playing the Norwegian at his own game by kicking with 200m to run and holding his form through to the line.
Wightman sealed the victory in 3 minutes, 29.23 seconds, with Ingebrigtsen taking silver in 3 minutes, 29.47 seconds and Spaniard Mohamed Katir claiming bronze in 3 minutes, 29.90 seconds.
In a bizarre twist, Wightman’s father, Geoff Wightman, is in Eugene doing the in-stadium commentary.
Geoff Wightman, also his son’s coach, was reduced to a cracked voice as he announced to Hayward Field: “That’s my son and he’s world champion.”
“For him to be part of my journey to get to this point, and actually part of the actual race itself is so unique,” Jake Wightman said of his father. “I talked to him and he’s very happy. I’m glad he showed some emotion.”
Australian Eleanor Patterson won high jump gold in the fourth final of the night with 2.02m on countback from Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh, with Italian Elena Vallortigara taking bronze.
“I’m honestly speechless right now,” Patterson said afterward. “I’m already starting to get sore cheeks from smiling.”
Day five of action at the world champs also saw newly crowned 100m champion Fred Kerley fail to advance from the semi-finals of the 200m.
Kerley set off smoothly from the blocks, but was left grimacing as he hit the home straight at Eugene’s Hayward Field, eventually finishing sixth in 20.68 seconds.
Kerley later said he had cramped up in the later stages of the race, but insisted he would be fit to race in the relays.
“Bit of cramp, but it’s all good,” Kerley said. “I’m not in pain, I’ll be good.”
While Kerley was left digesting a disappointing early exit, there were no such worries for defending 200m world champion Noah Lyles, who romped home in his semi-final in a blistering 19.62 seconds.
The main threat to Lyles’ hopes of retaining his 200m world title might well come from teenage teammate and emerging rival Erriyon Knighton. The 18-year-old prodigy blazed home to win his semi-final in 19.77 seconds.
In the women’s 200m, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce kept her bid for a sprint double on track as she sailed into the final.
Fraser-Pryce timed a season’s best of 21.83 seconds in the third of three semi-finals.
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