Tokyo (AFP) – American stars Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Noah Lyles, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone battled through the rain to add another gold to their tally and bring the curtain down on the world championships in Tokyo. For Jefferson-Wooden, it was her third of the week, while for Lyles and McLaughlin-Levrone, it was their second. Their compatriot Cole Hocker had hoped for two but made up for his disqualification in the 1,500 metres by winning the 5,000m.
Jefferson-Wooden swept the women’s sprint titles at these championships, as the United States won the 4x100m relay, becoming only the second woman to achieve that feat. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the first woman to have accomplished this in 2013, stood a step lower on the podium than Jefferson-Wooden, as the 38-year-old legend departed from the world stage with a silver medal from that relay. The 24-year-old American will, however, have to go some way to rival Fraser-Pryce’s tally of 26 Olympic and world medals. “It’s crazy to be going home with three gold medals,” she said. “I added my name to the history books once again.”
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For Fraser-Pryce, her hair adorned in colors of the Japanese flag for this last hurrah, there was something rather symbolic in her last race being the relay as she hands over the baton to a new generation. “I started it tonight and to be able to hand over to our young upcoming superstars and queens is truly fantastic,” she said. “It has been a privilege to be able to finish my career in this way.”
Lyles and McLaughlin-Levrone complemented their achievements by adding relay gold in the men’s 4x100m and women’s 4x400m, respectively, to their 200m and 400m titles. “I just had to finish the race. They made it easy for me,” said Lyles of his teammates. “I could have not asked for a better relay.”
However, the Americans did not have it all their way. They had won nine of the last 10 men’s 4x400m relay titles; it is now nine out of 11 as Botswana became the first country from Africa to win gold. Botswana’s 400m individual champion Busang Collen Kebinatshipi somehow found the reserves to power past America’s 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin at the line despite the rain lashing their faces. The Botswanan quartet, including Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo, celebrated with a dance in the downpour. “I wanted to come here and motivate my teammates and walk away with gold. And we did it,” said Kebinatshipi.
Like Jefferson-Wooden, Kenya’s women had a magnificent championships, winning every title from the 800m to the marathon. Lilian Odira’s name would not have been on many people’s lips prior to the 800m final. Only a semi-finalist in the Olympics last year, she not only leaves Tokyo with the gold but has also erased Czechoslovakian Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 42-year-old championship record. Odira timed 1min 54.62sec, 0.06 faster than the previous mark, as she stunned Britain’s Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson. It has not been a good championship for Kratochvilova, as her 400m championship record was broken by McLaughlin-Levrone earlier in the week. The 26-year-old Odira had swept down the straight and passed the British duo of Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell. Their falling short rounded off a miserable championship for Britain, which finished without a gold medal in their worst showing for 22 years. For Odira, though, it was a case of getting her timing right. “I got lucky,” she said. Regardless, there are two very proud young people waiting for her back in Kenya. “It (the medal) is for my sons, they are four and two. They are my motivation.”
In the sporting arena, Ukraine and its people have relied heavily on high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh to boost morale since Russia invaded in February 2022. Time and again, the 24-year-old has done so: a world outdoor gold two years ago on a tear-filled night in Budapest, a world record, and an Olympic title in Paris. However, as hard as she battled on Sunday, she had to settle for bronze and handed her world crown to Australian Nicola Olyslagers.
© 2024 AFP
