TRACK & FIELD
Women ’ s 100m : 10 th Title for Fraser-Pryce
Jamaican sprinter Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce stands just 160cm tall , but it is all explosive dynamite , and she is proof that dynamite does indeed come in small packages . On 17 July , the 35-year-old won her 10th World Title when she ran the fastest time in the world so far this year , clocking 10.67 to defend her 100m World Title from 2019 .
In doing so , Fraser-Pryce won a fifth World Title in this event , having also won in 2009 , 2013 , 2015 and 2019 , and this extended her lead as the sprinter with the most World Titles over 100m – fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt and Americans Carl Lewis and Maurice Green all finished their careers with three titles each . ( Fraser-Pryce missed the 2017 World Champs after falling pregnant , and actually went into labour while watching the women ’ s 100m final that year .)
It also moved her up to a combined seven World and Olympic 100m Titles , the most for any sprinter . In an outstanding and long career , Fraser-Pryce has now won a total of 10 World Titles ( 100m , 200m and 4x100m ), a World Indoors title over 60m , and three Olympic golds ( two in the 100m , one in the 4x100m ), and also has four Olympic and four World Championship silver medals , prompting some to say she is a greater athlete than Usain Bolt . She
After her win in Eugene , Fraser-Pryce did a post-race interview with the BBC , alongside Britain ’ s Dina Asher-Smith , the 2019 200m World Champion who finished fourth in the 100m final and took bronze in the 200m final in Eugene . When Fraser-Pryce was jokingly asked by the BBC presenter when she will stop winning titles , Asher Smith jumped in with a joking question of her own : “ When will you have another baby ?” – implying that ’ s what it would take to beat Fraser-Pryce .
Men ’ s Pole Vault : The Sky is the Limit
Since jumping six metres for the first time in 2018 in Berlin , Swedish pole-vaulter Mondo Duplantis has appeared to soar over that mark with ease . He is now just two jumps shy of having cleared the 6m mark on 50 occasions . And at just 22 years , the Swede , who lives and trains in the US , is already a European Indoor and Outdoor Champion , a World Indoor and Outdoor Champion , and the Olympic Champion . So , what better way to win a first outdoor World Title than with a new World Record ?
This had already been a remarkable year for the Swede . In March he jumped 6.19m to break his own indoors record , then won the World Indoor Champs title two weeks later with a 6.20m final jump – until recently the highest jump of all time . In June he broke his own outdoor World Record of 6.15m , set in 2020 , when he jumped 6.16m . In Eugene , he had the gold medal wrapped up and decided to go after the World Record again , and he soared over the bar at 6.21m , at the second attempt , to set his fifth outdoor record , and the highest jump of all time .
Afterwards , he said , “ It ’ s great , I cannot complain . Actually , I did not think about the record that much today ... I really wanted to win the gold so badly . It was the one medal I was missing . So when I was on this height , it was like everything came together and it happened from there .”
Women ’ s 1500m : You Gotta Have Faith
Everyone was anticipating a fierce duel in the women ’ s 1500m as Ethiopia ’ s Gudaf Tsegay looked to dethrone Olympic Champion Faith Kipyegon . The Kenyan had won the World Title in 2017 and the Olympic Titles in 2016 and 2021 , but had to settle for silver in the 2019 World Championships behind a rampant Sifan Hassan ( Netherlands ). Kipyegon got her revenge in Tokyo in 2021 , but was desperate for another World Title .
Tsegay gave notice of her intent by winning her heat in 4:02.68 , looking composed throughout , and the TV commentary team questioned whether Kipyegon would be able to deal with the Ethiopian ’ s kick , especially after Tsegay clocked 4:01.28 in the first semi-final , versus the 4:03.98 that Kipyegon clocked in her semi . But as George Michael famously sang , “ You gotta have faith ,” and Kipyegon certainly did – as did her ardent supporters , who had already chalked her up as the champion before the race was even run . In the end , that faith was not misplaced , as she unleashed a devastating kick in the final lap that saw her run the second-fastest time on American soil , 3:52.96 , and left Tsegay a distant second in 3:54.52 . ( Kipyegon also owns the fastest time on US soil , the 3:52.59 she clocked on the same track in the Prefontaine Classic .)
Remarkably , Tsegay would go on to emulate Jakob Ingebrigtsen by finishing second in the 1500m and then winning the 5000m , but Kipyegon has now won an unprecedented four World Championship medals in the 1500m , with her 2017 and 2022 titles augmented by silver in 2015 and 2019 .
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