Americans make huge medal haul
Fraser-Pryce wins fifth World title in 100 meters on day when U.S. wins win four events
EUGENE, Oregon – Athletes from the U.S. had a field day in the World Athletics Championships at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field on Sunday.
On a day when Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won her fifth world title in the women’s 100 meters, nine Americans won medals in four events.
Ryan Crouser, Joe Kovacs, and unheralded Josh Awotunde swept the medals in the men’s shotput during the afternoon session, and the U.S. also received 1-2 finishes from Grant Holloway and Trey Cunningham in the men’s 110-meter high hurdles, and from Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris in the women’s pole vault.
Brooke Andersen and Janee’ Kassanavoid got the U.S. medal haul rolling during the morning session when they finished first and third in the women’s hammer throw.
The U.S. sweep of the shot put came a day after Americans Fred Kerley, Marvin Bracy, and Trayvon Bromell had finished 1-2-3 in the men’s 100.
“We’re proud of this,” Kovacs said while being interviewed over the public address system. “We always say that the U.S. has the best shot putters in the world and today we proved it.”
Many track and field fans know that Crouser is the world-record-holder in the shot put and the two-time defending Olympic champion in the event. But those fans might not know that Kovacs came into the meet as a two-time World champion.
He had edged Crouser and Tomas Walsh of New Zealand by one centimeter in winning the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. And he and Crouser engaged in a classic back and forth duel during a warm evening on Sunday.
Putting sixth in the 12-competitor rotation, Crouser took over the lead with an effort of 22.21 meters (72 feet 10½ inches) in the first round. But Kovacs blew past that mark when he unleashed a 22.63 (74-3) effort four throws later. Crouser dropped another spot in the standings when Awotunde improved his personal best to 22.24 (72-11¾), but he wasn’t there for long as he retook the lead with a 22.71 (74-6¼) effort in round two.
Crouser still led at the end of the fourth of six rounds, but Kovacs vaulted back into the lead with a fifth-round effort of 22.89 (75-1¼).
Crouser, showing the grit of a supreme competitor, responded with a 22.94 (75-3¼) effort and when Kovacs could not improve upon his best mark in round six, Crouser had won his first World title.
“It was a battle tonight,” Crouser said over the PA system. “And a USA sweep two days in a row… This is truly just an honor to be a part of it.”
A third U.S. sweep appeared to be in the offing prior to the start of the high hurdles as Olympic champion Hansle Parchment of Jamaica had withdrawn from the final with an injury after looking very good in winning his semifinal in a wind-aided 13.02.
With Parchment out, there did not appear to be anyone in the final who could keep pace with Holloway, Cunningham, or Devon Allen, who had run a world-leading 12.84 in June. However, Allen was disqualified for a false start when the pressure sensors in the starting blocks indicated he had reacted to the starter’s signal in less than a tenth of a second, which is grounds for a disqualification.
With Allen out of the race, Holloway got off to his typically great start and was never seriously challenged for first as he ran 13.03 to win his second consecutive World title. Cunningham, less than two months removed from winning his first NCAA outdoor title as a Florida State University senior, placed second in 13.08, followed by Asier Martinez of Spain, who finished third in a personal best of 13.17.
“I’m excited to get a world title here in America,” Holloway told World Athletics. “This sport, this atmosphere is what I live for. This is my first world title in America so it is even more special for me this time.”
Andersen won her first world title in the women’s hammer throw after trailing Camryn Rogers of Canada and Kassanavoid after the first three rounds.
The Northern Arizona University graduate appeared to have the best throw of the competition in the fourth round, but it was initially ruled a foul. However, that ruling was reversed shortly thereafter, and her 77.42 (254-0) effort gave her a lead she would never relinquish. She improved to 77.56 (254-5) in the fifth round before putting an exclamation point on her performance with a 78.96 (259-1) bomb in round six.
Rogers, who concluded her collegiate career at UC Berkeley by winning her third NCAA title in June, won a silver medal with a best of 75.52 (247-9), and Kassanavoid won the bronze with a throw of 74.86 (245-7).
It was the second consecutive victory for the U.S. in the women’s hammer throw as DeAnna Price had won the gold medal in Doha.
Price, who had been slowed by lower-body injuries since winning the Olympic Trials last year, had an automatic berth in the World Championships as the defending champion, but she had recently withdrawn from the meet while suffering from the effects of COVID-19.
A 1-2 finish by the U.S. in the women’s pole vault was not a shock, but the form charts would have had Morris finishing ahead of Nageotte.
Morris was the world leader at 4.82 (15-9¾) entering the meet and she had beaten Olympic champion Nageotte on a consistent basis this season.
The fact is, Nageotte trailed Morris and Nina Kennedy of Australia when the bar was raised to 4.85 (15-11) because she had needed two tries to clear 4.80 (15-9) while they had negotiated that height on their first attempts.
But Nageotte moved into the lead when she cleared 4.85 on her first try and Morris needed two attempts. Kennedy missed twice at that height before passing to 4.90 (16-0¾), a height that none of them could clear.
Morris has now finished second in three consecutive World Championships after winning the silver medal in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“This year has been a struggle, to say the least,” said Nageotte, who had issues earlier in the season with the Achilles’ tendon on her take-off leg. “I know Sandi can attest to that. There were so many times I was debating retiring. It was hard to come to the track every day and stay motivated.”
Fraser-Pryce, 35, does not seem to have that issue.
The seemingly ageless, 5-foot-3 sprinter who is affectionately called the Pocket Rocket was soundly beaten by countrywoman Elaine Thompson-Herah in the 100 in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but she has been the dominant century sprinter in the world this year.
She won her semifinal in 10.93 on Sunday before winning the final in a meet-record time of 10.67 while leading Jamaica to a sweep of the medals.
Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain and Fraser-Pryce got off to the best starts, but Fraser-Pryce took over the lead by the mid-way point of the race and finished well clear of runner-up Shericka Jackson (personal best of 10.73) and third-place Thompson-Herah (10.81). Asher-Smith equaled the British record of 10.83 while finishing fourth.
The time by Fraser-Pryce tied the yearly world-leading mark she first ran in Nairobi in May and tied in Paris in June.
It also gave her an unprecedented five world titles in the event as she won her first championship in 2009, followed by victories in 2013, ’15, ’19, and this year. She did not compete in the 2017 championships after announcing earlier in the year that she was pregnant.
“Today was a fantastic day, I did it for my country again,” Fraser-Pryce said. “I can't even imagine the amount of times I've had setbacks and I've bounced back and I'm here again.”
Other finals contested on Sunday were in the men’s marathon and 10,000 meters.
Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia set a meet record of 2 hours 5 minutes 36 seconds in the marathon, with countryman Mosinet Geremew finishing second in 2:06:44, and Bashir Abdi of Belgium placing third in 2:06:48.
Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda won the 10,000 in 27 minutes 27.43 seconds after running his last lap in a scorching 53.42 seconds and his final 1,600 in 4:01.70.
The world-record-holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters had been upset by Ethiopian Seleman Barega in the Olympic Games, but Barega finished fifth in 27:28.39 on Sunday when he was unable to summon a finishing lick as good as those ahead of him.
Stanley Waithaka of Kenya placed second in 27:27.90, followed by Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda (27:27.97) and Grant Fisher of the U.S. (27:38.14), who passed Barega in the final 20 meters of the race.
Nafi Thiam of Belgium was the leader of the women’s heptathlon after the first four events of the two-day competition with a total of 4,071 points. She was followed by second-place Anouk Vetter of the Netherlands with 4,010, and third-place Anna Hall of the U.S. with 3,991.
Thiam, the two-time defending Olympic champion and the silver medalist in the 2019 World Championships, had marks of 13.21 in the 100-meter hurdles, 1.95 (6-4¾) in the high jump, 15.03 (49-3¾) in the shot put, and 24.39 in the 200.
Vetter’s marks were 13.30 in the 100 hurdles, 1.80 (5-10¾) in the high jump, 16.25 (53-3¾) in the shot put, and 23.73 in the 200.
Hall, who just completed her sophomore season at the University of Florida, had marks of 13.20 in the 100 hurdles, 1.86 (6-1¼) in the high jump, 13.67 (44-10¼) in the shot put, and 23.08 in the 200.
The semifinal winners of the 400-meter intermediate hurdles were Alison dos Santos of Brazil, Karsten Warholm of Norway, and Rai Benjamin of the U.S., who posted times of 47.85, 48.00, and 48.44, respectively.
The final will be held on Tuesday, at 7:50 p.m., Pacific time.
In the semifinals of the men’s 1,500 meters, Olympic medalists Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, and Josh Kerr of Great Britain were among the 12 runners who advanced to the final. However, Ethiopian Samuel Tefera and Australian Olli Hoare were eliminated in the first semifinal when they finished ninth and 10th with times of 3:37.71 and 3:38.36, respectively.
Tefera outkicked Ingebrigtsen to win the 1,500 in the World Indoor Championships in March.
Hoare was the No. 4 ranked 1,500 runner in the world by Track & Field News last year and ran a national record of 3:47.48 in the mile in June.
The final of the men’s 1,500 will be held on Tuesday, at 7:30 p.m.
Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania was the leading qualifier in the men’s discus with a mark of 69.81 (229-0).
The 19-year-old thrower recently completed his freshman year at UC Berkeley.
The final of the men’s discus will be held on Tuesday, starting at 6:33 p.m.