Yavi scares world record in steeplechase
Bahraini runner's 8:44.39 clocking in Golden Gala just misses mark set in 2018
A world record that had not been seriously challenged since it was set six years ago came oh so close to falling in the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea Diamond League meet in Rome on Friday.
However, Winfred Yavi’s winning time of 8 minutes 44.39 seconds in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase was an excruciating seven hundredths of a second off the world record of 8:44.32 set by Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya in 2018.
Chepkoech had lowered the world record by nearly eighth and a half seconds when she set that record and no one had come within six seconds of it since then.
Yavi, a 24-year-old Kenyan native who has represented Bahrain in international competitions since 2016, entered Friday’s meet with the second-fastest time in history as she had run 8:50.66 while defeating second-place Chepkoech (8:51.67) in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, last September.
She had also posted winning times of 8:52.76 in the Olympic Games in Paris on August 6 and 8:54.29 in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, last year. And with Olympic silver medalist Peruth Chemutai of Uganda in Friday’s race at Stadio Olimpico she knew she would be pushed.
Chemutai was also intent on breaking the world record, but after being outkicked by Yavi for the Olympic title, she no doubt knew that her chances at winning would increase significantly if she could break away from her rival before the home straightaway.
Pace setter Agnieszka Chorzepa of Poland led the field through the first lap in 67.5 seconds, but Chemutai had moved past her before the end of the second lap and it was the Ugandan who led the field through the first kilometer in 2:54.01.
Yavi and Olympic bronze medalist Faith Cherotich of Kenya were the only runners who were close to Chemutai at that point in the race, but Cherotich was more than three seconds behind her when Chemutai came through two kilometers in 5:49.51 after running the second 1,000-meter segment of the race in 2:55.50.
The world record appeared to be in jeopardy at that point, but when 2021 Olympic champion Chemutai ran the next 400 meters 1.3 seconds slower than the previous segment, it look like a chance at breaking Chepkoech’s mark might be slipping away.
Perhaps sensing that, Yavi moved into the lead just before the start of the bell lap.
Chemutai stayed close behind her down the backstretch and tried to pass Yavi heading into the final curve, but her charge was repelled.
Yavi had a half-step lead on Chemutai as they exited the final water jump and she had extended her advantage to a few meters as she cleared the last — and 28th — barrier of the race. She then unleashed a kick that quickly dropped Chemutai.
Pumping her arms briskly and racing with a wide-eyed expression of excitement on her face, Yavi drove all the way through the finish line, covering the final 100 meters in 15.0, compared to Chemutai’s split of 18.3.
Chemutai finished second in 8:48.03, the third-fastest time in history, followed by Cherotich in 8:57.65.
Valerie Constien of the U.S. edged Marwa Bouzayani of Tunisia, 9:04.92 to 9:04.93, for fourth place and fellow American Gabbi Jennings finished sixth in 9:07.70.
Bouzayani’s time was a Tunisian record and Jennings’ mark moved her to sixth on the all-time U.S. performer list.
In her pursuit of the world record, Yavi ran her final 400 meters in a superb 65.9 seconds while clearing four barriers and a water jump.
“I looked at the time after the race and I went ‘oh, no!’ I was really expecting that record and I was going for it,” Yavi said in quotes on the meet website. “I definitely feel I should break it and believe it will happen. I need to work even harder. And I am planning to have another go at it before the end of the end of the season! My biggest goal for next year is to become a double World champion.”
Chemutai’s time crushed her previous national record of 8:53.34 set in the Olympic Games in Paris, but she fell short of her ultimate goal.
“I feel good and I am very happy. Yet, I came here for the world record and I missed it,” she said. “But I still achieved a national record. The world record will be for next time.”
She than added, “I kind of paced this race for Yavi. I knew that Yavi has this strong kick at the end. But I planned this race with my coach and my management, unfortunately I missed the world record. I guess I need to train more for the final 100m. I will celebrate this national record tonight.”
While Yavi and Chemutai produced the top two statistical performances of the meet, Ackera Nugent of Jamaica was not far behind them as her winning time of 12.24 seconds in the women’s 100-meter hurdles moved her to fourth on the all-time performer list.
Olympic champion Masai Russell of the U.S. finished second in 12.31, the second-fastest time of her career, and she was followed by Olympic fourth-place finisher Nadine Visser of the Netherlands in 12.52 and Olympic silver medalist Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France in 12.57.
Nugent, 22, had advanced to the Olympic final, but she hit the seventh hurdle so hard during the contest that it caused her to veer off to her right and she had no chance of clearing the eighth hurdle or finishing the race.
While she was understandably disappointed when that happened, she bounced back to run 12.38 to finish third in the Athletissima Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 22 before running 12.29 to win the final of the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in Chorzow, Poland, last Sunday after running 12.30 in her qualifying heat.
She got off a good start on Friday, moved into the lead by the third of 10 hurdles, and was never seriously challenged for the victory as her winning time bettered the previous national record of 12.28 that she had set in the Jamaican Olympic Trials in late June.
The only women to have run faster than Nugent are Tobi Amusan of Nigeria, who set the world record of 12.12 in the semifinals of the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Keni Harrison of the U.S., who clocked 12.20 in 2016, and Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria, who ran 12.21 in 1988.
“This victory is not like a revenge for the Olympics for me,” Nugent said in quotes on the meet website. “I am just in really good shape. I was injured before and this is a new experience for me. I am still so young. I still got to show up. My emotions? I guess they have not kicked in yet because I am still so full of adrenaline… Yeah, I kind of expected to win here. I really enjoyed this race. For the next races, I do not promise anything because it will depend on the day and the weather also.”
While Yavi and Nugent produced the top winning performances in the women’s meet, Ryan Crouser of the U.S. and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana turned in the leading efforts on the men’s side.
Crouser had the top six marks in the shot put, topped by a meet record of 22.49 meters (73 feet 9½ inches), and Tebogo won the 100 meters in 9.87 seconds, despite easing up at the end of the race.
The 31-year-old Crouser had become the first man in history to win three consecutive Olympic titles in the shot put in Paris, but he had finished second to compatriot Joe Kovacs in the Skolimowska Memorial when his best of 22.12 (72-7) left him two centimeters behind Kovacs’ top mark of 22.14 (72-7¾).
He and Kovacs met again on Friday, but Kovacs finished fourth at 21.62 (70-11¼). Leonardo Fabbri of Italy placed second at 21.70 (71-2½) and American Payton Otterdahl was third at 21.63 (70-11¾).
Crouser took the lead when his first put measured 22.26 (73-0½) and he followed that with his top effort of 22.49 (73-9½). He then hit 22.30 (73-2) on his third attempt, 22.29 (73-1¾) on his fourth, 22.24 (72-11¾) on his fifth, and 22.12 (72-7) on his sixth.
“I executed a lot better today that I did in Silesia,” Crouser said in quotes on the meet website. “I no longer feel the jet lag after coming back to Europe from home. It is a good indicator there is a big throw coming up. Not that today’s mark is not big, but I believe I can still get into world record territory. I am trending in the right direction.
“Mentally and physically you reach your peak at the Olympics, but you can compensate for not being there with being more relaxed. I feel more mentally engaged than normally at this stage of the season. I am throwing consistently and that is important. You train for that one big throw, but when you get consistency, big throws are more likely to come.”
Tebogo had finished sixth in an historically deep 100-meter final in the Olympic Games on August 4, but he has not lost an individual race since then.
First, the 21-year-old sprinter set an African record of 19.46 seconds in winning the 200 in the Olympics on August 8.
Then he posted times of 19.64 in Lausanne and 19.83 in Chorzow.
He had come from behind to win both of those races, but he was ahead of the field for the first 30 meters of the contest on Friday before running a close second to Christian Coleman of the U.S. from 40 to 60 meters. He then separated from Coleman and the rest of the field during the last third of the race.
He actually looked over at Coleman and Olympic bronze medalist Fred Kerley of the U.S. with about 20 meters left in the contest and then eased up during his final three or four strides while recording a time that was only a hundredth of a second slower than the national record of 9.86 that he ran in the Olympics.
Coleman finished second in 9.92, followed by Kerley in 9.95 and Ackeem Blake of Jamaica in 10.03. Marcell Jacobs of Italy, the 2021 Olympic champion, finished ninth in 10.20 and said later that he was running on tired legs.
“This was one of my best 100 metre races,” Tebogo said in quotes on the meet website. “Before this, I imagined what the perfect race over 100 would look like. You have to lock in into your mind and then it can happen. Today I had a great start and it made me think, ‘Why did I not have one like this in the Olympic final?’
“I actually did not plan to set a PB today. I remember how my body felt after the last time I ran a 9.8. It’s hard to come back from that to run the 200 the next day in Paris. I still have more races coming up and I did not want to get injured before Zurich.”
Zurich will be the site of the Weltklasse meet on Sept. 4 and 5.
In other events on Friday, Kristjan Ceh of Slovenia won the men’s discus on the final throw of the competition, Muzula Samukonga of Zambia took the men’s 400 after leading the race for the final 300 meters, Faith Kipyegon of Kenya placed first in the women’s 1,500 after breaking away from her closest pursuers with 130 meters to go, Nina Kennedy of Australia posted her sixth consecutive victory in the women’s pole vault, and Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S. remained unbeaten in the women’s long jump.
Ceh had finished a disappointing fourth in the Olympic Games after winning the European title in June, but he defeated all of the Olympic medalists in Rome as his best of 68.61 (225-1) left him in front of Olympic champion Roje Stona of Jamaica at 67.85 (222-7), silver medalist and world record-holder Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania at 67.68 (222-0), and bronze medalist Matthew Denny of Australia at 66.44 (217-11).
Ceh was in fifth place after the first three rounds with a best of 64.07 (210-2), but he moved up to fourth with a throw of 65.27 (214-1) on his fourth attempt, and his fifth-round effort of 66.87 (219-4) vaulted him into third place.
That made him one of the three throwers who were awarded a sixth attempt, and following a throw of 65.62 (214-1) by Stona and a foul by Alekna, Ceh unleashed his 68.61 winner.
“This stadium is lucky for me, since I won the European Champs here as well,” Ceh said in quotes on the meet website. “It is one of the prettiest stadiums and a lot of people come to watch, so I love competing here. Today I was slipping on my first attempts, but then I got a good one on the fifth attempt and on the final, I went all in. It clicked, that is what we train for.
“I feel like I still have something to prove after the Olympics. I was going there hoping to medal and yes, I was sad afterwards, but it was the best men in the world competing, you cannot expect it to be easy.”
Olympic bronze medalist Samukonga was in fourth place after the first 50 meters of the men’s 400, but he had taken the lead after the end of the first curve and he was two tenths of a second ahead of second-place Bryce Deadmon of the U.S. when he came through 200 meters in 21.22.
Kirani James of Grenada had trimmed his advantage to .12 seconds after 300 meters, but Mukanga pulled away in the home straightaway and his 43.99 clocking left him well clear of James at 44.30. Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago placed third in 44.55, followed by Bayapo Ndori of Botswana in 44.56.
Kipyegon had set a then-world record of 3:49.11 in the women’s 1,500 in the Golden Gala meet last year and there was talk of an attempt to lower her current world record of 3:49.04 on Friday.
However, the early pace set by Ugandan Winnie Nanyondo might have been a bit too brisk as she came through 400 meters in 59.97 seconds. Birke Haylom of Ethiopia and Kipyegon were not far behind Nanyondo while running in second and third place, but there was a significant gap between them and Nanyando when she came through 800 meters in 2:04.15.
Kipyegon, who had won an unprecedented third consecutive title in the 1,500 in the Olympics on August 10, had taken the lead with about 650 meters left in the race. But she was followed closely by Olympic silver medalist Jessica Hull of Australia, Haylom, and Freweyni Hailu of Ethiopia when she came through 1,200 meters in 3:08.20.
Hull was still closest to Kipyegon entering the home straightaway, but she began to drop back and ended up finishing fourth.
Kipyegon placed first in 3:52.89, followed by Hailu in a personal best of 3:54.16, Haylom in 3:54.79, and Hull in 3:54.98.
Kipyegon’s time gives her a record 10 sub-3:53 clockings during her career. Eleven other women have combined to run under 3:53 on 12 occasions.
“I am so happy,” Kipyegon said in quotes on the meet website. “I am satisfied with the pace and with how the race went. It was all about qualifying for the Diamond League final, about getting the points… The world record was not for today with the Olympics only two weeks ago. For the rest of my season I expect to perform well in my races.”
Olympic champion Kennedy and Sandi Morris of the U.S. each cleared 4.83 (15-10) in the women’s pole vault, but Kennedy placed first because she made the height on her second attempt and Morris needed three tries. Olympic bronze medalist Alysha Newman of Canada placed third at 4.73 (15-6¼).
Kennedy cleared 4.53 (14-10¼), 4.63 (15-2¼), and 4.73 on her first attempts before needing two tries to make 4.83.
After she and Morris both passed at 4.88 (16-0), each of them missed their first two attempts at 4.93 (16-2). When Morris missed her final try at that height, Kennedy passed to 4.95 (16-2 ¾) and missed her remaining attempt.
Olympic champion Davis-Woodhall had the three top marks in the women’s long jump while leading U.S. athletes to a sweep of the top four places.
She took the lead with a jump of 6.93 (22-9) in the first round and then hit her winning effort of 7.02 (23-0½) in the second. She also had a jump of 6.90 (22-7¾) in the sixth round that would have been good enough to win.
Monae Nichols, the silver medalist behind Davis-Woodhall in the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, placed second at 6.82 (22-4½), followed by Quanesha Burks at 6.66 (21-10¼).
Davis-Woodhall has won nine meets without a loss this year. Four of her victories came indoors and five have occurred outdoors. In addition, she has leaped 7.00 (22-11¾) or farther in her last seven competitions.
In other women’s events, Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell of the U.S. won the 400 hurdles in 52.59, the second-fastest time of her career, and compatriot and Olympic bronze medalist Brittany Brown won the 200 in an eased-up 22.00.
In other men’s events, Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia won the 5,000 in 12:51.07, Sanghyeok Woo of Korea placed first in the high jump at 2.30 (7-6½), and Olympic bronze medalist Andy Diaz Hernandez of Italy took the triple jump at 17.32 (56-10).
The field in the men’s 5,000 included five Ethiopians who were the second-, fourth-, seventh-, ninth-, and 10th-fastest performers in history. But after a pair of pacesetters covered the first two kilometers in 2:31.20 and 5:03.31, respectively, the tempo began to slow in the third kilometer as Ethiopian Berihu Aregawi came through 3,000 meters in 7:37.58.
The pace really tailed off in the fourth kilometer as Jacob Krop of Kenya led the field through 4,000 meters in 10:22.69.
Ethiopian Telahun Bekele was in the lead with two laps to go, as well as with a lap left. But Gebrhiwet, the No. 2 performer in history at 12:36.73, surged into the lead down the backstretch before running his final 200 meters in 25.7 seconds.
Yomif Kejelcha finished second in 12:51.25, followed by fellow Ethiopian Selemon Barega in 12:51.39, Krop in 12:51.55, and Bekele in 12:51.59.
Aregawi finished sixth in 12:54.12 after running the third-fastest 3,000-meter time in history in the Skolimowska Memorial when his 7:21.28 clocking left him in second place behind Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his world record of 7:17.55.
In an event in Friday’s meet that did not count in the Diamond League standings, Sasha Zhoya of France won the men’s 110 high hurdles in 13.18 seconds.
You can click here for complete results of the meet.