Here is Sean Ingle on Christian Coleman rising to the forefront of the sport and tonight’s other astonishing achievements from Sifan Hassan in the the women’s 10,000m and Tajay Gayle in the men’s long jump. Goodbye!
As the athletes prepare for the men’s and women’s 50 kilometres race walk in 30 minutes, remember to read Sean Ingle’s report on the widespread discontent from athletes after a disastrous women’s marathon last night. It’s hard to imagine that things will be any different this evening. That’s all from me tonight. Until next time.
Michael Johnson had his say in the BBC studio about Coleman’s stunning 9.76:
We saw in the early rounds what could’ve been and he certainly delivered with the 9.76 and it puts him sixth all time on the list now. We knew this was a quick track, [but] there were questions coming in about his fitness, not having the opportunity to run races to build up to this because [he was] dealing with the whereabouts issue.
Certainly he was able to use these rounds to prepare himself for an amazing performance there without being pushed. If you think about some of the fast times you’ve seen in the 100 metres, they’ve been pushed by someone else but in this race he was all by himself and just executed to perfection.
Zharnel Hughes finished in 6th place with a respectable 10.03, but he was clearly disappointed as he talked to the BBC:
It wasn’t the best race form me unfortunately tonight. But hey, congratulations to the winners and medalists and all the best to them.
Those things happen unfortunately. You just have to be strong minded, refocus, and come again and that’s what I’m going to do. I can’t give up on myself, I still have the 200 metres to go.
My body just wasn’t feeling up for it unfortunately. When I pushed out, I was just all over the place, I lost my form and I’m not happy with that. But hey, I live to fight another day.
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Coleman arrived in the final as the only man to dip under 10 seconds, but that was a fast, fast final. It still didn’t matter. Coleman obliterated them all - he tore out of the blocks as he has done all year and continued to pull away, securing a stunning personal best and world lead. Great effort from De Grasse to record a personal best of his own after a couple of years of injuries. Meanwhile, 37 year old Gatlin is still running 9.89.
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Christian Coleman wins the 100m world title in a 9.76!
Justin Gatlin (9.89) takes second, Andre De Grasse (9.90) third.
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There may not be many people in the crowd to see it, but this is certainly a lights show worthy of a 100m final. Here we go...
This is how they’re introducing the men’s 100m finalists. It’s very cool. pic.twitter.com/b9ggLQ6FUz
— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) September 28, 2019
Have the crowds improved on the weekend? Uh, not quite.
It’s the biggest event of any #WorldAthleticsChamps and there are more empty than occupied seats in Doha for the 100m final pic.twitter.com/6VEpZoWviU
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) September 28, 2019
It’s time for the main event of the evening. Christian Coleman is the heavy favourite to take the 100m title after two blistering runs of 9.98 and 9.88 in the heats and semi-finals. He is the only man to dip under 10 seconds so far. The rest of the medals are wide open. Akani Simbine is the second fastest man so far in Doha after his 10.01 run in the semis and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes qualified in third with a 10.05 semi-final run. Andre De Grasse also showed some good form in the semi-finals after an injury ravaged few years. Who will soar under pressure?
Tajay Gayle is the men’s long jump world champion!
Of all the possible contenders for gold, not many thought it would be the 23 year-old Jamaican with a personal best of 8.32m. He did it with a 8.69m jump, the 10th best in history. Jeff Henderson (8.39m) and Juan Miguel Echevarria (8.34m) take silver and bronze.
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Indeed.
Sifan Hassan wins the 10,000-meter world title in 30:17.62.
— Jonathan Gault (@jgault13) September 28, 2019
She ran her final 1600 meters in 4:17.
Holy crap.
Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle is in the midst of the meet of his life. After a PB of 8.46 in the opening round, he obliterates his new PB in his fourth attempt with an stunning world lead of 8.69. His lifetime best was 8.32 before today! This will be incredibly difficult for Jeff Henderson and Juan Miguel Echevarria in silver and bronze.
Sifan Hassan is the world lead over 1500m this year with 3.55.30 and also over 10,000m with 30:17.62. A mind-blowing range of excellence. Letesenbet Gidey and Agnes Tirop took silver and bronze. Seven of the top eight finishers recorded personal bests.
Sifan Hassan wins the 10,000m world title
What an athlete. The world record holder over a mile, who is also entered in 1500m and 5000m, steps up to and wins her first world title with a 30:17.62 world lead.
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Here goes the bell! Hassan moves into the lead with a lap to go. Gidey is trying to react, but she can’t. Surely she’s not going to do this?
Back on the track, Gidey has made her move and kicked ahead. Hassan, Tirop and Obiri all in pursuit. Two laps to go. After resting at the back of the leading pack for a while, Hassan looks so sharp in second.
After three rounds of the long jump, favourite world leader Echevarria still has work to do. While Tajay Gayle has recorded two fouls while trying to better his 8.46m lead, Echevarria moved up into second place with a jump of 8.34m. Jeff Henderson responded immediately with a 8.39m jump. This is fun.
And now it’s time for the 10,000m women’s final. Keep an eye out for Letesenbet Gidey, Agnes Tirop and Hellen Obiri, and what can Sifan Hassan do? British interest is provided by Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan.
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Olympic champion Jeff Henderson sends his own message with a jump of 8.28. The challengers have come to play and Echevarria is down to third. Defending champ Luvo Manyonga is also in the conversation with a mark of 8.16. Ruswahl Samaai also threw down a jump of 8.11. Not a single man other than Echevarria crossed 8.10 in qualifying but now they’re doing it for fun. It just goes to show how nerve-wracking actually getting to the final is.
A monstrous first jump from Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle, who immediately moves into first place with an effort of 8.46m. Echevarria responds with a decent 8.25m but he was far from the board and his leg trailed behind him as he landed. It’s going to be fun watching him trying to catch that.
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It’s men’s long jump time. 21 year-old Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria is the man to beat. He threw down the gauntlet by easily jumping 8.40 in his very first qualifying attempt and then relaxed for the rest of the day while the other competitors failed to clear 8.10 metres. We’ll see what they have for him tonight...
DeAnna Price of the United States takes the first medal of the night in the women’s hammer throw.
As suspected, her enormous third round throw of 77.54 was untouchable. Joanna Fiodorow (76.35) and Zheng Wang (74.76) take silver and bronze.
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No change in the women’s hammer throw final going into the final round.
Final throws coming, and the USA’s DeAnna Price leads the hammer. 77.54 meters
— Joe Fleming (@ByJoeFleming) September 28, 2019
Not everyone is convinced.
Mixed relay in the middle of the champs. A sport that many say already has too many events. Why? And “innovation” isn’t an answer. Innovation is only good when it works to fix a problem (this sport has many) or improves upon something.
— Michael Johnson (@MJGold) September 28, 2019
Great Britain will compete in the 4x400 mixed relay final. They are in as one of the two fastest losers, but notably with the fourth fastest time overall. There really could be a medal in there for GB if Rooney can improve on the anchor leg.
The answer is not very well. As fun as it was to see the the male runners of Japan, Kota Wakabayashi and Tomoya Tamura, explode into the lead, their 17 year-old Saki Takashima was caught easily and finished in last. But at least it was fun! At the front, Poland, Brazil, and India finished in the top 3. That was disastrous in a different way for Belgium as Dylan Borlee eased up in second place towards the end and was passed for fourth place.
The second 4x400m mixed relay heat is underway. Nothing but love for Japan being the only team to do something different and put a female runner on the first leg. We’ll see how this works out...
There is no substitute for experience.
It wasn't to be for @ojie_edoburun but what a future this guy has got!#WorldAthleticsChamps #REPRESENT pic.twitter.com/ne74oLEHWm
— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) September 28, 2019
That was tough. United States run 3:12.42 to win the first mixed 4x400m relay heat with a world record in this very new event. Great Britain were second going into the final lap after great runs from Yousif, Clark and Diamond, but Martyn Rooney just didn’t have enough to hold off Bahrain and Jamaica for one of the automatic spots. Leading women’s 400m runner Salwa Eid Naser was the true MVP there - she made up such a huge gap on the third leg to put Bahrain in contention.
So, it’s time for the mixed 4x400m relay. Great Britain have gone with Rabah Yousif, Zoey Clark, Emily Diamond and Martyn Rooney. Everyone in heat one has structured their team as Man-Woman-Woman-Man. Jamaica and United States will undoubtedly be dangerous.
Meanwhile, the first medal of the day is up for grabs as the women’s hammer throw heads into the third round. Meet favourite DeAnna Price of the United States, who also qualified in first, just threw a brilliant 77.54m to extend her lead on Poland’s Johanna Fiodorow, who landed a 76.35 personal best. With four-time champ Anita Wlodarczyk out with injury, that will be hard to beat.
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Jamaica is hot, Doha is hot and so is Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s form. 10.80 earlier today.
Sunshine Shelly 🌞@realshellyannfp 🇯🇲qualifies for the 100m semi final: "The hair - it is like sunshine. Jamaica is hot, Doha is hot, so I decided to go for yellow. There are so many talented women. I think it is a blessing to be able to do this again." #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/bc7gbQSTyp
— IAAFDoha2019 (@IAAFDoha2019) September 28, 2019
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Check out Sean Ingle’s report on the mass discontent among athletes and team officials after the opening day of sparse crowds and oppressive heat finished with a disastrous marathon where just 40 of 68 runners finished the race.
Plenty has already happened earlier today, most notably with the female sprinters dusting off their spikes in the 100m heats ahead of the semi-finals and final tomorrow. Dina Asher-Smith continued to soar under pressure, winning her heat with a smooth and easy 10.97 run. Marie-Josée Ta Lou also impressed, running 10.85 in a heat where Britain’s Daryll Neita also qualified in second with a sold time of 11.12. Elaine Thompson also won comfortably and will look for more in the semis. However, it was Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who stole the show with a blinding 10.80 run. These are the leaders of an incredibly competitive women’s 100 metres and it will be fascinating to see how things shake up tomorrow.
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Preamble
Hello! Welcome to day two of our coverage at the Athletics World Championships in Doha, where we will be following another packed evening of finals. We will have heats of the wildly entertaining mixed 4x400 metres relay and then the women’s 10,000m final. It will be particularly interesting to see how mile world record holder Sifan Hassan fares at a longer distance.
All eyes will be on 21 year-old Cuban Juan Miguel Echevarria in the men’s long jump final, who jumped 8.40 in his opening qualifying event while his rivals flailed. Finally, the second night in the Khalifa International Stadium will conclude with the main event. In the men’s 100 metres final, the controversial Christian Coleman is the pick of the field after clocking the only sub-10 time of the heats and semi-finals, winning through in 9.88 after a cool 9.98 in his heat. Britain’s Zharnel Hughes is also through to the final after recording a 10.05 second place finish in the semi-finals.
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