OK, folks I need a long lie-down in a very dark room after that excitement so that’s all from me today. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Bye!
This is what it means to Bren! pic.twitter.com/RxswrWppmi
— Paula Radcliffe (@paulajradcliffe) August 23, 2015
Trayvon Bromell and Andre De Grasse both won bronze, by the way. Good for them.
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Here is our snap report on that race:
They both got off to brilliant starts, though perhaps Gatlin’s wasn’t as good as his previous ones. For most of the 100m, they were pretty much matched stride for stride but it is the finish that was really key. From about 15m out, Gatlin could see Bolt alongside him and he completely crumbled under the pressure. He started to shake and over-stride and he dipped far too early and he lost it. Gatlin will never get a better chance to beat Bolt and he has blown it and we are all probably delighted that he did.
Gatlin will be kicking himself - he didn't his usual explosive start and stumbled at the finish. Usain Bolt wins gold again by 0.01 sec!
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
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OH. MY. STARS. That was incredible and that was the result that we all wanted. In a time of 9.79, Bolt has beaten Gatlin and perhaps pulled off the greatest victory of his career.
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BOLT HAS WON THE 100m TITLE!
Bolt has done it!!!
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The athletes are in position. The noise is reaching the sky. There is some guy playing the piano. Bolt is fist bumping with his fellow competitors. We are almost there. The camera pans across the line. Su gets a hell of a cheer from the home crowd. Bromell looks like he is about to vomit up whatever he had for lunch. Gatlin is going to do it, isn’t he?
Crowd are chanting U-S-A-I-N B-O-L-T as they athletes line up on the track. Bolt looks pensive, but so does Gatlin in fairness ...
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
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Given how well Bolt came back from that stumble to win his semi-final, maybe he has a chance?
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Here is how they will line up:
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In about 10 minutes or so, the fastest men in the world will take to the track. Excited? You should be.
GB’s Laura Muir is up in the second heat of the women’s 1500m semi-final. This should be a lot quicker than the last one – which was won by Sifan Hassan in a time of 4:15.38 with Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum behind her in second – especially since Genzebe Dibaba and Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon are involved. Muir starts off, sitting at the back of the group, avoiding any trouble. With two laps to go, she starts to move towards the front, along the outside. She sits on the shoulder of Maureen Koster but by the time they come around to the bell, Dibaba eases into a sprint and into the lead. Muir does not let her have it her own way and her and Kipyegon chase her down the back straight. Come the final bend, it’s between Kipyegon and Dibaba. Dibaba takes it and Muir ends up in third, which means a place in the final for her. That’s an impressive run from the Scot.
Here is the latest from the wires. Joe Kovacs won the shot put final by defeating two-time defending champion David Storl of Germany, giving the US their first gold medal of the World Championships. Kovacs threw 21.93 meters on his penultimate attempt to hold a 19-centimeter edge over Storl. O’Dayne Richards of Jamaica took bronze with 21.69.
Before that, we have the two semi-final heats of the women’s 1500m. In case you missed it earlier, there will be no Laura Weightman competing for GB after she suffered concussion yesterday.
There is about half an hour to go before the men’s 100m final. Does anyone think Bolt can win?
Here is what the wires have to say about the men’s hammer final.
Poland’s Pawel Fajdek underlined his dominance of the men’s hammer this year with two throws over 80 metres as he retained his world title in style on Sunday.
None of his rivals have managed to get over the 80 metre mark this year so the gold medal appeared to be in the bag for the 26-year-old when he threw 80.64 with his third attempt.
Fajdek went even further with his fourth attempt, however, reaching the 80.88 mark to all but ensure that he would extend his winning streak this year to 16 competitions.
Both Dilshod Nazarov and Fajdek’s compatriot Wojciech Nowicki had throws of 78.55 with the Tajik taking the silver medal because his second best throw was better than the Pole’s.
Speaking of Ennis-Hill, here is what she had to say after her victory today:
I’m lost for words. I can’t believe I’m here. This time last year I’d just had my son and now I’m here competing ... It was a massive surprise to be here. There were doubts before the Anniversary Games but performing in London showed me I was making progress. If I’d come away with a bronze I’d have been so happy, so to win gold is unbelievable.
This has been the hardest year ever. There were different pressures going into London 2012, but here juggling all my mummy duties has been even harder ... I want to thank everyone for their help and sacrifices in helping me get back to being the athlete I was.
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From the final 800m semi-final:
Ferguson Rotich and Amel Tuka cross the line together. Tuka gets the win, 1:44.84. #beijing2015
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 23, 2015
Here is Owen Gibson’s report on Ennis-Hill’s gold in Beijing.
It was, by any measure, the mother of all comebacks. Just 13 months after giving birth and three years after her last major championships, Jessica-Ennis Hill is once again world champion.
Before heading to Beijing, Ennis-Hill said that winning gold in the Bird’s Nest would equal her achievement in becoming Olympic champion in London on Super Saturday. Her triumph with a total of 6,669 points following consistently impressive results in the long jump, javelin and 800m on day two was in some ways even more remarkable than that era-defining exercise in managing pressure.
Then, she had blown away the opposition with a nerveless hurdles on the opening morning of the Games that left her cruising to victory. This was instead a performance characterised by consistency and concentration, and was a victory for the intense training she had put in with her coach Toni Minichiello since returning in earnest last November.
Typically, despite the equivalent of a six second head start over her nearest rival going into the race, Nadine Broersen of the Netherlands, she powered down the home straight of her 800m race to win in 2min 10.13sec before collapsing to the floor in delight and relief.
@ianmccourt Rudisha & his coach Bro Colm is 1 of the great stories in sport. A masai warrior & a Patrician brother from Co Cork super stuff!
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) August 23, 2015
It really is. And you can read more about it here.
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Rudisha through but Amos out!
And the second heat has just got under way. This one features the great David Rudisha. It is he who takes the front from the start and from the inside. It’s a slow first lap but they really up the pace in the second one. Nigel Amos comes through on the outside and, along with Musaeb Abdulrahman Balla, pushes and pushes but he cannot get past Rudisha, who takes first place. The battle for first place may not be tight but the battle for second place is and, wait for it, Balla beats Amos to it. All of which means with a time of 1:47.96 the Olympic medalist and one of the favourites for gold in Beijing has gone out! Incredible stuff.
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We have had the first heat of the men’s semi-final. Adam Kszczot came out on top in a time of 1:44.97, with Wilson Kipketer (1:44.99) in second, so the both of them advance automatically. Mohammed Aman (1:45.01) and Pierre-Ambroise Bosse (1:45.02) will have to wait and see.
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Lest we forget, Ennis-Hill has won gold just 13 months after giving birth. Thirteen! Months! Wow. Just wow.
Some nice words on Ennis-Hill from Steve Cram of the BBC:
What a performance from a true, true champion. If she wasn’t already the darling of British athletics then goodness me, she is now. This is what it’s all about – years of training to show that athletics can be pure and great and inspirational.
Jessica Ennis-Hill finishes heptathlon with 6669 points, with Brianne Theisen-Eaton second with 6554 and third Ikauniece-Amidina in 6516
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
Ennis-Hill wins gold!
Ennis-Hill gets a decent cheer and gets a decent start too. She starts off, tucked in behind Brianne Theisen-Eaton and looking very comfortable. The two are miles ahead of the rest when the bell goes and it is just after that ends ringing that the Canadian makes her move. She stretches out a decent lead but with 200m to go, Ennis-Hill closes the gap and in the final 50m she overtakes Theisen-Eaton to win the final heat and take gold for Great Britain. What absolute brilliance from Ennis-Hill.
Typically, @J_Ennis goes all out in her 800m and wins the race to take gold - just 13 months after giving birth to Reggie.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) August 23, 2015
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Lane draw 100m final 1. Vicaut 2. SU 3. Bromell 4. Rodgers 5. Bolt 6. Gay 7. Gatlin 8. Powell 9. De Grasse #Beijing2015
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 23, 2015
Jessica Ennis-Hill is about to get going in the final heat of the 800m in the heptathlon. She has a five-and-half second cushion over the rest of the field.
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The BBC have been putting the questions to Katarina Johnson-Thompson. She looks like she is about to burst into tears. “This is the last place I wanted to be right now,” she says. Hopefully, she can use the disappointment to fuel her efforts when she takes part in the long jump later in the week.
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Katarina Johnson-Thompson just jogs her way around the track, no, doubt, with the long jump later in the week on her mind. The commentators reckon what she is doing is “noble”. In case you missed this, she had to compete in this final event because she wants to get involved in the aforementioned long jump. For what it is worth, Barbara Nwaba wins the race.
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It’s all over in the men’s hammer final. Pawel Fajdek has taken gold with a throw of 80.88, the only man to break the 80-metre mark. Dilshod Nazarov comes second with Wojciech Nowicki in third.
Bespectacled Paweł Fajdek has retained the hammer throw world championship. Bet nobody called him four eyes at school...
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) August 23, 2015
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It is almost time for the final event in the women’s heptathlon and almost time for the amazing Jessica Ennis-Hill to be crowned world champion. If there are not statues to her, there should be. There will be four heats in the 800m with Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who is understandably looking really rather sad, and Ennis-Hill going in the fourth one.
With all the drama of the 100m, we have rather forgot about the men’s hammer final. Unfortunately, Nick Miller is struggling there. He has only managed to get one throw out there but at 72.94 it was not good enough for him to make the cut.
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Gay goes through that familiar pre-race routine, stretching his arms to the sky. As expected, he and Powell get off to the best start but compared to what Gatlin (and Bolt) has done, they look, well, rather slow. “That was the longest 100m I’ve ever seen,” honks Michael Johnson. It’s close between them and Jimmy Vicaut of France as they cross the line but Gay takes it in 9.96 from Powell. Poor Richard Kilty came in last.
Huge cheers in the Bird's Nest as the Chinese athlete Bingtian Su makes the 100m final as a fastest qualifier after running a 9.99 sec NR
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
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OK. Off we go to the third semi-final, this one features Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Richard Kilty. He couldn’t, could he?
@ianmccourt Bolt showed his class there recovering from that slip like he was leaving the pub after a savage session, let's see later on
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) August 23, 2015
Bolt hasn’t got a hope against Gatlin, has he?
Gatlin wins his 100m semi-final
Oh wow! Gatlin, in lane four, gets off to an absolute cracking start and within a few meters it is obvious that he is going to power his way into the final. He keeps his head down, drives so well down the straight (gradually raising his head) and crosses the line in a time of 9.77. He was easing up at the end too. Mike Rodgers, also of the US, comes second in a time of 9.86. Ujah finished fifth.
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OK. After the drama of that, here comes Chijindu Ujah of GB and
Mr Youknowwho in the second semi-final ...
Smattering of boos in the Bird's Nest as Justin Gatlin shown on the big screen
— Simon Peach (@SimonPeach) August 23, 2015
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Bolt wins his 100m semi-final
Oh wow. That was incredible. Bolt has one of the most awful starts of his career. He was swaying like a ship in a storm as his feet go from under him and he stumbles around for the first few meters out of the blocks. He eventually gets his head (and feet) in the race about half-way through it and he wins it, but only just, from Andre De Grasse of Canada. His time was 9.96, the same time as De Grasse.
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It’s almost time for the first heat of the men’s 100m semi-final. It features this guy called Usain Bolt. You might have heard of him. He’s kind of a big deal. He’ll be running from lane 7 and he looks very, very confident. The top two from each of the three semi-finals advance, plus the next two fastest times.
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Breaking news
Laura Weightman has pulled out of the 1500m semi-final after her accident crossing the line on Saturday. More to follow ...
Good to see medical staff and British Athletics taking concussion seriously, even if it means bitter disappointment for Laura Weightman.
— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) August 23, 2015
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Nick Miller gets a score on the board in round three but it's only 72.94m - that puts him ninth overall but only the top eight progress ...
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
And to the final semi-final of the men’s 400m hurdles, featuring Great Britain’s Niall Flannery. Michael Tinsley and Nicholas Bett are the ones to watch here. Flannery does not get off to the worse start but the others look so much stronger. In the final 100m, Flannery falls back – eventually ending up in fourth spot – as Tinsley and Bett come through to take first and second spot respectively. Kariem Hussein took third.
From our man in Beijing.
Not a good start for Britain's Nick Miller in the men's hammer - he fouled his first throw and launched his second into the netting.
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
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The second men’s 400m hurdles gets going. (Remember, remember only the first two are guaranteed a place in the final.) The favourite, Johnny Dutch, with his American flag shoes, gets off to a cracking start – is it too good? – but from 200m out the Russian, Denis Kudryavtsev, takes over. He looks so comfortable as he powers his way down the final 100m and, incredibly, Dutch fades right away. He looks like he is going in reverse. Kudryavtsev takes it in a time of 48.23 and Jeffery Gibson comes second. Dutch ends up in fourth! He is out of the World Championships and so too is L. J. van Zyl who can only finish fifth. Holy! Moly!
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Back to the hammer. Miller is yet to have his second go just yet. As it stands, David Söderberg is in first place with a throw of 76.92.
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It’s all go now. Here comes the first semi-final of the men’s 400m hurdles. Kerron Clement should be raising his arms in victory come the end of this but he’ll face some stiff competition along the way. Bang goes the gun! Clement gets off well but so too does Annsert Whyte and Boniface Mucheru. It’s fairly tight as they come around the final bend but as they come into the home straight, Whyte slows down and Boniface gets going. Boniface takes it in a time of 48.29 and Clement comes second with Timofey Chalyy in third. It is worth mentioning that there was a very good performance from Ireland’s Thomas Barr who ended up in 4th despite being in the outside lane.
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Up goes Miller for the first round of the final. And it is not the greatest start. In fact, it’s a terrible one. The tension and nerves get to him and he toe fouls, meaning it is a no throw for him.
Coming up any moment now is the men’s hammer final featuring Great Britain’s Nick Miller. Fun Fact. He is the first Brit to ever qualify for the hammer final. Go him! “Today went well,” said Miller yesterday. “It was exactly what I needed to do, just the same as I have been doing in training all week. I’m very happy. I try not to think about too much and now everything matters tomorrow.”
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Meanwhile in Beijing, Mo Farah is standing on the highest step of the podium with a shining piece of gold, hanging around his neck. The crowd give him a decent roar and Sebastian Coe gives him half a hug. All three medalists shift to their right and God Save the Queen blasts around the stadium. They all pose for photos and Mo beams like a kid with an ice-cream. The Kenyans – Geoffrey Kamworor and Paul Tanui – look like kids whose ice-cream has hit the pavement.
Remember this?
Of course, you do. Well that was 1999. Yeah, seriously, 1999. Where do the years go? Anyway, Martyn Rooney reckons that that world record of Michael Johnson in the 400 metres will be under threat in Beijing. Here is what the wires have to say about that.
The Great Britain team captain ran a personal best 44.45 seconds but had to settle for fourth place in the heats at the Bird’s Nest stadium, progressing to the semi-finals as a fastest loser.
It was his quickest time in seven years - since the 2008 Olympics at this very arena - and took him to fourth on the British all-time list, just 0.09secs behind Iwan Thomas’ British record.
Saudi Arabia’s Yousef Ahmed Mastahi ran an Asian record and Rusheen McDonald a Jamaican record in Rooney’s heat, both given 43.93secs, while the likes of Botswana’s Isaac Makwala, Olympic champion Kirani James from Grenada and South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk have all broken 44 seconds this season.
With LaShawn Merritt, the defending champion, also in the mix, Rooney reckons Johnson’s 16-year-old mark of 43.18s could be on borrowed time.
He said: “That’s where the standard of the event is, it’s just incredible. The guys are running really fast, the main players look good and, on that track, the eight best guys in the world all together, you’ve got to look at Michael Johnson’s record. They have the calibre, the standard of athletes are there to run the times.”
The 28-year-old was only handed a 400m spot on the British team on appeal, but said he still had to make the final to fully justify his inclusion. “Then I’ll be vindicated,” he added. “I’m getting close to that British record, who knows what will happen tomorrow.” Rooney’s team-mate Rabah Yousif won his heat in 45.24, but Jarryd Dunn went out.
And in case you spent yesterday in the sunshine and/or the pub, you might have missed this:
At the very last he stumbled, he almost fell. But ultimately Mo Farah took it all in his stride to win yet another gold.
There was the sticky heat and dehydration that necessitated an early water stop, the trio of Kenyans who conspired against him and the tangle of limbs that nearly tripped him on the final lap. More than that, Farah shrugged off the turmoil that has engulfed him off the track ever since 3 June, the date of the Panoramadocumentary that made strenuously denied doping allegations against his coach and mentor Alberto Salazar and his training partner Galen Rupp.
At the end of it all, he stood in a rapidly emptying Bird’s Nest soaked in sweat and cloaked in relief, clutching a union flag and drinking in the fact he had secured his sixth gold medal in a world championships or Olympic Games. It is on the track that he has looked happiest of late. And so it proved here.
Sealing victory with a trademark surge in a 54 second final lap, Farah crossed the line bathed in joy in the relatively fast time of 27min 1.13sec.
He said later that it had been his toughest ever final as the Kenyan trio who ultimately finished second, third and fourth – Geoffrey Kamworor, Paul Tanui and Bedan Muchiri – pushed him to the limit. A block of red and black at the front of the field for most of the race followed by Rupp and Farah, they knew they had no chance against the reigning champion’s devastating kick if it went to a sprint finish. So they tried to control the pace, starting slowly and then ratcheting it up.
Here is the latest from Beijing in case you missed it.
Jessica Ennis-Hill is on course for World Championship gold after Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s challenge collapsed in agonising fashion.
Saturday proved a fascinating battle between master and apprentice, resulting in the British pair occupying the top two spots overnight. The victor was only expected to become clear in the final heptathlon event on Sunday evening, yet Johnson-Thompson’s disastrous long jump ruled her out of contention.
Ennis-Hill’s season best effort of 6.43 metres gave her a comfortable cushion at the top of the overall standings, which remained solid after throwing 42.51m in the javelin. It puts the London 2012 champion on the cusp of gold with just the 800m to go, boasting an 86-point cushion – the equivalent to approximately six seconds – over Holland’s Nadine Broersen in second.
Johnson-Thompson, by contrast, ended a galling morning session in 29th place overall.
The 22-year-old started the day 80 points behind Ennis-Hill and was expected to wrestle away the heptathlon lead given her prowess in the long jump. However, she ended the session 1,123 behind her compatriot after failing to record a distance, with the third red flag particularly exasperating.
It would have been the event’s biggest distance was it not chalked off, with officials deeming Johnson-Thompson to have left the slightest imprint on the plasticine. After several minutes of discussions, and despite her remonstrations, it was ruled an illegal effort - a decision British Athletics appealed, only to later withdraw it after accepting it was a foul.
Incidentally if Jessica Ennis runs 2:08.00 - which she has no need to do, given her impressive lead - she will score 6700 points.
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
Surely Jessica Ennis-Hill's gold now. She leads by 86pts (or six seconds) from Nadine Broersen with just the 800m left and she has faster PB
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) August 23, 2015
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Today’s schedule in full:
11:30 BST: men’s hammer final
1140 BST: men’s 400m hurdles semi-finals.
12:10 BST: men’s 100m semi-finals
12:30 BST: men’s shot put final
12:40 BST: women’s heptathlon final event - 800m
13:15 BST: men’s 800m semi-final
13:45 BST: women’s 1500m semi-finals
14:15 BST: men’s 100m final
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Good morning, good morning. And what a morning we have for you at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing. Not only is the ever-brilliant Jessica Ennis-Hill about to grab yet another gold medal, there is also the men’s 400m hurdles semi-finals; the shot put final; the hammer final; and, of course, the big one, the one you have been waiting all weekend for, the one you have been waiting all year for: the men’s 100m final. That should be run, right? Right! You ready? Let’s go!
