Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson continues her bid for a maiden world title on day seven of the World Athletics Championships after winning her heat with ease on Thursday.
Compatriot and training partner Georgia Hunter Bell also won her heat to progress to the semi-finals, but Jemma Reekie missed out on a spot in the next round.
Another Briton, world indoor 400m champion Amber Anning, ran a season’s best time but could only manage fifth in a thrilling women’s 400m final. All eight finalists ran sub-50 seconds time but the star of the show was the history-chasing American great Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who won in a championship record time of 47.78 - the second-fastest time in history.
And although Daryll Neita missed out, Dina Asher-Smith and Amy Hunt capped off a fine day for team GB as they qualified for the women’s 200m final, with Hunt running a personal best to qualify third-quickest behind defending champion Shericka Jackson and newly-crowned 100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.
Both the women and men contest the 200m medals on another action-packed day in Tokyo, with Noah Lyles laying down a marker in the semi-finals with a world-leading 19.51s.
World Athletics Championships - Day 7
- Day 7 schedule, full timetable and results
- Noah Lyles targets fourth straight world 200m title in star-studded field
- Melissa Jefferson-Wooden bids for world sprint double after claiming 100m crown
- Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith are the British 200m medal hopes
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson begins heptathlon title defence
- Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell in world semi-finals
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:50 , Flo CliffordJade O’Dowda and Abigail Pawlett were joint-seventh in the high jump, with 978 points, having cleared 1.80m.
1,054 points for KJT with her 1.86m clearance, along with Kate O’Connor and Sofie Dokter, while Thiam and Hall take 1,093 for clearing 1.89m.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:46 , Flo CliffordIn Group B, Britain’s Abigail Pawlett has cleared a personal best of 1.80m, a great way to bounce back after that fall in the hurdles.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:45 , Flo CliffordNeither Hall nor Thiam can clear 1.92m, and it’s now onto the shot put.
With two events complete, Hall leads Thiam from Johnson-Thompson in the overall standings.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:37 , Flo CliffordFive athletes left.
Thiam clears 1.89m on her first go, seemingly hitting her stride. Hall, Dokter, O’Connor and KJT all miss their first and second...
And Hall is the only one to clear it on her last go. KJT is out of the high jump, and that’s a blow in a really strong event for her. Every point counts.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:22 , Flo CliffordIreland’s O’Connor screams in delight as she clears 1.86m, a new lifetime best!
Thiam clears it too and that’s a sigh of relief for the two-time world champion.
Johnson-Thompson, her arch-rival, must clear it now... she does it!!
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:20 , Flo CliffordMuch better from Hall, who gets some good height over the bar at 1.86m.
The Netherlands’ Sofie Dokter is very pleased as she clears it too on her second attempt.
Ooh, Thiam is giving away a lot of points here as she brings the bar down on her second attempt...
Advantage KJT, can she take it? Oh, no.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:16 , Flo CliffordSo far Hall, O’Connor, and Thiam have all knocked the bar at 1.86m... what can KJT do?
Ahh, she knocks it too, directly into the bar. Not a great jump.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:13 , Flo CliffordOoh, O’Dowda is close, but it’s another failure at 1.83m and she’s out of the high jump.
Saga Vanninen, the world indoor pentathlon champion, goes out too.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:11 , Flo CliffordO’Dowda has another failure at 1.83m, can she pull it out of the bag on her final go? She seems to take off very close to the bar, almost underneath it, they note on BBC Sport comms, which is preventing her getting enough space.
Thiam clears it with ease on her second go.
Finland’s Vanninen will have one more try after two failures.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:09 , Flo CliffordAnna Hall jumps 1.83m with ease, and the American is looking very brisk and businesslike.
Thiam soars way over the bar but knocks it with her heel on the way down! O’Dowda has a first failure at this height too.
The bar wobbles a fraction for KJT but stays upright, thankfully.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:05 , Flo CliffordBrooks clatters the bar on her final attempt at 1.80m and that’s her out of the high jump. Disappointing after such a great start in the hurdles.
Spain’s Vicente brings it down too, having been bidding for a personal best at 1.80m.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:03 , Flo CliffordO’Dowda clears 1.80m on her third and final clearance! A great jump and she looks very relieved.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:02 , Flo CliffordO’Dowda fouls twice at 1.80, the second time agonisingly close but clipping it on the way down.
KJT also has a foul at this height, as does fastest hurdler Brooks.
Thiam, Hall, and second-placed Kate O’Connor have cleared it though.
Johnson-Thompson clears it on her second attempt! Sailing over.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
10:53 , Flo CliffordOnto the high jump now. The Paris podium of Anna Hall, Nafi Thiam and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have all cleared 1.77, as has Jade O’Dowda.
Abigail Pawlett has continued and she’s cleared 1.68.
Women's heptathlon - 100m hurdles
10:48 , Flo CliffordPoor Abigail Pawlett was going really well in the third and final heat before clipping the last hurdle and hitting the deck in a heap. She’s in tears after the event and we hear that she is being checked over before continuing.
Women's heptathlon - 100m hurdles
10:42 , Flo CliffordCoverage is now showing replays of the hurdles, the opening event of the heptathlon.
KJT made a great start but O’Dowda was hugely impressive, accelerating to win the heat with a personal best. The pair were both beaming as they crossed the line, KJT clearly thrilled for her teammate.
What happened on day six?
10:35 , Flo CliffordMelissa Jefferson-Wooden looked in stunning form as she cruised into the 200 metres final at the world championships in 22 seconds flat on Thursday, while Britain’s Amy Hunt ran a personal best to make a strong bid for a medal.
American Jefferson-Wooden, who won the 100 metres crown on Sunday, was well clear at the bend and took her semi-final comfortably despite easing up at the line.
“Everything is lining up the way it was supposed to. I am a bit tired now but to be able to show up today and perform well is great,” said the 24-year-old.
“I believe I can win gold. It would be so easy to give up or not to step out of my comfort zone, but I want to do things no one thought I could do.”
Jefferson-Wooden on track for double gold as Hunt leads British 200m hopes
What happened on day six?
10:25 , Flo CliffordKeely Hodgkinson has spent three frustrating weeks scratching around Japan, itching for her World Athletics Championships to start.
When the time came, it took her just under two minutes to underline why she is such a firm favourite for gold.
The 800m Olympic champion breezed through her first-round race in Tokyo and though her heat-winning time was not eye-catching, it left the impression that there is much more to come after a job very well done.
Keely Hodgkinson dismisses boredom to start World Championships in style
What happened on day six?
10:18 , Flo CliffordPouring rain and gusting winds do not make for fast times but then Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is no normal athlete.
In appalling conditions at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, the world’s greatest 400m hurdler added a first global flat title to her name in the fastest 400m race in history, almost taking down an unbreakable record.
Only twice before had a woman ever broken the 48-second barrier and both of those runs came in the 1980s era of state-sponsored doping.
That group of two doubled as McLaughlin-Levrone edged out Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino, crossing the line in 47.80 seconds, exactly two tenths off Marita Koch’s world record that until recently, had been deemed the most unbreakable in the sport.
Given the conditions, this will go down as one of the greatest performances over any distance, in one of the greatest races.
Impossible conditions can’t stop Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone making history
Women's heptathlon - 100m hurdles
10:10 , Flo CliffordAfter one event, American Taliyah Brooks leads the standings with a blistering time of 12.93, the only sub-13 time.
Paris bronze medallist Anna Hall is third, Jade O’Dowda best of the Brits so far in seventh, KJT ninth and her big rival Nafi Thiam down in 15th.
Abigail Pawlett is last in 23rd.
Next up, the high jump...
Women's heptathlon - 100m hurdles
10:03 , Flo CliffordGreat start for Britain’s Jade O’Dowda, who wins her hurdles heat in a personal best time of 13.34!
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is second is a season’s best of 13.44, while her major rival and fellow two-time world champ Nafi Thiam is fifth in a season’s best of her own, 13.61.
But there’s disappointment for Britain’s Abigail Pawlett, who falls over the final hurdle and hits her head, ouch. She gets back up and manages to finish in 14.70 but is frustrated with that.
Athletes to watch
09:57 , Flo CliffordThe men’s 200m final is set to be a four-way shootout between reigning champion Noah Lyles, who ran a season’s best of 19.51 to qualify quickest from the semi-finals; Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo; Jamaica’s Bryan Levell and Lyles’ American rival Kenny Bednarek.
In the women’s race, it’s hard to see past newly-crowned 100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, but she’ll face fierce competition from defending champion and fastest qualifier Shericka Jackson and another trio of Americans in Mckenzie Long, Anavia Battle and Brittany Brown.
Athletes to watch
09:50 , Flo CliffordOutside the British contingent, there are plenty of stars in action on day seven.
Johnson-Thompson is up against another two-time world champion in Nafi Thiam, who edged her for gold in an extraordinarily close Paris Olympic final. The Belgian took 12 months after that to return to action but the Briton has warned that her rival isn’t one to write off.
Hodgkinson will be wary of Kenya’s defending world champion Mary Moraa, while Switzerland’s Audrey Werro has smashed her personal best and national records multiple times this year.
Dutch superstar Femke Bol is the hot favourite, as always, for gold in the women’s 400m hurdles, while the men’s is set to be a showdown between Rai Benjamin and defending champion Karsten Warholm, the two fastest men this year.
Brit-watch
09:40 , Flo CliffordTwo-time world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson is the first of the Brits in action as she begins her heptathlon title defence.
She’s joined by teammates Jade O’Dowda and Abigail Pawlett in this morning’s action.
In the men’s 5000m heats George Mills will be taking on the likes of heavyweights Grant Fisher and 1500m rivals Jakob Ingrebrigtsen, Niels Laros and Cole Hocker.
Later on, Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell will bid for a spot in the 800m final, while Zharnel Hughes, Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith aim to upset the favourites in the 200m finals.
How to watch the World Athletics Championships
09:32 , Flo CliffordThe World Athletics Championships are broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
Today’s coverage begins at 10am BST on BBC Two.
What's on the agenda on day 7?
09:26 , Flo CliffordKatarina Johnson-Thompson begins her title defence in the women’s heptathlon, with hurdles, high jump, shot put and the 200m on the cards on a busy first day.
Keely Hodgkinson continues her campaign for 800m world gold in the semi-finals, with teammate and Olympic 1500m bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell also in action after winning her heat.
There are five medal events to be decided: the men’s triple jump, men’s 400m hurdles and women’s 400m hurdles, with a packed evening schedule concluding with what is sure to be a blockbuster pair of 200m finals.
What's on the agenda on day 7?
09:19 , Flo Clifford09:33Women’s 100m Hurdles Heptathlon
10:20Women’s High JumpHeptathlon
11:30Women’s Javelin Throw- Qualification, Group A
12:05Men’s 5000m - Heats
12:30Women’s Shot Put Heptathlon
12:45Women’s 800m - Semi-Final
12:50Men’s Triple Jump - Final
13:00Women’s Javelin Throw- Qualification, Group B
13:15Men’s 400m Hurdles - Final
13:27Women’s 400m Hurdles - Final
13:38Women’s 200m Heptathlon
14:06Men’s 200m - Final
14:22Women’s 200m - Final
Welcome
09:12 , Flo CliffordHello and welcome to live coverage of day seven of the World Athletics Championships!
Plenty of the biggest stars are in action today, from Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson to four-time world 200m champion Noah Lyles, with five medal events on the cards.
Follow all the build-up, action and results right here.
