Sunday, July 24, saw the epic conclusion to the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the first World Championships held on U.S. soil.
&ldquo;It was an honor that Oregon was chosen to host this prestigious event, and we are so grateful to have welcomed the world to our home,&rdquo; said Governor Kate Brown. &ldquo;Over the past 10 days we experienced an extraordinary display of athleticism, spirit, and diversity. I&rsquo;d like to thank all the organizers and volunteers for putting their heart and soul into making this event a success. I would also like to extend congratulations to all the athletes who brought your season and career aspirations to Hayward Field&mdash;no matter the outcome, your competitive spirit and determination are an inspiration to us all.&rdquo;
Over the course of 10 days, nearly 150,000 ticketed persons were treated to unbelievable competition and warm hospitality at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. Tickets were purchased by fans from all 50 states and nearly 40 countries.
The athletes delivered again and again, with three world records highlighting the action on the track and in the field. In the end, more than 1,700 athletes from 179 countries (plus the Athlete Refugee Team) competed in Oregon. In terms of performance, this will go down as the most universal edition in the history of the event. A record-breaking 29 countries won gold medals at these Championships, compared with 26 in 2017. Plus, more countries than ever before had athletes reach the finals of their respective events in Oregon. 81 countries achieved the milestone, with Liberia, Niger, Pakistan, Samoa, the Philippines, and Guatemala reaching a final for the first time in World Championships history.
Team USA broke the record for the most medals at a single World Championships, earning 33 in total - 13 gold, nine silver, and 11 bronze. The U.S. team also had medal sweeps in the men&rsquo;s 100m, 200m, and shot put. The depth and strength of the U.S. team earned the top spot in the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/news/press-releases/wch-oregon22-announces-first-ever-team-trophies-at-world-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Team Trophy</a> standings.
Some of the performance milestones achieved in Oregon include:
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 3 world records: Sydney McLaughlin of the U.S. in the 400m hurdles (50.68), Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan in the 100m hurdles (12.12) and Sweden&rsquo;s Mondo Duplantis in the pole vault (6.21m)
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 13 championship records and 30 world-leading performances
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 19 area records, 92 national records, 1 world U20 record
&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Allyson Felix extended her record medal total to 20 after gold in the women's 4x400m relay and bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay
There were magical moments beyond the incredible performances as well. A yellow, furry creature managed to capture the hearts of athletes, officials, broadcasters, and fans alike. Legend the Bigfoot, who just couldn&rsquo;t stay in hiding with an event as big as the World Championships happening in Oregon, thoroughly enjoyed delighting the crowds at Hayward Field.
Six sessions saw all available ticket inventory sold, with the atmosphere at the stadium festive and deafening for all event finals. NBC reported that these Championships have already reached more viewers (13.7 million) than any previous World Athletics Championships with three days of ratings still to be reported (Friday-Sunday).
Innovations such as the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/news/press-releases/medals-revealed-in-celebration-of-10-days-to-go-until-the-world-athletics-championships-oregon22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instant Medals</a> were hugely popular with athletes and fans alike, with athletes having medals placed around their necks in the immediate moments after their glorious performances. The images of triumphant athletes with their medals and flags have been circulated all across the globe.
Athletes were fed and accommodated mere steps from their competition venue in student housing at the University of Oregon. The spirit of togetherness and inclusivity for which track and field is known was reinforced by the camaraderie and energy that was palpable throughout the Athlete Village.
Special thanks are owed to the volunteers and local organizing committee staff who ensured the smooth delivery of the event. 1,583 volunteers gave their time to help in all areas at WCH Oregon22, with 3,486 workforce uniform kits distributed and 10,507 workforce meals eaten over the course of the event.
&ldquo;The local organizing committee is grateful for each and every partner, business, volunteer, and community member who welcomed the event and all its participants with open arms,&rdquo; said Sarah Massey, CEO of Oregon22, LLC. &ldquo;It was through the support of so many people and organizations that this truly was the Best of all Worlds, and we couldn&rsquo;t be prouder of the success of these World Championships.&rdquo;
Key initiatives and programs will live on as legacy elements of WCH Oregon22. The sustainability program proudly reflected the responsible and green reputation of the State of Oregon, highlighted by food waste diversion efforts, single-use plastics reduction, and systems in place for materials recycling and reuse.&nbsp;
The curriculum material created for the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/making-tracks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Making Tracks Youth Engagement Program</a> will live on as archived content to help connect youth to the World Athletics Championships. The on-site Making Tracks activation during the event reached over 180 people per day, while an Inspiration Zone offered the opportunity to over 150 people to have a moment right next to the action to be inspired by the athletes as they entered and exited the track.
The <a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/making-tracks/worldwidewelcome" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Wide Welcome Youth Relay</a> included over 8,000 youth representing more than 150 groups in the 100-day lead-up to WCH Oregon22. The program culminated with over 200 youth carrying the flags of the world on the track as part of Opening Day festivities on the first morning of the event.
Looking forward, World Athletics and <a href="https://www.parkrun.us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parkrun</a> have collaborated to help Eugene and Springfield open parkrun events, which will provide free opportunities for members of those communities to be active, stay healthy, and make new friends.
&nbsp;

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022

A look back at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Zach Ziemek&rsquo;s comeback story reached its zenith Sunday when he ended the United States&rsquo; decathlon medal drought at major global championships.&nbsp;
Ziemek finished with a personal best of 8,676 points over the two days of competition at the first World Athletics Championships held on U.S. soil to win the bronze medal at the reimagined Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.&nbsp;
The United States hadn&rsquo;t won a decathlon medal at a major global championship since Ashton Eaton won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The last World Athletics Championships medal for the U.S. in the decathlon was a gold by Eaton at the 2015 Beijing Championships when he set the world record for the second time at 9,045 points.&nbsp;
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s really freaking cool,&rdquo; Ziemek said. &ldquo;We have some great young talent here in the U.S., and I can&rsquo;t wait for all of us to push each other more. The U.S. has always been a hard team to make so it&rsquo;s going to be tough, but it makes us better.&rdquo;&nbsp;
World record-holder Kevin Mayer of France won the gold medal at WCH Oregon22 with 8,816 points after also winning at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, and taking the silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.&nbsp;
Pierce LePage of Canada was second with a personal best of 8,701 points. Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Ayden Owens-Delerme, who was the first-day leader, finished fourth with a national record of 8,532 points.&nbsp;
Zemek was 15th in the 2015 World Athletics Championships and seventh in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He also competed at the 2017 World Athletics Championships, but did not finish that competition. In 2018, he was the U.S. champion and looking to make his third-straight World Athletics Championships team in 2019, but suffered a ruptured hamstring at the U.S. Championships and was out of action for 18 months.&nbsp;
&ldquo;We weren&rsquo;t sure if I&rsquo;d ever be back and compete again,&rdquo; Ziemek said. &ldquo;So, it was a lot of rehab, a lot of training. COVID gave me some time to get ready for the Olympics. Now I feel like I&rsquo;m starting to get back to where I thought I was going to be a couple of years ago.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Ziemek was third last year at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials &ndash; Track &amp; Field with a personal best of 8,471 points and finished sixth at the Tokyo Olympics with 8,435 points. In May, he qualified for the WCH Oregon22 when he finished third at the U.S. Combined Events Championships with another personal record, this time with 8,573 points.&nbsp;
Ziemek moved into third place in the decathlon at WCH Oregon22 in the long jump, the second event of Saturday&rsquo;s opening day of the decathlon, and was never out of the bronze medal position over the final nine events. He had a personal best of 15.37m in the shot put, the third event, and closed the first day in third place with 4,469 points and 16 points out of second place.&nbsp;
On Sunday, he struggled in the discus, but on his last throw, he recorded a mark of 48.40m to keep himself in third place after seven events.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I had two throws that weren&rsquo;t great for me and that third one wasn&rsquo;t close to my best,&rdquo; Ziemek said, &ldquo;but it was tough to get through that and I was able to pull it out.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Ziemek moved into second place in the overall standings by five points over Mayer by clearing 5.40m in the pole vault. Mayer had a big javelin throw of 70.31m to take the overall lead with one event, the 1,500m left, but Ziemek basically wrapped up the bronze medal by throwing the javelin a personal-best 62.18m. He was in third place with a 189-point lead over the fourth-place person.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I would say pole vault absolutely helped me get into that (medal) position to see where I was at and everything,&rdquo; Ziemek said, &ldquo;and then I think javelin was the next one where then I knew I was in good position to run the 15(00).&rdquo;&nbsp;
In addition to the lifetime best, Ziemek&rsquo;s 8,676-point total moved him into 10th place on the all-time U.S. list.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It is tough to do well at these meets, to have PRs at these meets," Ziemek said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited to PR here.&rdquo;&nbsp;
He was also excited not to have to compete until the final two days of competition, allowing him some time to watch how well Team USA was faring. Ziemek&rsquo;s medal was one of 33 won by the U.S., the most ever by one country in a World Athletics Championships.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I had a lot of time watching and there were some amazing performances by the men and women, I know a lot of them, and it&rsquo;s really cool to be a part of it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wanted to come in as late as possible to give myself a chance to try and PR and if that was a medal, it was and if it wasn&rsquo;t, at least I tried."&nbsp;
The other two Americans in the field were NCAA record-holder Kyle Garland, who scored 8,720 points for second place at the U.S. Combined Events Championships, and Steve Bastien, who was a late addition to the U.S. roster after U.S. champ Garrett Scantling, who scored a world-leading 8,867 points at the U.S. meet, was provisionally suspended for a whereabouts failure.&nbsp;
<div>
Garland, who was fourth after Saturday&rsquo;s opening day, finished 11th with 8,133 points, and Bastien was 16th with 7,939 points.&nbsp;
By Ashley Conklin
</div>

Zach Ziemek ends U.S. decathlon medal drought with bronze medal at WCH Oregon22 

Ziemek ends U.S. decathlon medal drought with bronze medal at WCH Oregon22 

The love affair between Sweden men&rsquo;s pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis and Hayward Field reached a new point in their relationship Sunday evening.&nbsp;
Duplantis closed out the first World Athletics Championships on U.S. soil in incredible fashion, clearing a world-record height of 6.21m on his second attempt at that height to give everyone one final and wonderful memory to take with them from WCH Oregon22 at Hayward Field, the home and heartbeat of track field in the United States.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Hayward Field is really special," Duplantis said. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re not going to find many places better to compete, especially in the United States. It&rsquo;s always an honor to be here, especially on this kind of stage, the World Championships stage, it&rsquo;s pretty cool.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I have some great memories here at Hayward Field from my first Diamond League competition until now being my first outdoor title, so it&rsquo;s a special place and it&rsquo;s always going to have a special place in my heart. I can&rsquo;t wait to do some more good things here at Hayward.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Neither can the thousands of people who waited until the end of the meet to see the third world record of WCH Oregon22, including the second one on the final day of competition.&nbsp;
WATCH: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs4oFFOBb2o" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mondo Duplantis break the</a> men&rsquo;s pole vault world record at WCH Oregon22&nbsp;
&ldquo;Kind of saved the best for last,&rdquo; Duplantis said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad that I could perform in that kind of a situation because you have quite a bit of pressure on you when you&rsquo;re the only person competing on the entire track, and everybody's focused their attention toward you. So, I&rsquo;m glad that I could do my best to try and put on a good show.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Duplantis entered the meet owning the indoor and outdoor world records in the pole vault and was the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist. But he had never won an outdoor World Athletics Championships gold medal before, having finished second to Sam Kendricks of the U.S. at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.&nbsp;
On Sunday, Duplantis won when he cleared 6m on his first attempt, and three other vaulters were unable to replicate. Chris Nilsen of the U.S. took the silver medal at 5.94m, and Ernest John Obiena gave the Philippines its first-ever medal by also clearing 5.94m for the bronze medal.&nbsp;
&ldquo;The whole day I was so caught up and focused on trying to win and trying to claim my first world outdoor title,&rdquo; Duplantis said. &ldquo;Really everything after that was just an afterthought. It was really just way, way in the back of my mind. Everything happened the way it did for me to win my first outdoor title and to clear 6.21, it&rsquo;s really hard to comprehend. I&rsquo;m really grateful.&rdquo;&nbsp;
After securing the win, Duplantis cleared 6.06m on his first attempt to break the Championships record of 6.05m set by Australia&rsquo;s Dmitri Markov at the 2001 Edmonton World Championships. A graphic on the NBC Sports television broadcast had Duplantis clearing 6.06m by 18 centimeters.&nbsp;
Duplantis then raised the bar to 6.21m to break his overall world record of 6.20m set in March by winning the indoor World Athletics Championships gold medal in Belgrade, Serbia, and his 6.16m outdoor world record set at the June 30 Diamond League meet in Stockholm, Sweden.&nbsp;
The start of the women&rsquo;s 4x400m relay was delayed so Duplantis could take his first attempt at 6.21m. He bailed out on that attempt. After the relay concluded, Duplantis made another attempt at the record height and cleanly cleared the bar.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I thought the atmosphere was fantastic," Duplantis said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always an honor when people stay in their seats to watch you compete, especially toward the end when it&rsquo;s literally only me competing on the track and a fair amount stay there and watch me try to do something. I&rsquo;m really thankful. It was quite a pleasure jumping out there honestly.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Nilsen thought so, too, as he secured his first outdoor World Athletics Championships medal. He also took the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the bronze medal at the indoor World Athletics Championships in March.&nbsp;
&ldquo;For me, I kind of won because I did well, and I got a medal in my home country," Nilsen said. &ldquo;I got to experience what&rsquo;s it like to have a World Championship or a major championships in my home country. It was everything I expected and more because I saw how they treated (women&rsquo;s long jumper Ivan) Spanovic (now Vuleta) and all the other Serbians in Belgrade in indoor season and that was amazing.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I love Eugene. Now that I&rsquo;ve gone over to Europe and competed quite a bit over there, it kind of gives a very similar vibe. They really love track and field here and they treat it as one of their favorite sports, so if I can do this all the time, that would be great.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Duplantis and Nilsen were tied in the competition until Duplantis cleared 6m.&nbsp;
&ldquo;You look at Chris and EJ and how they jumped today, and I would say they actually did push me quite a bit," said Duplantis, who had one miss at 5.87m, as did Nilsen. &ldquo;Sometimes those 6-meter bars, they can be just as tricky as anything higher. Chris, EJ, and everybody out there, but especially those two, did a fantastic job.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Added Nilsen: &ldquo;I knew he was going to jump higher. This is the second time in a row, major championship, indoors I jumped over 5.90 or higher and he would jump a world record. He did that indoors and now he&rsquo;s done it outdoors so you do what you can, but it&rsquo;s hard to beat that kind of brilliance.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The only question, as it always is with Duplantis, is how high will that brilliance take the world record some day?&nbsp;
&ldquo;I did not touch (the bar while clearing 6.21m), so that gives you confidence that you can go higher for sure,&rdquo; Duplantis said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to enjoy this moment, enjoy what I did.&rdquo;&nbsp;
As will everyone who was in Hayward Field and watched Duplantis send out WCH Oregon22 in the best way possible.&nbsp;
<div>
By Ashley Conklin&nbsp;
</div>

Mondo Duplantis closed out the first World Athletics Championships on U.S. soil with a world record in the men's pole vault

Duplantis closes out WCH Oregon22 with pole vault world record 

While more than 1700 athletes from around the world flocked to Eugene for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 last week, there were a few whose journey to this year&rsquo;s biggest global stage has been more arduous and remarkable than most.
These individuals belong to the Athlete Refugee Team, a squad that represents a community of more than 89 million people from around the world who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. This year marked the third time the Athlete Refugee Team have competed at the World Athletics Championships, continuing an almost uninterrupted streak of appearances at each World Athletics Series event since 2017. Through their hardships and triumphs, a trio of world-class athletes provided inspiration for the tens of millions of displaced peoples around the world.
The team was represented by Dorian Keletela, a 100m sprinter native to Congo residing in Portugal; Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, a native of South Sudan, who is based in Kenya and competes in the 1500m; and 5000m runner Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed, a native of Sudan, who is based in Tel Aviv. All three athletes were also a part of the Olympic Refugee Team in Tokyo.
Here&rsquo;s how they did in Eugene.
<h2>PB for Nadai&nbsp;</h2>
 Nadai came to Eugene as the team&rsquo;s most experienced runner, having been part of the original Olympic Refugee Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics and more recently competing at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22 and the African Athletics Championships. Nadai, who fled from her village in South Sudan at only 9 years old, was targetting a new personal best and to dip under 4:30.&nbsp;
Her hopes were fulfilled.&nbsp;
Rallying from back, Lohalith made a move around 800 metres into the race that positioned her with the front pack. She held on for half a lap before drifting back, but the move might have made all the difference. Lohalith crossed the line in 4:23.84, improving her personal best by almost 8 seconds.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t believe I did my personal best,&rdquo; Nadai said. &ldquo;I really feel so great. That is something I was really coming for, and I really tried to fight so hard so that I can run that today - I can&rsquo;t even explain my feelings.&rdquo;
Nadai said she cherishes the opportunity and responsibility to represent refugees from around the world.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t run alone,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I ran for the millions of refugees, because not all of them can manage to come here. I&rsquo;m sure they have that hope. That, &lsquo;oh, we got that chance with our fellow refugee competing at the World Championships.&rsquo;&rdquo;&nbsp;
<h2>Keletela disappointed</h2>
 Keletela advanced from the preliminary round in Tokyo one year ago, so it was no surprise to see the 23-year-old accomplish the feat again in the championships&rsquo; opening session on the morning of day one. Keletela finished second in his preliminary round race in 10.48. Keletela arrived in Eugene with a 10.27 lifetime best and ambitions to run sub-10.20.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62debf1d3858f364ed82937d.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
But he fell well short in the heats later that day, finishing a distance seventh in his heat clocking 10.52.&nbsp;
His self-assessment was blunt.
&ldquo;Today, I am not happy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am very disappointed.&rdquo;
<h2>Mohammed bounces back from injury</h2>
 Mohammed, was the last member of the refugee team to compete, running in the opening round of the 5000m on day seven. The 28-year-old came into the championships on the mend from an injury in June. but he was still able to complete a two-week training stint in St. Moritz, Switzerland, prior to arriving in Eugene. He was hoping to mount an assault on his 13:42.98 PB and run sub-13:40.
There were no signs of a nagging injury early in the race, as Mohammed ran toward the front of the pack for the first few laps.&nbsp;
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62debf69a675be66de2735af.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
&ldquo;I ran in front to make them a little bit jealous,&rdquo; said Mohammed. &ldquo;Like, to push, you know?&rdquo; He ran comfortably for the first half but lost his rhythm over the second and eventually reached the line in 14:02.79, a season&rsquo;s best.
It wasn&rsquo;t the time he was hoping for, but given the injury that cut into his training time just one month ago, he was too disappointed. Mohammed, who fled Sudan&rsquo;s civil war at 17 to help support his family, said he likes to take risks. No risks, no achievements, he said, and it was never a question for him whether he would compete.&nbsp;
Good thing, too, because he grew rather fond of Eugene, even with the heat.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s my first time coming to the United States,&rdquo; Mohammed said. &ldquo;Beautiful city. Beautiful stadium. Everything here is like perfect, even the weather is cool.&rdquo;
He also enjoyed the four days he spent with his teammates and the new experiences they shared together.
&ldquo;It was quite fun to represent people who have no country,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We were just having fun, talking with each other, telling stories between each other.&rdquo;
Tokyo Olympian Tachlowini Gabriyesos, who made waves one year ago when he finished 16th in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo, was named to the team but was a late hour withdrawal, forced out by a virus in the lead-in to the championship that cost him 10 days of training. Gabriyesos is slated to compete in the marathon at the European Athletics Championships in Munich next month.
Elias Esquivel for World Athletics

Athlete Refugee Team members Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed and Dorian Keletela represent a community of 89 million on the year's biggest sporting stage.

Athlete Refugee Team fields squad of three in Oregon

The new world champion and world record-holder in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles only got into hurdling through a quirk of fate.
Tobi Amusan started out as a sprinter and long jumper as a youngster in her native Nigeria.&nbsp;&nbsp;
At 13, she turned up to compete in a local athletics meet, only to find that just one event remained on the programme: the hurdles.
Amusan&rsquo;s coach encouraged her to enter. She ended up winning the race and the rest, as they say, is history.
The switch to the sprint hurdles paid off in sensational fashion on Sunday (24) when the 25-year-old Amusan smashed the world record, clocking 12.12 in the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22. She shaved 0.08 off the previous mark set by Kendra Harrison of the US in 2016.
Less than two hours later, Amusan came back for the final and ran another spectacular race to secure her first global gold medal and the first ever for Nigeria at a World Championships.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62de919624161e6c1159d964.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
Amusan was clocked in 12.06, but the time won&rsquo;t be recognised as a world record due to a tail wind of +2.5 m/s.
After fourth-place finishes at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and last year&rsquo;s Tokyo Olympics, Amusan finally made it &ndash; not just onto the podium, but to the top of the medal stand.
&ldquo;I was the &lsquo;almost girl&rsquo;,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I got fourth, fourth, fourth. Now I finally did it.&rdquo;
And with a world record for good measure.
&ldquo;The goal was to come out and to win this gold,&rdquo; Amusan said. &ldquo;I just did it. Honestly, I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships. You know, the goal is always just to execute well and get the win. So the world record is a bonus. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis. But it was just a matter of time.&rdquo;
Looking back on how she made it here, Amusan said: &ldquo;It has been a long journey.&rdquo;
Born in the town of Ijebu Ode in the western Nigerian state of Ogun, Amusan gradually made the transition to hurdles as a teenager.&nbsp;
She continued competing in sprints and long jump but managed to squeeze in one hurdles session a week. She put cones and tires on the track to jump over because there were no hurdles in her town.&nbsp;
When she was replaced as a member of Nigeria&rsquo;s 4x100m relay squad at the trials for the 2014 African Youth Games, she figured she had nothing to lose and entered the hurdles. She won that and went on to earn silver at the African Youth Games in Botswana.
Then followed a trip to Ethiopia in 2015, where she won African U20 gold, followed by a breakthrough victory at the All-African Games in Brazzaville, Congo.
&ldquo;It was one of the biggest milestones of my career; winning that championship set me up for who I am today,&rdquo; she said.
There was no looking back; she was now a full-time hurdler.
In 2016, Amusan received a scholarship to attend the University of Texas, El Paso, where hard training brought her personal best down from 13.10 to 12.83.
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62de905524161e6c1159d95e.jpg" alt="" width="100%" />
At UTEP, she worked with new coach Lacena Golding-Clarke, a three-time Olympian from Jamacia and the 2002 Commonwealth Games 100m hurdles champion.&nbsp;
There were setbacks along the way, of course. At the U20 world championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in 2016, Amusan struggled with her technique and finished in fifth place. She was so devastated that she thought about quitting the sport.
But she regrouped and, after reaching the semi-finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Amusan went unbeaten in the 2017 outdoor US collegiate season and won the NCAA title in a PB of 12.57.
She went into the 2017 World Championships in London as the season&rsquo;s fourth-fastest hurdler, but cramped up in the cold conditions and failed to make the final.&nbsp;
&ldquo;After London,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;I learned that the fact that I was in the mix, knowing I was capable of doing stuff at this age &ndash; I was just 20 &ndash; and being ranked in the top eight makes me confident that when I get my technique right, my speed right, and get a bit stronger, I&rsquo;ll be fine.&rdquo;
Indeed.
Amusan turned pro at the end of that year and went on to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, at the age of 20. She also triumphed at the African Championships later that year.
In 2019, she finished just 0.02 shy of a bronze in Doha. Last year, she came 0.05 from a medal at the delayed Tokyo Games.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think there is a track and field event which can teach humility quite like the sprint hurdles,&rdquo; Amusan said. &ldquo;You can be the fastest in the field but one mistake can spell the end for your race. A hurdler should never go into any race with any level of complacency or arrogance. It teaches you to be humble.&rdquo;
For now, at least, Amusan can afford to be a little less humble.
After all, she&rsquo;s simply the fastest of all time and the best in the world.&nbsp;
Not bad for someone who became a hurdler by chance.&nbsp;
Steve Wilson for World Athletics

Tobi Amusan: the accidental hurdler who became the world record-holder and 2022 world champion.

Amusan: the accidental hurdler who became the world record-holder

The biggest question of the women&rsquo;s long jump on Sunday, the final day of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, was whether Germany&rsquo;s Malaika Mihambo could keep up her excellence as the world and Olympic champion.
Her success was in doubt for the early stages of the event.
She fouled on her first attempt. The crowd seemed to collectively flinch on her second jump, their eyes on the board. As she got up from the sand, the board flashed red. She had fouled again and had no mark.
She put her hands on her head in frustration. At this point, she would need to reach beyond 6.69m to even continue into the second half of the competition.
&ldquo;I felt like, &lsquo;Oh no, it cannot be true&rsquo;,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But I am ready for such situations, and I know that I can do better and just had to push myself.&rdquo;
The pressure seemed to work. She launched a 6.98m jump when it really counted and saved herself, and she went on to become a two-time world champion with a jump of 7.12m.
Nigeria&rsquo;s Ese Brume, who previously took bronze at the Olympics and the 2019 World Championships, improved to silver with a season&rsquo;s best of 7.02m on her third jump.
Brazil&rsquo;s Letiticia Oro Melo opened with a 6.89m, a huge personal best for the 24-year-old, and a distance that carried her to bronze despite four consecutive fouls at the end of the competition. Oro Melo won Brazil&rsquo;s first medal in the event.
Australia&rsquo;s Brooke Buschkuehl, who entered the competition with the world&rsquo;s longest jump, finished in fifth with 6.87m. This was the best ever placing by Australia in the event after she finished in sixth in 2017.
In an extremely competitive final, just seven centimetres separated third to eighth place.
Mihambo finished the competition at the peak of her strength. As she attempted her final jump, she was already sitting in a guaranteed gold position at 7.09m from her fourth attempt. The crowd was still in suspense, though, waiting to see whether she could pass Buschkuel&rsquo;s world-leading distance of 7.13m.
Mihambo cheered by pulling her arms into her chest as she leapt up from the sandpit. It was measured at 7.12m, just a centimetre off the world lead. Mihambo still grinned.
Brume was the first of the field to reach a distance beyond seven metres when she achieved a 7.02m jump on her third attempt and was momentarily in the gold medal position. She was trying hard to get Nigeria&rsquo;s first gold medal in the event, but ultimately missed it.
While Brume was competing in the long jump, Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan became the 100m hurdles champion after setting a world record time in the semifinal.
&ldquo;Tobi Amusan is my best friend, everybody knows,&rdquo; said Brume. &ldquo;It was amazing for us because this is what we are trained for. She deserves it so much.&rdquo;
She said she was happy with how her team had all improved.
&ldquo;Last championships, we just got one medal. Now we are getting out with two medals,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It is a wonderful night for Nigeria, for all of us.&rdquo;
Madeline Ryan for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S LONG JUMP MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Malaika Mihambo 🇩🇪 GER</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">7.12m SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Ese Brume 🇳🇬 NGR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">7.02m SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Leticia Oro Melo 🇧🇷 BRA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">6.89m PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/women/long-jump/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

German star wins third global title

Mihambo successfully defends world long jump title in Oregon

After Sydney McLaughlin&rsquo;s sizzling 50.68 to win the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, the question on everyone&rsquo;s minds was: What could she do in a flat 400m?
McLaughlin answered on Sunday (24) during the final track event of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 with an impressive 47.91 anchor leg to deliver the women&rsquo;s 4x400 gold medal to the US.
The split was one of the fastest in history as the US team won their 10th gold medal in the event with a world-leading time of 3:17.79, eighth-fastest on the world all-time list and the quickest on US soil.&nbsp;
McLaughlin got the baton with a 0.73 lead and stretched it into a 2.95 cushion, finishing so far ahead that camera shots couldn&rsquo;t include the other runners in the frame. McLaughlin&rsquo;s split was the fastest since Allyson Felix ran 47.72 in 2015.
Jamaica placed second in a season's best 3:20.74 and Great Britain was third in 3:22.64, also a season's best.
By running in the first round, Felix increased her World Championships medal haul to a record 20 medals &mdash; 14 gold, three silver and three bronze. Six gold medals and a bronze have come from the 4x400m. Felix had hung up her spikes after winning bronze in the mixed 4x400m, which was thought to be the last track race of her career, and was already home when she got the call to run the women's relay. Felix didn&rsquo;t hesitate to book a ticket back to Eugene.
While McLaughlin is used to running alone by now, she appreciates being part of a team. &ldquo;Team USA is really like a family,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Allyson came out of retirement to get us here, so we wanted to do this.&rdquo;
At the age of 22, McLaughlin is one of the youngest members of the US team, yet she was the oldest on the relay and a veteran from gold-medal-winning squads in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympics.
Dalilah Muhammad, 32, was initially on the start list, but suffered an injury in warm-up and was replaced by Abby Steiner. Steiner, who is about three months younger than McLaughlin, became the first athlete to win gold medals in the 4x100m and 4x400m since Felix in 2017. It was her 57th&nbsp;race of the season.
The lead-off runner was 19-year-old Talitha Diggs, the national champion in the 400m and daughter of four-time Olympian Joetta Clark. Diggs is also the niece of Jearl Miles Clark, who won three gold medals on the 4x400m at the World Championships. With Steiner running the second leg, 21-year-old Britton Wilson, another 400m hurdler, was tapped for the third.
&ldquo;It was unreal,&rdquo; McLaughlin said. &ldquo;We had such a young team. All these girls are from teams out of college. It was put together at the last minute and to see them all come together after such a long collegiate season, I am so grateful to be part of it.&rdquo;&nbsp;
McLaughlin said there was no better way to end the World Championships for the US, which won 33 medals, the most in history, including 13 gold medals.
&ldquo;I am so proud,&rdquo; McLaughlin said. &ldquo;This is the next generation of Team USA stepping up to the plate. We have to continue pushing the boundaries of what we can do. I am grateful for this opportunity. I have become comfortable and we have a bright future ahead of us.&rdquo;
The US team claimed their third straight victory in the event and have won seven of the last eight.
&ldquo;Everyone did their part, as it was phenomenal,&rdquo; Diggs said. &ldquo;Three of us are collegiate runners, so I am done for the season.&rdquo;
Diggs, the NCAA champion from Florida, opened with a 50.50 split, to give the US a 0.09 lead over Great Britain&rsquo;s Victoria Ohuruogu, younger sister of Christine, the Olympic and world champion. Steiner, who posted a 48.88 split to help Kentucky move from fourth to first at the NCAA Championships, ran 49.99 to extend the lead to 0.17 over Jamaica, which had moved into second. Britton Wilson, who had a 49.56 split for Arkansas in the NCAAs, bettered that with a time of 49.39 to open up a sizable gap.&nbsp;
And then McLaughlin grabbed the baton.
&ldquo;The crowd was insane,&rdquo; Wilson said.&nbsp;&nbsp;
The other runners to break 50 seconds were Jamaica's Janieve Russell on the second leg (49.90) and Stephenie Ann McPherson running third (49.95).&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was an exciting finish and I expected it,&rdquo; Russell said.&nbsp;
Jamaica won a 10th medal at the World Championships and Great Britain won a ninth, returning to the podium after a fourth-place finish in 2019 snapped a streak of seven straight medals.
British anchor leg Laviai Nielsen said the rest of her team set out the relay very well. &ldquo;I could not think to lose the position they worked so hard for,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;So I just had to maintain my position and when I saw Jamaica in front of us, I was like: &lsquo;Maybe it is possible to chase them,&rsquo; but it was just too big a gap.&rdquo;
Karen Rosen for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 4x400m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">United States 🇺🇸</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">3:17.79 WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Jamaica 🇯🇲</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">3:20.74 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Great Britain &amp; NI 🇬🇧</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">3:22.64 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/women/4x400-metres-relay/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

The world 400m hurdles record-holder runs an impressive 47.91 final leg

McLaughlin anchors 4x400m as US team gets another gold in Oregon

Two athletes, three jaw-dropping performances &ndash; and one incredible evening of athletics.&nbsp;
In a town where they talk about &lsquo;Hayward Magic&rsquo;, it seemed present in astonishing abundance in Eugene on Sunday (24) as Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan and Sweden&rsquo;s Mondo Duplantis produced scintillating displays of athletic sorcery, breaking world records in their respective events to close out the&nbsp;World Athletics Championships Oregon22&nbsp;in unforgettable fashion.
Amusan, 25, obliterated the 100m hurdles world record en route to her first global title, clocking a stunning 12.12 (0.9m/s) in the semifinals and a wind-assisted 12.06 (2.5m/s) in the final. She came into the event with a PB of 12.42 but after clocking an African record of 12.40 (1.5m/s) in the heats on Saturday, the world was put on notice that the Nigerian, who was fourth in the Olympic final last year, was capable of something special.
And on a hot, sunny evening at Hayward Field, she duly set the track ablaze in the semifinals, exploding out of the blocks, rocketing down the track and obliterating Keni Harrison&rsquo;s world 100m hurdles record of 12.20. The only question then: could she possibly repeat it?
With a stronger following wind in the final, making the performance ineligible for records, she clocked a mind-boggling 12.06 to come home in front of Jamaica&rsquo;s Britany Anderson, who clocked 12.23 to edge silver by five thousandths of a second ahead of Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico (12.23). USA&rsquo;s Alia Armstrong was edged off the podium in fourth despite clocking 12.31.&nbsp; 
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 &ldquo;I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships,&rdquo; said Amusan. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a dream come true. I knew I had it in me but I could not believe it when I saw it on the screen after the semis. But it was just a matter of time.&rdquo;
Later in the night, with the very last act of the championships, the stage was left to a man who has long made the ridiculous seem routine. In the men&rsquo;s pole vault final Mondo Duplantis had one small blip at 5.87m, which he cleared at his second attempt, but after clearing 5.94m and 6.00m at the first tries his first world outdoor title was assured.&nbsp;
But the all-conquering 22-year-old wanted more. He sent the bar up to a championship record of 6.06m, clearing with room to spare, and everyone knew what was coming next. With the bar at an outright world record of 6.21m, he aborted his first attempt after an imperfect take-off, but the second time around he made no mistake, sailing clear to set his fifth world record, his 48th time clearing six metres &ndash; which broke the previous best by Sergey Bubka.
&ldquo;I did not think about the record that much today,&rdquo; said Duplantis. &ldquo;Usually, it is always somewhere in the back of my mind, but today I was really focused on the win and I really wanted to win the gold so badly. You get quite a bit of pressure on you when you&rsquo;re the only person competing in the entire track. It&rsquo;s an honour when people stay in their seats and it&rsquo;s literally only me on the track.&rdquo;
What&rsquo;s next now that he has won it all?&nbsp;
&ldquo;I cannot figure the next heights right now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I am going to have a bit time off with my family and my friends.&rdquo;
Silver went to USA&rsquo;s Chris Nilsen on countback ahead of Filipino star Ernest Obiena, with both clearing a best of 5.94m. 
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 Elsewhere, USA&rsquo;s Athing Mu and Britain&rsquo;s Keely Hodgkinson produced the best head-to-head showdown of the championships and &ndash; just as it was in Tokyo &ndash; it was Mu who reigned supreme, edging her fellow 20-year-old to the line after a neck-and-neck home stretch duel. Hodgkinson had shot through a gap Mu left on the inside off the final turn but couldn&rsquo;t quite edge past, with Mu responding and holding her off all the way to the line to win in a world-leading 1:56.30 to Hodgkinson&rsquo;s 1:56.38. Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Moraa came through strongly for third in a PB of 1:56.71 ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Diribe Welteji, who clocked a PB of 1:57.02 in fourth.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I love competing against other fast women,&rdquo; said Mu. &ldquo;I really just wanted to be consistent this year and to continue with the wins that I have been having. Today, it was a little bit harder for me. The next goal is just to continue competing and hopefully to get faster and faster.&rdquo;
Hodgkinson paid tribute to her rival after the race. &ldquo;Athing is a great athlete,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We are both 20 and have many years ahead of us. We'll meet on a world podium again.&rdquo; 
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 In the men&rsquo;s 5000m, Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigtsen avenged his defeat in the 1500m earlier in the week with a ruthlessly dominant display, taking gold in 13:09.24 ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Jacob Krop (13:09.98) and Uganda&rsquo;s Oscar Chelimo (13:10.20). World record-holder Joshua Cheptegei looked a shadow of the athlete who won the 10,000m last weekend, finishing ninth in 13:13.12, while Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia came 12th.
In a field filled with all-time great distance runners, they played it right into the hands of Ingebrigtsen, who possessed a range of gears no one else could answer. The 15-man field was bunched together at 3000m, reached in a pedestrian 8:04.50, and the 2:41 kilometre that followed must have left Ingebrigtsen feeling as if the gold was being individually gift-wrapped for him.&nbsp;
And so it proved. He moved to the lead with a little over two laps to run and responded to every move that came his way thereafter, blasting clear around the final turn, a 53.93-second final lap more than enough to repel all challengers.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want a sprint finish because I wanted to prove I am better than the other guys,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wanted and I needed that. It has been very difficult after the 1500m. I knew I would not get beaten by the others in the last laps, but the 5km is a very tough race.&rdquo;
Germany&rsquo;s Malaika Mihambo retained her world title in the women&rsquo;s long jump, though she faced stiff competition from Nigeria&rsquo;s Ese Brume, who launched herself to the lead in the third round with 7.02m (1.1m/s).&nbsp;
There were some nervous moments for Mihambo after she began with two fouls but, like the champion she is, she produced a 6.98m effort in the third round and swept to the front in the fourth round with 7.09m (0.4m/s), which she lengthened to 7.12m (1.0m/s) in the final round, making it three from three in global outdoor finals since 2019. Brume took silver with 7.02m while Brazil&rsquo;s Leticia Oro Melo took bronze with a PB of 6.89m, just ahead of USA&rsquo;s Quanesha Burks, who jumped 6.88m.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am having some technical issues, just making the last two steps too long and then did faults,&rdquo; said Mihambo. &ldquo;But I knew that I could do it, that I could make a valid third attempt.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62de2d64bf0e74ec2cb5d469.jpg" alt="World long jump champion Malaika Mihambo in Oregon" />
World long jump champion Malaika Mihambo in Oregon (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
Kevin Mayer of France claimed his second world title in the decathlon with a tally of 8816 points ahead of Canada&rsquo;s Pierce LePage (8701) and USA&rsquo;s Zachary Ziemek (8676). Event favourite Damian Warner had withdrawn on day one after pulling up injured during the 400m.&nbsp;
Mayer&rsquo;s second day began with a 13.92 run in the 110m hurdles and he followed it up with a 49.44m discus throw, 5.40m clearance in the pole vault and a 70.31m effort in the javelin, which left him with a 107-point lead at the head of the standings ahead of the final event. A 4:41.44 1500m carried him to gold, exhausted. Once Mayer had risen to his feet, the world record-holder was asked if he planned to get some sleep after his two days of huge exertion.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to sleep,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I want to drink right now.&rdquo;
Earlier in the day, Italy&rsquo;s&nbsp;Olympic 20km race walk champion Massimo Stano won the first men&rsquo;s 35km race walk ever staged at the&nbsp;World Athletics Championships, clocking 2:23:14 to hold off Japan&rsquo;s Masatora Kawano, who collapsed over the line one second later for silver in an Asian record of 2:23:15.
&ldquo;You would think being Olympic champion, you could take this win as granted, but it is not,&rdquo; said Stano. &ldquo;I am happy to win gold in a different distance and show that I can compete in other distances.&rdquo;
Sweden&rsquo;s Perseus Karlstrom, who had won bronze in the opening day&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s 20km race walk behind the Japanese pair of Toshikazu Yamanishi and Koki Ikeda, earned a second bronze in a personal best of 2:23:44.
Back at Hayward Field, at the first ever US edition of the World Athletics Championships, there was a fitting finale to the track action as the host nation struck gold in both 4x400m relays.&nbsp;
USA&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s quartet of Elija Godwin, Michael Norman, Bryce Deadmon and Champion Allison clocked 2:56.17 to come home well clear of Jamaica, who won silver in 2:58.58 with the aid of a 43.98-second anchor leg by Christopher Taylor. Belgium was just behind them, winning bronze with 2:58.72. Japan set an Asian record of 2:59.51 in fourth.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It has been a great championships overall for team USA,&rdquo; said Norman, the individual 400m champion. &ldquo;Especially on the men's side, after some disappointing championships, it was like a turnaround.&rdquo; 
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Champion Allison anchors USA to men's 4x400m victory in Oregon (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
</div>
The women&rsquo;s 4x400m rounded out the track action and in this race, the old phrase about a team only being as strong as its weakest link didn&rsquo;t quite seem appropriate &ndash; not when they had a strongest link like Sydney McLaughlin waiting for the anchor leg, ready to outrun anything that came her way.&nbsp;
As well as Talitha Diggs, Abby Steiner and Britton Wilson ran on the opening three legs &ndash; handing the baton to McLaughlin in front &ndash; it was the astonishing final lap by the 400m hurdles champion that stole the show, a mind-boggling 47.91 split, which was 1.48 seconds quicker than anyone else in the race.&nbsp;
That brought them home in 3:17.79, with Jamaica winning the battle for second in 3:20.74 and Britain taking third in 3:22.64.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was unreal, we had such a young team,&rdquo; said McLaughlin. &ldquo;All these girls are from teams out of college. It was put together at the last minute and to see them all come together after such a long collegiate season, I am so grateful to be part of it. This is the next generation of team USA stepping up to the plate. No better way to end the meet.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

Tobi Amusan and Mondo Duplantis make history on day 10 of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Hayward Magic as world records fall on final session in Oregon

When Athing Mu saw Keely Hodgkinson cut inside and edge ahead of her in the women&rsquo;s 800m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the US athlete's competitive instincts kicked into their highest gear.
Mu, who says she is &ldquo;competitive in everything&rdquo; &mdash; even racing her boyfriend to see who can get ready for practice the fastest &mdash; kept her unbeaten streak alive with a furious finish on Sunday (24).
She ran a world-leading 1:56.30 to win her 22nd&nbsp;straight race as a professional and capture the first World Championships gold medal for the US in the women&rsquo;s 800m. Mu, who was emotional at the finish, has not lost an outdoor race since September 2019 and her streak includes heats and finals at various distances.
Hodgkinson clocked a season's best 1:56.38 to win Great Britain&rsquo;s first silver medal in the event since Kelly Holmes' in 2003. Mary Moraa captured the bronze for Kenya&rsquo;s first medal since 2015 with a PB of 1:56.71.
&ldquo;I love competing against other fast women,&rdquo; Mu said. &ldquo;I really just wanted to be consistent this year and to continue with the wins that I have been having. Today, it was a little bit harder for me, but I wanted to make sure that when I came on the track, I just do my best.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The race between the top two finishers was a rematch of the Olympic final, when both were teenagers. They have since turned 20 and this was their first head-to-head competition of the year since a bout with Covid forced Mu to withdraw from the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in May.&nbsp;
Mu became the youngest woman in history to own both Olympic and world titles in an individual athletics event. Only Kirani James of Grenada, who won the 400m in 2011 and 2012, was younger, and he added another silver medal in Eugene.
While Mu thrives as a front-runner, she could not take immediate control of the race. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Diribe Welteji held the lead at 200m, followed by Hodgkinson and then Mu. Welteji was still out front at the bell, with a time of 57.09, with Mu 0.07 behind and looking comfortable. Mu made her move on the back stretch and Hodgkinson went with her, with Moraa just behind.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Mu held the lead rounding the turn, but Hodgkinson found a gap inside and they were shoulder-to-shoulder with 100m to go. For a moment, Hodgkinson had the lead.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I thought I could get her in the last 100,&rdquo; said the British record-holder, who lost to Mu by 0.67 in Tokyo last year. &ldquo;I gave it everything. I&rsquo;m a bit gutted because I was so close. But it is what is. We&rsquo;ve got World Champs next year, so we&rsquo;ll go again.&rdquo;
All three medallists ran faster than Mu&rsquo;s previous world-leading time of 1:57.01, while Welteji placed fourth with a PB of 1:57.02.
Moraa, who trains in the same camp as 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon, fought to pass Welteji and then knelt on the track covered by her nation&rsquo;s flag. &ldquo;This is a very special achievement for me and my village,&rdquo; said Moraa. &ldquo;The race was tough, but I tried to push myself to finish like this.&rdquo; 
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 The US had three finalists, including two podium finishers from 2019. Doha silver medallist and Olympic bronze medallist Raevyn Rogers, whose image is on the Hayward Field tower as a University of Oregon standout, placed sixth in 1:58.26 and Ajee Wilson, the world indoor champion and the two-time world bronze medallist, faded to eighth in 2:00.19.&nbsp;
US athletes had reached the podium six times before at the World Championships, but never the top step.
With&nbsp;1968 Olympic gold medallist Madeline Manning Mims cheering from the stands, Mu finally accomplished that goal.
However, she said she didn&rsquo;t quite feel like herself. &ldquo;I just physically wasn&rsquo;t where I wanted to be,&rdquo; Mu said. &ldquo;I just didn&rsquo;t feel my best, and so I knew it was going to be a little tough. I just wanted to make sure I didn&rsquo;t leave anything out on the track and what was going to happen today was going to happen, and I just wanted to make sure I did my best, run how I usually run and thankfully I got the gold.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Mu&rsquo;s boyfriend, US team-member Brandon Miller, did not get out of the heats in the men&rsquo;s 800m.&nbsp;
She said after the first round that Miller, with whom she will celebrate a one-year anniversary next month, &ldquo;just tells me to be me. &lsquo;Do your thing, just have fun out there.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Being the Olympic gold medallist, she said, is &ldquo;not something I think about every day. So whenever I do hear it, it&rsquo;s like, &lsquo;Oh, OK, that&rsquo;s fun! I am!&rsquo;&rdquo;
Now she has double the fun.
And Hodgkinson, who is preparing herself mentally for the Commonwealth Games, has to wait for a rematch.
&ldquo;This time, I ran for the gold,&rdquo; Hodgkinson said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, I didn&rsquo;t get it. But I&rsquo;m proud of myself for going out there and giving myself that chance. I believed in myself. She&rsquo;s a great athlete. We&rsquo;ve got many, many years ahead of us.&rdquo;
Karen Rosen for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 800m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Athing Mu 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">1:56.30 WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Keely Hodgkinson 🇬🇧 GBR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">1:56.38 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Mary Moraa 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">1:56.71 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/women/800-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

When Athing Mu saw Keely Hodgkinson cut inside and edge ahead, the US athlete's competitive instincts kicked into their highest gear

Mu holds off Hodgkinson to win world 800m title in Oregon

When Champion Allison grabbed the baton for the anchor leg of the men&rsquo;s 4x400m final, he took off on what was essentially a victory lap.
Elija Godwin, Michael Norman and Bryce Deadmon had combined to give the US team such a huge lead that Allison ran the final 400m virtually alone on Sunday (24) to secure yet another gold for the home country at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
With a lead of about 20m and the Hayward Field crowd roaring him on, Allison crossed the finish line in a world-leading 2:56.17 to give the US men their eighth 4x400m relay title in the last nine championships &ndash; and 11th out of 18.
&ldquo;I was hungry and blessed to bring it home for my team,&rdquo; Allison said.
Jamaica took silver in 2:58.58 and Belgium grabbed bronze in 2:58.72. Japan finished fourth in an Asian record 2:59.51.
With such an impressive depth of one-lap runners, the US started as huge favourites and the result was never in doubt. The handoffs were clean and each of the four US runners did their part to extend the country&rsquo;s dominance in the event.
The win came in the last men&rsquo;s track event on the final day of the championships, the first held on US soil. The US women followed with gold in the 4x400m relay.
Godwin led off with a 44.28 split, new 400m champion Norman followed with a 43.68 leg to build a sizeable lead, Deadmon ran 43.82 on the third leg and Allison closed it out in 44.43.
There was no repeat of the baton exchange problems that have so often bedevilled US relay teams. A day earlier, the US men&rsquo;s 4x100m team settled for silver behind Canada after a sloppy final handoff.
Deadmon said the crowd noise was &ldquo;crazy&rdquo;.
&ldquo;It was definitely a help to have a home crowd here,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;All our transitions went smooth. Pace was good, time was good, I mean it felt like we came out to win.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I definitely felt the energy today,&rdquo; Norman said. &ldquo;It was a great experience and my No.1 in terms of the interaction with the fans.&rdquo;
The victory meant a second gold medal from the championships for Norman, who finally lived up to his reputation as one of the best quarter-milers of his generation to win his first global 400m title on Friday night.
&ldquo;It has been a great championships in overall for the team USA,&rdquo; Norman said. &ldquo;Especially on the men's side after some disappointing championships, it was like a turn around. I think there is a huge potential of the whole team for growth. The time is coming. Maybe the next four, five or six years, it is going to be an amazing time for the USA team.&rdquo;
Jamaica ended up with its eighth silver medal in the event, to go with three bronze. The Jamaicans are still without a gold in the relay.
&ldquo;I think it was OK today under the given circumstances,&rdquo; third-leg runner Jevaughn Powell said. &ldquo;It is always a tough task running with the USA team, but we are trying to challenge them as much as possible. And I think we did that.&rdquo;
It was Belgium&rsquo;s second 4x400m bronze in a row at the World Championships.
&ldquo;It was a great race at a great stadium. To get another medal, that is really great for our country,&rdquo; anchor leg runner Kevin Borlee said. &ldquo;We were very well prepared and tried to stay focused to keep the rhythm. For such a small country, we keep on going for so many years. So it is awesome.&rdquo;
Steve Wilson for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 4x400m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">United States 🇺🇸</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">2:56.17 WL</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Jamaica 🇯🇲</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">2:58.58 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Belgium 🇩🇪</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">2:58.72 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/4x400-metres-relay/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

When Champion Allison grabbed the baton for the anchor leg of the men’s 4x400m final, he took off on what was essentially a victory lap

US team dominates in Oregon to win 11th men's world 4x400m gold

Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigsten had an Olympic title, but he had never won a World Championships gold medal.
After being upset in the 1500m by Jake Wightman only a few days ago at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, a world gold still eluded him.
If he wanted to end his drought, he was going to have to topple a star-studded field in the men&rsquo;s 5000m that included the world record-holder, Uganda&rsquo;s Joshua Cheptegei, who had earned gold over 10,000m earlier in the championships.
But Ingebrigtsen did exactly that, winging up the pace in the final kilometre to win in 13:09.24. Kenya&rsquo;s Jacob Krop took silver in 13:09.98, while Uganda&rsquo;s Oscar Chelimo earned bronze in 13:10.20, a season&rsquo;s best.
Ingebrigtsen spent almost half the race towards the back of the pack and didn't make his move until after the field had covered two kilometres, going from 10th place into fifth. He remained near the front over the next few laps, then he moved into first with 600 metres left.
From then on, he never relinquished the lead. Ingebrigtsen led 11 men through the bell, less than a second spread among them. As the pack strung out and the finalists started to unleash their finishing kick, Ingebrigtsen held off all of them and extended his lead as he neared the line.
The Norwegian could even afford to take a couple of last looks behind him, before flashing a &lsquo;No.1&rsquo; gesture to the fans on the homestretch.
&ldquo;It feels amazing to win this gold,&rdquo; said Ingebrigtsen. &ldquo;This is already my fifth attempt to become a world champion outdoors and my third World Championships. So finally, I became the world champion.&rdquo;
Cheptegei led through the first three laps, but by the halfway mark, he had dropped to eighth. Leading the pack was Kenya&rsquo;s Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli and Daniel Simiu Ebenyo, who often took turns at the front early on. In pursuit were Guatemala&rsquo;s Luis Grijalva, Ingebrigsten and USA&rsquo;s Grant Fisher.
Through 4000m, just 0.75 separated the top 12. Krop had taken the lead, but the race remained conservative, with no one looking to push the pace, setting the stage for the raucous bell lap.
Ingebrigtsen and Krop passed through the bell first, holding their positions the rest of the way. However, Chelimo was still in ninth, and Fisher was in third, only 0.11 behind the top two. Chelimo remained in eighth until the final 200 metres, where he moved into fifth, still trailing Fisher and Canada&rsquo;s Mohammed Ahmed.
As the three men came around the curve, with the bronze still up for grabs, Fisher hit the inside rail, causing the American to drop behind. Chelimo took advantage, as did Grijalva, and both men moved ahead. Chelimo&rsquo;s kick was too strong for either Grijalva or Ahmed to handle, as he edged both men by less than 0.25.
Grijalva finished fourth, achieving the best finish for his country in any event at the World Championships.
&ldquo;It feels amazing. I have always run a PB in the races,&rdquo; said Grijalva. &ldquo;I almost won a medal, the first for Central America.&rdquo;
Krop said he knew the race would be tactical, but he was ready for it.
&ldquo;They just made me push on the last lap and attack,&rdquo; said Krop. &ldquo;In the end, it looked like everybody wanted to get to the podium. I had my position and when I kicked, I wanted to maintain the spot, but Jakob had a strong kick too.&rdquo;
For Chelimo, the bronze finish comes after a few disappointing outings recently.
&ldquo;I had some difficult times in the past years, I was happy last year to qualify in Tokyo, but then I came last so I had to ask why,&rdquo; said Chelimo. &ldquo;But my coach told me that I am a champion. He said, &lsquo;forget about the past, just continue racing&rsquo;.&rdquo;
Elias Esquivel for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 5000m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Jakob Ingebrigtsen 🇳🇴 NOR</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">13:09.24</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Jacob Krop 🇰🇪 KEN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">13:09.98</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Oscar Chelimo 🇺🇬 UGA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">13:10.20 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/5000-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Men's 5000m report

Ingebrigtsen wins first world title with 5000m gold in Oregon

He may have broken the world record and earned Olympic silver in recent years, but Kevin Mayer has also had his fair share of bad luck.
The French decathlete bowed out of the 2018 European Championships after failing to record a valid mark in the long jump. Little more than a year later, he was forced to withdraw from the World Championships in Doha when an injury prevented him from competing in the pole vault.
But in retaining his decathlon title at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, Mayer showed that he is still a major force in the combined events world.
The 30-year-old navigated his way up the overall standings as the competition progressed. He was sixth at the end of day one, then moved up to fifth after the 110m hurdles on Sunday, fourth after the discus, and third after the pole vault before finally moving into first after throwing 70.31m in the javelin, overtaking Canada's Pierce LePage.
He went on to win with 8816, his best score since setting his world record of 9146 four years ago. LePage took silver with a PB of 8701 and USA&rsquo;s Zach Ziemek achieved his first major podium finish by earning bronze with a PB of 8676.
The contest was blown wide open when Olympic champion and pre-event favourite Damian Warner pulled up injured in the 400m at the end of the first day, having been in the leading position in the overall standings up until that point.
It meant that Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Ayden Owens-Delerme found himself as the surprising day-one leader with 4606, having put together a superb series which included a stunning 45.07 run in the 400m.
Before his 400m catastrophe, Warner had been in good form. The Canadian posted the fastest time of the day in the 100m, 10.27, and then followed it with the best long jump of the day, 7.87m. He then produced season&rsquo;s bests of 14.99m in the shot and 2.05m in the high jump, giving him a lead of 62 points over USA&rsquo;s Zach Ziemek at that point in the competition.
Ziemek, a top-seven finisher at the past two Olympics, enjoyed one of his best ever starts to a decathlon. He placed in the top five in the first four disciplines and was close to his PBs in the 100m (10.57) and long jump (7.70m), then set a PB of 15.37m in the shot, ending the day in third place.
Mayer, by contrast, placed outside of the top five in all of the disciplines on day one, but was nevertheless pleased with his 10.62 run in the 100m, 7.54m leap in the long jump, 14.98m throw in the shot put, 2.05m clearance in the high jump and 49.40 clocking in the 400m. He also knew he had some of his best events yet to come.
Defending champion Niklas Kaul was down in 16th place at the end of Saturday&rsquo;s action, but his 4147 tally was not far off his day-one score from Doha three years ago when he won the world title with 8691. Season&rsquo;s bests of 2.05m in the high jump and 48.39 in the 400m helped the German&rsquo;s campaign.
Owens-Delerme, however, enjoyed the series of his life. His 10.52 clocking in the 100m was a quarter of a second shy of his PB, but he followed it with a lifetime best of 7.64m in the long jump, a 14.97m throw in the shot put and a 2.02m outdoor PB in the high jump before ending his day with his blinding 45.07 run in the 400m.
Not only was it the second-fastest 400m ever recorded within a decathlon, it also broke the Puerto Rican record.
While Warner&rsquo;s dreams of winning his first outdoor world title were dashed, LePage kept Canadian medal hopes alive at the start of day two by speeding to the fastest 110m hurdles clocking of 13.78. Owens-Delerme and Mayer were just a fraction behind with 13.88 and 13.92 respectively, while Ziemek ran 14.47.
Australia&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist Ashley Moloney was a non-starter for the discus, but it nevertheless proved to be a high-quality competition as Jiri Sykora set a championship decathlon best of 54.39m. Lindon Victor&rsquo;s 53.92m was also in excess of the previous record, moving the Grenadian up to fifth.
LePage set a PB of 53.26m, moving him into the overall lead, while Mayer&rsquo;s 49.4mm moved him up to fourth.
Mayer and Ziemek moved up another place in the standings after they both cleared 5.40m in the pole vault. LePage cleared 5.00m, which was enough to stay in the lead, but the gap between the top three reduced to 86 points. Owens-Delerme (4.50m) and Kaul (4.80m) were some way off their bests in the pole vault, which proved costly in their hunt for medals.
Mayer produced the best throw of the day in the javelin, sending his spear out to 70.31m. With LePage managing 57.52m, it meant Mayer moved into the lead with a 107-point margin going into the 1500m.
LePage dropped to second place and Ziemek moved to third, throwing 62.18m. A 50.98m effort from Owens-Delerme essentially ended the Puerto Rican&rsquo;s medal ambitions, but he was still determined to give his all in the 1500m as it&rsquo;s one of his best events.
Owens-Delerme led from the outset in the final discipline. Kaul made up ground in the closing stages, but the Puerto Rican held on to cross the line first in 4:13.02, 0.79 ahead of Kaul.
But the real action was happening further behind. Mayer got around in 4:41.44, securing the title with 8816. LePage ensured he stayed ahead of Ziemek (4:42.77 to 4:44.97) to land the silver medal with 8701. ZIemek held on to third place overall with 8676.
Owens-Delerme may have missed out on a medal, but he was rewarded with another national record, scoring 8532 to finish comfortably ahead of Victor (8474), Kaul (8434) and 2019 world silver medallist Uibo (8425).
Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S DECATHLON MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">1</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Kevin Mayer 🇫🇷 FRA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">8816 SB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">2</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Pierce LePage 🇨🇦 CAN</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">8701 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">3</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Zachery Ziemek 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">8676 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/decathlon/1500-metres/points" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

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