Allman goes for gold in the discus to highlight Wednesday’s Day 6 of WCH Oregon22

The United States will look to add to its dominance of the women’s throwing events at the World Athletic Championships Oregon22 when the women’s discus final is held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. 

The U.S. women have already picked up a shot put gold from Chase Ealey during the first World Athletics Championships on U.S. soil, and a 1-3 finish from Brooke Andersen and Janee’ Kassanavoid, respectively, in the hammer throw. 

Now it’s Val Allman’s turn. 

Allman became only the third American woman to win the Olympic gold medal in the discus, and the first since 2008, when she was victorious at the Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. has never won a women’s discus medal at the World Athletics Championships. 

Allman will enter the final as the favorite. She’s the world leader at 71.46m after improving her American record by 30 centimeters this year. Allman easily had the top throw in Monday’s qualifying, she’s won three of the four Diamond League meets she’s competed in this year, and she’s undefeated at the reimagined Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. 

Croatia’s Sandra Perkovic is the only thrower to beat Allman this year, and was the 2015 and 2017 World Athletics Championships gold medalist and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic gold medalist. She and Allman are the only throwers in the field with personal bests over 71m. Perkovic’s season best is 68.19m, ranking second in the world behind Allman. 

Jorinde van Klinken of Netherlands, the former Arizona State collegiate star, was second in qualifying with a season-best of 65.66m, and threw 70.22m last year to set a national record. She’s ranked fifth in the world this year. 

Cuba’s Yaime Perez is the defending World Athletics Championships gold medalist and had a season best of 65.32m in qualifying. She also won the bronze medal in Tokyo. Germany has three throwers in the final in Kristin Pudenz, the silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, Claudine Vita, and Shanice Craft. Pudenz is ranked third in the world this year, Craft eight, and Vita ninth. 

China’s Bin Feng was the eighth thrower to hit the automatic qualifying standard of 64.00m on Monday. She’s ranked fourth in the world at 66.00m. 

Here’s what else to watch for on Wednesday: 

WOMEN’S 3,000-METER STEEPLECHASE (Final, 7:45 p.m.) 

The only track final on the Wednesday schedule is the women’s 3,000m steeplechase where Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan is a big favorite. She set her personal best of 8 minutes, 53.63 seconds in winning last year’s Prefontaine Classic, has run 8:57.97 this year, and ran a blistering 9:01.54 in Saturday’s heats. 

Uganda’s Peruth Chemutai was the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and has a personal best of 9:01.45. Kenya’s Celiphine Chespol is sixth on the all-time list at 8:58.78. 

Emma Coburn, Courtney Frerichs and Courtney Wayment will all be in the medal hunt for the U.S. Coburn and Frerichs went 1-2, respectively, at the 2017 World Athletics Championships, Coburn was the silver medalist in Doha in 2019, and Frerichs was the Olympic silver medalist in Tokyo. Frerichs set the American record of 8:57.77 behind Jeruto at last year’s Pre Classic, and is fifth on the all-time list. Wayment dominated the collegiate season, setting the NCAA record at 9:16.00 in the championship final, then ran 9:12.10 at the U.S. Championships and 9:14.95 in Saturday’s qualifying. 

Burundi’s Winfred Yavi is the only other runner in the field with a personal best under 9 minutes at 8:56.55 and is fourth on the all-time list. 

France’s Alice Finot (9:12.14) and Great Britian’s Aimee Pratt (9:18.91) both set national records in Saturday’s qualifying heats. 

WOMEN’S 400-METER HURDLES (Semifinals, 6:15 p.m.) 

Americans Sydney McLaughlin and Daliliah Muhammad have combined to break the world record five times in this event beginning with the 2019 U.S. Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. McLaughlin set the world record for the third time when she ran 51.41 seconds at Hayward Field in the U.S. Championships last month. 

Muhammad, as the defending champion, from Doha, had a bye into this event and pulled out of the U.S. Championships with a minor injury. She cruised through her opening heat on Tuesday. 

Femke Bol of Netherlands was third behind McLaughlin and Muhammad when both broke the world record at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, won by McLaughlin. Bol ran 52.03 seconds in the Olympic final. In two European Diamond League meets 15 days apart last month, Bol ran 52.61 seconds and then 52.27. 

Britton Wilson of the U.S. was the NCAA champion for Arkansas and ran 53.02 seconds behind McLaughlin’s world record at the U.S. Championships. Jamaica’s Janieve Russell, Shiann Salmon and Rushell Clayton have run 53.63, 53.82, and 53.90, respectively, this season. 

MEN’S 400 METERS (Semifinals, 7:15 p.m.) 

Michael Norman of the United States, the world leader this year at 43.56 seconds, is seeking his first individual medal. He also ran 43.61 at the Prefontaine Classic to set the Diamond League record and is a big favorite at a venue where he’s always run well. 

Grenada’s Kirani James was the 2011 World Athletics Championships gold medalist and the 2015 bronze medalist in Beijing. He also has a full set of Olympics medals with gold in 2012, silver in 2016, and bronze in 2020. 

South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk set the world record of 43.08 seconds in winning the 2016 Olympic gold medalist and won the 2015 and 2017 World Athletics Championships. He’s been hampered by injuries since then but has begun to look like his championship self. 

Champion Allison became the No. 10 performer all-time when he ran 43.70 seconds behind Norman at the U.S. Championships. Michael Cherry of the U.S. was the Diamond League champion last year. 

Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith has had a strong season in re-setting the British national record to 44.35 seconds. 

WOMEN’S 400 METERS (Semifinals, 6:45 p.m.) 

Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas is the favorite, and the 2016 and 2020 Olympic gold medalist. She’s looking for her first World Athletics Championships gold medal after winning silver in 2015 and 2019. 

Miller-Uibo is the only one with a personal best under 49 seconds (48.36) and has run 49.91 this season. 

Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic ran a 48.47-second leg on the winning 4x400m mixed relay team Friday night and is the world leader at 49.49 seconds. Fiordaliza Cofil anchored that relay to victory with a 49.92-second leg and has run a personal-best 50.38 seconds this year. 

This event could be a big medal haul for Jamaica with Charokee Young, the NCAA star from Texas A&M, Stephenie Ann McPherson, and Candice McLeod. All three have personal bests between 49.34 seconds and 49.87 seconds. 

Talitha Diggs won the NCAA championship for Florida in 49.99 seconds, and was also the U.S. champ. 

OTHER EVENTS 

In other Wednesday events, heats will be held in the women’s 5,000m at 4:25 p.m., and the men’s 800m at 5:20 p.m. The women’s javelin qualifying kicks off the day at 3:20 p.m. 

Hellen Obiri of Kenya was the two-time women’s 5,000m World Athletics Championships gold medalist entering WCH Oregon22, but ran the 10,000m here and was second in Saturday’s final. The favorites include Ethiopia’s Letesebet Gidey, the 10,000m champion on Saturday, and Gudaf Tsegay, second in Monday’s 1,500m, and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands. Hassan won this event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Tsegay third. Hassan, however, has raced sparingly this season and was a surprising fourth in the 10,000m final.  

In the men’s 800, Donavan Brazier of the U.S. is the defending champ and set the American and Championships record of 1:42.34 in Doha. Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Poland’s Patryk Dobek was the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics. 

In the women’s javelin, Maggie Malone of the U.S. is the world leader at 65.73m, and Kara Winger of the U.S. is fifth in the world rankings at 64.26m, which she threw in winning the U.S. title. Australia’s Kelsey-Lee Barber is the defending champion from Doha and was Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist. 

By Ashley Conklin