WCH Tokyo 25 facts and figures - day two

Evening session

Men’s 400m heats

Jacory Patterson’s (USA) 43.90 is the fastest time ever recorded in a 400m heat. It is the 17th time the sub-44 second barrier has been broken in the 400m at the World Championships

Yuki Joseph Nakajima (JPN) lowered the Japanese record from 44.77 to 44.44 to qualify from the first heat. He moves to fourth on the Asian all-time list

Defending champion Antonio Watson (JAM) finished 45th out of 48 athletes across the six heats of the 400m in 46.23, just over two seconds slower than his winning time in Budapest

United States (4), Botswana (3) and Great Britain (3) had all of their athletes qualify for the semifinals. Jamaica also had three of their four entrants qualify

Women’s 400m heats

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) ran the fastest ever heat in World Championships history with 49.41, beating Marileidy Paulino’s (DOM) previous mark of 49.90 from Budapest in 2023

However, this accolade lasted all of two races. Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) clocked 49.13 in heat five, the joint ninth fastest time in World Championships history

Prior to Tokyo, there had only been one sub-50 second clocking in the 400m heats in World Championships history. Seven athletes broke 50 seconds across the six heats in Tokyo! Naser 49.13, McLaughlin-Levrone 49.41, Stacey-Ann Williams (JAM) 49.59, Paulino 49.85, Wadeline Venlogh (HAI) 49.91, Nickisha Pryce (JAM) 49.91, Amber Anning (GBR) 49.96

One day after her brother Seifeldin Heneida Abdesalam (QAT) set a Qatari record of 5.75m to reach the pole vault final, Bassant Hemida (EGY) ran an Egyptian record of 50.36 in the 400m heats.

Women's discus final

Valarie Allman becomes the third Olympic gold medallist from Tokyo 2020 to win gold in Tokyo 2025 after Ryan Crouser (USA) in the shot put and Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) in the marathon (although the marathon was held in Sapporo) 

Allman’s winning throw of 69.47m was the fifth longest winning throw in World Championships history

Jorinde Van Klinken (NED) wins the first ever medal for the Netherlands in the women’s discus in World Championships history

Women’s 100m semifinals

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA) ran the fastest ever 100m semifinal with 10.73, the equal seventh fastest 100m ever recorded at the World Championships

For the second successive world 100m final, Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) only qualified as a non-automatic qualifier, clocking a season’s best of 11.00 to finish third in heat one

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) qualified for a record-extending eighth world 100m final in 11.00

Six finalists from the 100m final in Budapest in 2023 qualified for the 100m final in Tokyo 

Dina Asher-Smith (GBR) was the only Brit to qualify for the 100m final, finishing third in the third semifinal in 11.02 to qualify eighth overall. She knocked out Amy Hunt (11.05) from one of the hot-seats who in turn displaced Daryll Neita (11.06) from one of the hot-seats 

Men’s 100m semifinals

Kenny Bednarek (USA) and Kishane Thompson (JAM) both stopped the clock at 9.85, the equal second fastest 100m semifinal in World Championships history after Justin Gatlin (USA) ran 9.77 in Beijing 

Only three athletes who made the final in Budapest (Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, Oblique Seville) made it through to the 100m final in Tokyo

For just the second time after the 2015 World Championships, all eight finalists broke the 10 second-barrier in the semifinals

Women's 1500m semifinals

Faith Kipyegon (KEN) led the semifinals with 4:00.34 to qualify for her sixth world 1500m final since 2013

Marta Zenoni (ITA), who had initially qualified for the 1500m final, was disqualified for obstruction. Sarah Healy (IRL) qualifies by right and Neele Wessel (GER) and Salome Afonso (POR) have both been advanced through which means there will be a 14-woman final 

Women’s long jump final

Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA) won the United States’ ninth world long jump title from 20 editions of the World Championships but their first since London in 2017 

With bronze in the long jump, Natalia Linares (COL) became just the third Colombian woman to win a World Championships medal after Caterine Ibarguen who won five medals in the triple jump and Flor Ruiz in the javelin in 2023. “Caterine opened the door for Colombian athletics. She is my idol. This is a different event (to her), but we started a new path of success. Colombia has a world medallist. We have cried and suffered throughout the years, but we are celebrating today,” she said.

Malaika Mihambo (GER) won her sixth successive global medal (Olympic and world) with silver in the long jump 

Esraa Owis (EGY) finished 11th in the final with 6.37m. She became the first woman from Egypt to contest a World Championships final in any event 

Men’s 10,000m final

Jimmy Gressier (FRA) became the first French athlete to win a world title on the track since Pierre-Ambroise Bosse won the 800m in London in 2017. “Some may have doubted my finish, but I always believed in myself. I said I would run here for a medal,” he said. 

For the first time since the 1987 World Championships, two Europeans made the podium with Gressier and Andreas Almgren (SWE) winning gold and bronze respectively

Almgren became the first Swede to win a medal in a men’s track event in World Championships history. After winning world U20 800m bronze in 2014, Almgren has finished fourth at various European events in the 800m, 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m! This was his first major medal at either continental or European level

In stifling heat and humidity (30C and 68 percent humidity according to the official results), Gressier’s winning time of 28:55.77 was easily the slowest winning time in World Championships history. The previous slowest winning time was 28:01.04 set by Alberto Cova (ITA) at the inaugural World Championships in 1983

It was also the closest World Championships 10,000m in history. Gressier won by 0.06 from Yomif Kejelcha (ETH). The previous smallest winning margin was Cova’s winning margin of 0.14 in 1983  

Kejelcha replicated his silver medal from Doha in 2019 in what might possibly be his last significant track race. “I decided that this season is my last one on the track and I badly wanted to finish my track career with a medal. This final will be one of the best in my memory and useful for my growth and experience,” he said. 

Women’s 100m final 

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (USA) wins the United States’ 10th world 100m title from 20 World Championships. “Instead of putting the pressure on myself and taking it as something overwhelming, I was just embracing it,” she said. 

Jefferson-Wooden’s winning time of 10.61 (+0.3) was a championship record, beating training partner Sha’Carri Richardson’s 10.65 from 2023. Her time was also the joint fourth fastest time in history behind Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49), Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.60)

Jefferson-Wooden equals the stadium record and Japanese and Asian all-comers’ record of 10.61 set by Thompson-Herah at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo 

Jefferson-Wooden’s winning margin of 0.16 was the second biggest in World Championships history after Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won by 0.22 in 2013 

Men’s 100m final

Oblique Seville (JAM) ends the United States’ run of four successive men’s 100m titles at the World Championships. “I feel really amazing and excited that the gold is coming home to Jamaica. I have proved that I am a true competitor, that I have the determination of a champion,” he said.

Seville becomes the first Jamaican winner of the men’s 100m title at the World Championships since Usain Bolt won gold for the third time in 2015. Bolt was among the spectators in a sold out National Stadium tonight

Seville’s winning time of 9.77 was the joint third fastest 100m winning time in World Championships history alongside Bolt’s 9.77 from 2013. Seville also broke Lamont Marcell Jacobs' stadium and Japanese all-comers' record of 9.80 set at the Tokyo Olympics 

Seville and Kishane Thompson took a 1-2 for Jamaica in the men’s 100m for the first time in the history of the World Championships 

With bronze, Noah Lyles (USA) extended his medal tally from the World Championships to eight medals (6-1-1) to match Michael Johnson's haul from the World Championships 

Morning session

Women’s marathon

Peres Jepchirchir’s (KEN) winning time of 2:24:43 was the fifth fastest winning time in World Championships history

Jepchirchir becomes just the second female athlete after Rosa Mota (POR) in 1987-88 to win both Olympic and world marathon titles. Jepchirchir won Olympic gold in Tokyo (Sapporo) in 2020 

Jepchirchir’s winning margin of 0:02 is the second smallest in World Championships history after Mare Dibaba (ETH) won by 0:01 in 2015

Competing in just her second marathon, Julia Paternain (URU) made history by winning Uruguay’s first ever medal at the World Championships with bronze

Paternain also became the first ever South American to win a medal in the women’s marathon at the World Championships. “I would love to be an example for young girls in South America, so they can see that everything is possible. It does not matter where you come from. All you need is a pair of shoes. I only started running at the age of 16 and I am 25 now. Anyone can do it,” she said

At 40, Fionnuala McCormack (IRL) achieved her best ever finish in a global championships in ninth. She finished 12th in the 3000m steeplechase when Japan held the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

Men’s 1500m heats

The two fastest athletes on the 2025 world list both failed to progress through the heats. World leader Azeddine Habz (FRA) finished seventh in heat one in 3:36.62 and Phanuel Koech (KEN) placed 12th in heat four in 3:42.77 after falling on the last lap. Neither George Mills (GBR) nor Festus Lagat (KEN), who are third and fourth on the 2025 world list, are entered for the 1500m

The United States was the only country to have all three athletes - Ethan Strand, Cole Hocker, Jonah Koech - progress through to the semifinals 

Women’s hammer qualifying

Camryn Rogers’ (CAN) 77.52m was the longest throw recorded in hammer qualifying at the World Championships. It was also the seventh longest throw in the history of the World Championships

At 40y/37d Anita Włodarczyk (POL) became the oldest athlete to qualify for a women's hammer final in World Championships history. She is aiming for a record-breaking fifth medal in the event 

There was a shock non-qualification for world leader Brooke Andersen (USA) who recorded three no-throws

Women’s 100m hurdles heats

Danielle Williams (JAM) produced the joint second fastest heat time in World Championships history with 12.40. “I told everybody who has asked me - the goal is not to defend a title, but to gain one. I can’t defend what I already have. I don’t have this one, I am trying to get it. I will run whatever [time] it takes to win,” she said.