Allyson Felix
Day 6 of the World Championships needed something special to happen if it was to live up to yesterday’s action in Beijing. Good job about a million special things happened.
Idontbelievable
For the first five rounds it seemed that the men’s triple jump would not be the super top quality contest that we had all wished for. Yes it was close, but Christian Taylor and Pedro Pablo Pichardo were exchanging body blows in the mid to high 17 range, and that’s not what we’ve come to expect from the two men who have both exceeded the 18 metre mark on several occassions this year.
But then, just as we were about to start writing eulogies about the slow death of the triple jump since the heady days of July, Taylor pulled out a whopper. His 18.21m jump is the second best of all time; the longest since Jonathan Edwards set the world record 20 years ago. Everyone was stunned, including Pichardo. The Cuban could not respond with his final jump, and gold went to the nicest man in track and field. Swoon.
Never in doubt
Anita Wlodarczyk was never under any pressure in the hammer final, but the world record holder wasn’t prepared to take any chances. The Pole put her all in to each effort, improving each time until round four when she notched her best mark, an 80.85m championship record, which was just 23cm shy of her own world record.
A word of advice to Wlodarczyk: make sure you have plenty of renminbi yuan in your purse if you're out celebrating tonight. The last Pole to win a hammer final will tell you why.
Allyson is the boss
Despite the fact that she already had eight world championship gold medals to her name, there were nagging doubts as to whether Allyson Felix could win the 400m, which is not her natural event. She dispelled any misgivings as soon as the gun sounded.
After flying out of the blocks, the Olympic 200m champion tempered her initial burst, before turning it on again in the second bend, leaving defending champion Christine Ohuruogu for dust. With the line beckoning, Felix pulled away to win in a personal best 49.26, silencing the doubters and picking up her NINTH world champs gold.
Mr Universe
Which pulled Felix level with Usain Bolt in the all-time gold medal standings, though not for long.
Bolt, of course, averted a financial crisis and rescued a family of kittens from a really tall tree when he won the 100m on Sunday evening, but on Day 6 he had to do it all again over double the distance.
He brought the day to a close by completing the second half of his sprint double with a world leading 19.55 – the fastest he’s run since London 2012 – to earn his tenth world champs gold medal and defeat his enemy for the second time in a week.
Joie de vivre
No French athlete in history has ever won a world championships 800m medal. That record did not change in the biannual contest between journalists, which took place in front of a crowd of zero between the sessions.
Rather than give you detailed analysis of form, tactics, splits on the day and kick finishes, we shall instead just direct your attention to the above photo. The Frenchman on the left and the Frenchman on the right are the same Frenchman. He started off as a racing reporter and finished off as... something completely different. Needless to say he and his cigarette smoking colleague finished a le derrière in their heats. Still, top marks for effort.