SPIKES Wrap Cover 4
The single session of day four of the IAAF World Championships delivered a feast of athletic action. This is what had us smacking our lips and calling for dessert in the London Stadium.
Getting to know you
Wayde van Niekerk is better known for running the 400m than he is for the half lap distance. Being the top lad that he is, the South African took time in his 200m heat to get to know his competitors, having a little chat with more regular half lapper, Briton Danny Talbot, as both athletes cruised through the qualifers with an equal time of 20.16.
As great as it is to see a bromace blossom, don’t expect the joviality to last as the event goes through its latter rounds later this week.
Dem Damn Hurdles
Who wouldn’t like to take an axe to a hurdle every once in a while?
American hurdler Shamier Litte wasn’t packing that sort of heat in her 400m hurdle qualifier, yet she still managed to snap a barrier clean in two coming into the home straight. It messed her rhythm something rotten, and she had to scrap to hold form and qualify for the semis. At least she showed that hurdle who’s boss.
Dem Damn Hurdles II: The Return of Dem Damn Hurdles
No such luck for some of the lads running in the men’s semis immediately after those heats.
Victor Corollier, of France, was first to taste the London Mondo, tripping over a barrier down the back straight, dusting himself off to finish despite it all. In the final semi, Brazilian Marcio Teles had less luck when he hit the deck half way through.
No wonder they call it the man eater.
My, how they grow
You might remember Salwa Eid-Nasser from such SPIKES Wraps as the girl who won world U20 gold over 400m in Cali, Colombia, while wearing the hijab in 2015. Though she now runs unveiled, her talent is no less plain.
In tonight’s 400m semis, the 19-year-old pipped reigning world champion Allyson Felix to the line to qualify fastest get the best lane draw in Wednesday’s final. You heard about her here first.
If only she could triple jump
Before taking up the hop-step-jump, Yulimar Rojas made her name on the junior circuit as a talented high and long jumper. Watching her tackle the TJ, it’s plain to even the most uneducated of observers (guilty) that her technique is, shall we say, raw.
The lanky Venezuelan’s bagful of talent saw her come into London with the world lead, and in the final she prevailed over Colombian sweetheart Caterine Ibarguen in an enthralling contest.
Still just 21-years-old, brush up those phases and she will be dominating the event for years to come.
Fully charged
After Kenyan Faith Kipyegon won gold in the Rio 1500m last year, her father made the most of the publicity by requesting that their hometown, Ndabibit Village in Nakuru County, be hooked up to the national electricity grid.
Kipyegon added the world title to her collection tonight, pulling away with a energy-sapping drive to take the win. High-speed broadband could be coming to Ndabibit.
