Key events
Men’s 200m final: On the evidence of yesterday’s semi-finals, Noah Lyles looks the man to beat after a blistering run of 19.51sec to eclipse his world lead from the US Trials. It was the fastest ever semi-final performances in the history of any championships. Lyles is bidding to emulate Usain Bolt with a fourth straight world title in that particular event.
Jamaica’s Bryan Levell will have something to say about that as he impressed with a 19.78sec semi-final win, while Kenny Bednarek, who had an under par 100m final, was third quickest of the semi-finalists in 19.88sec.
The Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo disqualified in the 100m for a false start, and GB’s Zharnel Hughes were next best.
Women’s heptathlon – 200m: Spain’s Vicente wins the second heat with a season best of 23.96sec. Johnson-Thompson, who has not had the best starts to this title defence finishes third in the final heat with a season best behind GB’s Pawlett and the United States’s Hall.
Hall has had a great day and she leads the standings with O’Connor in second and KJT in third. More events for the heptathlon tomorrow.
Women’s heptathlon – 200m: Ireland’s O’Connor has got her third personal best of the day, finishing 24.07sec in the first 200m heat behind Emma Oosterwegel of the Netherlands.
Benjamin reinstated as men’s 400m hurdles winner
Rai Benjamin has the crown back on his head and is now back to taking photos. It seems to have been a quick appeal from the US. Deserved win for the American.
Men’s 400m hurdles: Heartbreaking for Benjamin, who has now been told. The replays show that Nathaniel still managed to clear his hurdle and, of course, Benjamin did not clip his hurdle on purpose.
Benjamin disqualified from men’s 400m hurdles after winning gold
Rai Benjamin has a crown on his head and he is still celebrating his gold but he may not be for long. He clipped his final hurdle, which dislodged Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel’s barrier, impeding his movement.
The US team will likely appeal.
Bol snatches women’s 400m hurdles
Femke Bol with a world leading time of 51.54sec to win the gold. She was imperious from the beginning with a balanced race. The Americans came out the blocks to try to throw her off but the Dutchwoman found the form she often does down the straight.
Jasmine Jones from the US wins silver with a personal best and Slovakia’s Emma Zapetalova takes bronze.
Women’s 400m hurdles final: Femke Bol has looked imperious all season long, extending that dominance to the women’s 400m hurdles rounds in Tokyo. Is it her title for the taking today?
The 25-year-old had won eight straight races this season before coming to Tokyo and, with Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone focusing on the 400m flat at this championships, it’s hard to see who might push Bol.
The Olympic and world gold medallist Dalilah Muhammad is among those hoping to pull off a big shock at the age of 35, while her fellow American athlete Anna Cockrell is ranked No 2 in the world this year behind Bol.
Men’s triple jump: Pichardo is back on top with two back-to-back jumps of 17.55m. Earlier Algeria’s Yasser Mohammed Triki was in the lead with 17.25m.
Benjamin eases to gold in men’s 400m hurdles
The Olympic champion is the world champion! He led from the jump and had he not clipped that final hurdle he may have beat the world record. He will have to settle for a season best of 46.52sec. It is another gold for the United States.
Warholm was in second but in the final stretch he was overtaken by Brazil’s Alison dos Santos who takes silver and Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba who wins bronze with a season best.
Men’s 400m hurdles final: The big three of the men’s 400m hurdles are back for another final. They are on the track where all three of them dipped under Kevin Young’s previous world record mark in a blistering Olympic final four years ago.
Brazil’s Alison dos Santos did not look at his best in his semi-final but Karsten Warholm and Rai Benjamin will know not to count him out.
Norway’s Warholm is the quickest man in the world this year, his 46.28sec ran so recently in Silesia, and he backed that up with victory in Zurich. Benjamin’s season’s best is 46.54sec.
Women’s 8000m: Hodgkinson takes top spot! No surprise there. Sarah Moraa (no relation to Mary), left it late, but she had a lot left in the tank and the 19-year-old finished second with a personal best.
But oh, no! Moraa is now being helped off the track, with a wheelchair there in case. Unusual to see someone run so smoothly across the line and then seem to struggle with an issue after.
Women’s 8000m: Hodgkinson goes across the curb slowly, as she usually does and she leads the pack as the bell rings.
Women’s 8000m: The Olympic champion Hodgkinson is in lane six of this third and last semi-final. Here we go!
Men’s triple jump final: Lázaro Martínez slots into the top spot with a jump of 17.16m. He won silver at the last worlds in Budapest.
Women’s 800m: In the second semi-final Kenya’s Lilian Odira takes the top spot right ahead of the Swiss record holder Audrey Werro.
Australia’s Jess Hull sets a new Continental record in third and she may qualify as one of the quickest non-top two finishers.
Men’s triple jump final: Pichardo lays down the mark with a jump of 17.07m. Scott follows it up with a foul, a nervy start.
Women’s heptathlon – shot put: Johnson-Thompson’s first throw is to 13.37m.
Men’s triple jump final: Our first final of the day is about to start. Italy’s Andy Diaz Hernandez is in the form of his life, winning the world indoor title with a leap of 17.80m, a career best and the world best this year. The 29-year-old also clinched his third Diamond League final win this season.
Portugal’s 2022 world champion Pedro Pichardo won Olympic gold at this same venue, while Jamaican Jordan Scott has got into the winning habit with a quartet of victories in the Diamond League in 2025.
Women’s 800m: Moraa gets first, a big race from her after an underwhelming season by her standards. Hunter Bell was in third at one point but pushed on to get the automatic qualifying spot.
Women’s 800m: Our first semi-final is underway. GB’s Georgie Hunter Bell is facing off against the defending champion Mary Moraa of Kenya. The first two of each of the three semi-finals will qualify plus the two fastest times qualify to the final.
Men’s 5000m: Ingebrigtsen makes it by the skin of his teeth in eighth! He had to give everything to qualify and with a season’s best too, but he is clearly not up to race fitness.
GB’s Mills qualifies in fourth – he looked calm and used his experience to get over the line.
Men’s 5000m: At the bell Binaim Mehary of Ethiopia leads and Ingebrigtsen is in a bit of trouble at ninth.
Men’s 5000m: Niels Laros has stopped! He was clear and he looked comfortable in second but something happened and now he is on the sidelines with his head in his hands.
Men’s 5000m: Someone gives Mexico’s Eduardo Herrera a bit of a shove to the outside. Another disqualification incoming? At least we know it isn’t Cole Hocker this time.
Men’s 5000m: Ingebrigtsen and Mills are having a chat. Very telling of the pace that this race is going at as we approach the halfway mark.
Men’s 5000m: Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who turns 25 today, in this second heat has something to prove after failing to go past the heats in the 1500m. George Mills of GB is also a medal hope having recovered in time from a fractured wrist suffered in June.
Men’s 5000m: Huge burst of pace from Isaac Kimeli of Belgium and Kenya’s Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang in the end to get them the first two qualifying spots.
Hocker, Young, Robinson, Gebrhiwet, Foppen and Daguinos join them to qualify.
Almgren, who led near the end, faded away and may have miscounted how many were in front of him. He finishes ninth and misses out on qualification.
Men’s 5000m: Mori is struggling, trying to dig deep, but his face looks like he is agony. Hocker is down to sixth place, and he looks a bit boxed, but I doubt he will try to force his way through again. Final lap, eight places available. Here we go!
Men’s 5000m: Mori to the delight of the crowd is still contention, in and around ninth place. Nico Young of the US moves out wide and is up to second now.
Men’s 5000m: Sweden’s Andreas Almgren moves himself in front, Hocker right behind him.
Men’s 5000m: Hocker has been leading the pack for most of the race so far. He is gradually slowing it down, trying to preserve his energy and keep the pace down. Nagiya Mori of Japan is at the back at around the halfway mark.
Women’s javelin: Serbia’s Adriana Vilagos, only 21 years old, throws an astonishing 66.06m in her third and final attempt, shooing her into the final.
Men’s 5000m: Two heats and the first eight of each heat qualify to the final. In the first heat we have Cole Hocker from the US, who was disqualified for jostling in the 1500m.
Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco, who failed to retain his gold in the 3,000m steeplechase, was supposed to be in this heat but he is not on the starting line. He was just pipped to gold by Geordie Beamish in the steeplechase and the Moroccon was incredibly emotional after that race, hitting his head in frustration.
Women’s javelin: Kitaguchi is clearly still carrying a bit of an injury as she is a bit slow on the approach but the crowd almost wills her javelin to 60.38m.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Hall and Thiam are now attempting 1.92m. Both fail their first two attempts. Hall’s third attempt … she skips over but her back just sends the bar down and it is agonisingly close.
Thiam steps up but also fails to clear. She is all smiles though, knowing she put in her best effort.
Hall leads the pack in the heptathlon with 2,210 points, Thiam second with 2,127 and Johnson-Thompson and O’Connor both have 2,113.
Up next, shot put.
Women’s javelin: Mackenzie Little of Australia now leads the pack with 65.54m. According to the broadcast, the bronze medallist in Budapest is also a full-time doctor. A woman of many talents.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Huge third attempt from Hall and she clears! She roars a ‘Let’s go!’ on the matt. Dokter, O’Connor and Johnson-Thompson can’t clear the 1.89m on their third attempt.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Hall, Dokter, O’Connor and Johnson-Thompson all fail to clear their second 1.89m attempt.
Women’s javelin: The defending world and Olympic champion is Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi, so naturally the stadium is at its loudest when she is announced. She has had a bit of troubling season with some injuries but here is her first attempt … a bit slow on the approach … and she gets to 60.31m.
The automatic qualifying mark is 62.50m or at least the best 12 qualify to the final.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Thiam seems to peaking now. She is the only one of the five to clear 1.89m on her first attempt.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: O’Connor hits a new personal best at 1.86m on her third attempt! Huge scream of excitement from her! Her coach, who is her dad, was coaching her intently before the jump and it paid off.
Thiam also clears and now all the pressure is on Johnson-Thompson … and she gets it too! A puff of the cheeks as she leaves the matt. All three women dug deep in that final attempt.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Hall and Dokter clear their second attempts, and that is the latter’s season’s best.
O’Connor, whose PB is 1.83m, just can’t get over it. Thiam also fails to clear, and that is particularly worrying given that she usually excels and racks up the points in this event.
Johnson-Thompson’s run up is poor in her second attempt and she almost clashes straight into the bar. She watches the replay intently to see where she can improve.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Bar is up to 1.86m. Will this pose a challenge to Hall, who has been far and away the best at this event so far? Big strides as she runs up … and it is the slightest of clips as the bar comes down. Dokter, O’Connor, Thiam and Johnson-Thompson all also fail to clear. Second attempts for the five in this first group.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: O’Dawda’s third chance is the best of the three but the bar still comes down and that is her high jump done.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Johnson-Thompson clears 1.83m on her first attempt! A little blip at 1.80m does not stop her and she just gets over the bar at this height. Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands also clears on her first attempt.
O’Dawda’s second attempt … she is so close to the bar, almost to her detriment, and the bar comes down. Thiam, on the other hand, flicks her legs up at the right moment, and clears on her second chance.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Up to 1.83m and it is easy-breezy for Hall. This is her event and she is setting the bar (no pun intended) for the rest of the group.
O’Connor with a great clearance as well but O’Dowda can’t do it on her first attempt. Thiam gets the height easily but she doesn’t get her placement right, and her heel clips the bar on the way down.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Johnson-Thompson’s second attempt at the 1.80m … better run-up … and a good clearance! O’Dowda’s third and final chance to get 1.80m now and she manages it as well!
Brooks though cannot match the GB pair and she groans as she fails in her final attempt. That is her out of the high jump. Disappointing given her personal best is 1.84m.
Spain’s María Vicente also fails to clear on her three attempts and now has to look forward to the next event.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Johnson-Thompson a bit flat at the 1.80m, she does not clear. She knows she can do better than that.
O’Dowda’s second attempt is a lot closer. She has the height but she just clips the bar at the end on the way down. Brooks also fails to clear in her second attempt.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: Hall and O’Connor clear 1.80m with ease, great start for both of them after season’s best in the hurdles.
O’Dowda opts for the short approach but fails to clear the 1.80m. Her takeoff ankle has also been taped up, could be a precaution but something to look out for.
Thiam then clears 1.80m comfortably.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: The US’s Anna Hall’s opening jump is 1.74m and she clears it very easily.
Kate O’Connor of Ireland and GB’s Jade O’Dowda clear 1.77m. The three-time Olympic champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium, who has had issues with her federation in the lead up to this championships, clears 1.77m easily as well. So does Katerina Johnson-Thompson.
Talia Brooks of the US drops the bar and will gear up for another go.
Women’s heptathlon – high jump: The second event is underway but it is still unclear whether Pawlett will be able to keep going. It has been reported that she was speaking to medics and gesturing to her head and shoulder.
Anna Hall is the top-seeded high jumper in the heptathlon field, with a personal best of 1.95m.
Women’s 800m: Keely Hodgkinson will be excited to be back in action in today’s semi-finals.
The Olympic 800m champion has been so bored in her hotel in the 35c heat she has even taken to staging playful indoor races with her training partner, Georgia Hunter Bell. But she dusted off the cobwebs in qualifying comfortably for today’s semi-finals in 1:59.79. “I don’t like the rounds,” she said. “They feel awful. They are awful. It was not pretty or fast tonight but I am safely through.”
Women’s heptathlon – 100m hurdles: Abigail Pawlett of GB finished seventh in the final heat after clipping the final hurdle. She hit her head on the track as she fell but finished with a time of 14.70sec.
Heptathlon: Johnson-Thompson is the defending champion in Tokyo and having picked up silver at the Olympic Games in Paris, she is certainly one of the favourites. Here is how she picked up her second world championchips gold in Budapest.
Today’s schedule
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10.20am BST / 6.20pm JST – women’s high jump – heptathlon
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11.30am BST / 7.20pm JST – women’s javelin throw – qualification group A
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12pm BST / 8pm JST – men’s 5000m – heats
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12.30pm BST / 8.30pm JST – women’s shot put – heptathlon
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12.43pm BST / 8.33pm JST – women’s 800m – semi-final
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12.50pm BST / 8.50pm JST – men’s triple jump – final
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1pm BST / 9pm JST – women’s javelin throw – qualification group B
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1.15pm BST / 9.15pm JST – men’s 400m hurdles – final
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1.27pm BST / 9.27pm JST – women’s 400m hurdles – final
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1.38pm BST / 9.38pm JST – women’s 200m – heptathlon
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2.06pm BST / 10.06pm JST – men’s 200m – final
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2.22pm BST / 10.22pm JST – women’s 200m – final
Preamble
Hello and welcome to day seven of the World Athletics Championships. The evening session has already begun in Tokyo with the women’s 100m hurdles and it was a strong start for Great Britain.
Jade O’Dowda won the first of three 100m hurdles heats with a 13.34sec personal best. Katarina Johnson-Thompson was in second with a season-best 13.44, the same as Ireland’s Kate O’Connor, who ran her own best time.
Season bests in fourth and fifth place for Sveva Gerevani of Italy and the triple Olympic champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium with 13.52 and 13.61 respectively.
