Polish hammer thrower Pawel Fajdek has won the world title for the fifth time in a row, making history. The 33-year-old beat his compatriot Wojciech Nowicki (81.03), who had won Olympic gold last year, in the final in Eugene/Oregon on Saturday with a jump of 81.98 m. Bronze went to Norway’s Eivind Henriksen (80.87). Only the exceptional Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt had previously won four world titles in a row in the 200 m (2009 to 2015 over 200 m). The German starter Tristan Schwandke was eliminated in the qualification on Friday.
The Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey secured gold in the first race of the World Championships. The 29-year-old world record holder prevailed over 10,000 m in the annual world record of 30:09.94 minutes in a thrilling photo finish ahead of defending champion Hellen Obiri from Kenya (30:10.02). Bronze went to their compatriot Margaret Kipkemboi (30:10.07). The German top runner Konstanze Klosterhalfen will only compete in Eugene over 5000 m. Therefore, no German athlete was at the start over the 25 laps of the stadium.
Steeplechase runner Gesa Felicitas Krause just qualifies for the final
The two-time obstacle European champion Gesa Felicitas Krause made it to the World Cup final by a hair’s breadth. On Saturday morning local time, the 29-year-old from Trier finished seventh in the second and very fast run in 9:21.02 minutes – with a lead of eight hundredths of a second, that was enough for the final ticket.
The first three of the three heats and the six next best athletes advanced to the final on Wednesday (7.45 p.m. local time/4.45 CEST on Thursday). “I’m really proud of the race, I can’t mobilize at the moment,” said Krause on ZDF.
Lea Meyer’s appearance in the World Cup preliminary was spectacular. After just 400 meters, the 24-year-old from Cologne got stuck on an obstacle with her spikes and fell headfirst into the moat. She got back up and finished eighth in 9:30.81 minutes, but did not qualify for the final. “I didn’t approach the hurdle aggressively enough,” Meyer explained the reason for the violent fall. “That was stupid and annoying.”
Lea Meyer gets stuck on the obstacle and falls into the moat.
(Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)
The fastest was Kenyan Norah Jeruto, representing Kazakhstan, who clocked 9:01.54 minutes in the first race. Krause had won bronze in 2015 in Beijing and in 2019 and in Doha at the World Championships. In 2017 she remained in top form without a medal after a fall in the final.
Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch missed the high jump final
Marie-Laurence Jungfleisch, third at the European Championships, missed the high jump final of the World Championships. The 31-year-old set a personal best of the season with a jump of 1.86 meters on Saturday, but did not make the top twelve. The triple jumpers Neele Eckhardt-Noack and Jessie Maduka as well as the hurdle sprinter Gregor Traber missed the entry into the next round at the first World Championships in the USA with their performances.