IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015
Eaton breaks decathlon world record
American athlete Ashton Eaton successfully defended his decathlon title by breaking his own world record with a score of 9045 in the Beijing World Championships.
The Olympic champion led from the outset after clocking 10.23 in the first event, the 100m. After solid marks in the long jump (7.88m), shot put (14.52m) and high jump (2.1m), he ended the first day with a world decathlon best of 45.00 in the 400m.
He continued to lead throughout the second day, clocking 13.69 in the 110m hurdles, throwing 43.34m in the discus, clearing 5.20m in the pole vault and throwing 63.63m in the javelin. After nine events, his score was already 8216.
Going into the final event, the 1500m, he needed to run 4:18.25 to break his world record of 9039. He seemed to be some way off the pace with a lap to go, but he kicked hard in the closing stages to cross the line in 4:17.52.
It gave him a score of 9045 and, thanks to the support of IAAF partner TDK, earned him a world record bonus of $100,000.
Men's 50km race walk
In the mens' 50 kilometer walk, Slovak Matej Toth led the competition virtually from the start of the walk on Saturday. The world leader this year became the best in the world with a victory in 3:40:32.
It was the first ever world championships gold medal for Slovakia. More importantly, it was the first gold medal to Matej.
Jared Tallent finished second in 3:42:17. It was the first world championships silver for the hyper-consistent Australian.
Japan’s Takayuki Tanii won bronze medal in 3:42:55.
Women's long jump final
Ten years after she got her first world title, Tianna Bartoletta pulled out all the stops and flew out to a world-leading distance of 7.14m with her last jump to turn bronze into gold to emphasize her position as the top female long jumper of 2015.
With the temperatures hovering around the mid-20s on a balmy Beijing night, Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic leapt a national record of 7.1m with her first attempt to win silver, with Canada’s Christabel Nettey having also jumped 6.95m earlier in the first round ended third.
Women's 800m final
Kenya’s defending champion Euince Sum ended up having to settle for the bronze medal on this occasion after a tense and enthralling three-way battle down to home straight as Belorussian Marina Arzamasova returned the world 800m title to Europe on Saturday.
Arzamasova was in charge, clocking 1:58.03 for the win, while Canadian Melissa Bishop finished second in 1:58.12. In her desperate dash to the finish line, Sum couldn’t match her rivals’ pace and finished third in 1:58.18.
Both Arzamasova and Bishop won the first ever world championships medals in the 800m for their respective countries.
Women's high jump final
Youth beat experience on Saturday night as Russian Maria Kuchina defeated her more senior rivals in a high-class final to deliver a third successive Russian success in this event in World Championships with a clearance at 2.01m height.
Croatian jumper Blanka Vlasic was second and Russian Anna Chicherova third.
Women’s 4x100m final
If you start well enough in the 4x100m relay, you only have to avoid disaster the rest of the way.
That’s what happened in the final of the women’s sprint relay in the Bird’s Nest on Saturday night, a flying start from Veronica Campbell-Brown and a strong finish from Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce bringing Jamaica home in 41.07, breaking their own championship record and taking over the world lead from the United States that finished second.
Trinidad and Tobago just held on to beat Great Britain for the bronze medal, both teams running national records.
Men's 5000m final
The Briton notched up the distance double over 5000m and 10,000m for his fourth successive major championship, winning over the shorter distance at the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015 in 13:50:58.
Kenyan Caleb Ndiku got his first major championship silver medal as a senior, crossing the line in 13:51.75. Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet took the bronze in 13:51.86.
