The Malta Independent 26 April 2024, Friday
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Athletics, Worlds, Day 9: Ethiopia's Desisa wins marathon; organisers admit giving away free tickets

Associated Press Sunday, 6 October 2019, 03:01 Last update: about 6 years ago

The Latest on the world track and field championships early Sunday (all times local):

3:00 a.m.

Lelisa Desisa has won the men's marathon, narrowly beating fellow Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew at the finish.

Desisa, the 2013 silver medalist, won in 2 hours 10 minutes 40 seconds in the heat of Qatar, edging out Geremew by four seconds.

Amos Kipruto of Kenya held on to take bronze ahead of Britain's Callum Hawkins, who has now finished fourth in two successive world championship marathons.

The weather conditions were slightly cooler and less humid than for last week's women's marathon, when 28 of 68 competitors failed to finish. This time, there were 18 non-finishers from 73 starters.

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12:55 a.m.

Qatari organizers have acknowledged giving away free tickets in an attempt to fill the track stadium.

The acknowledgment came on the ninth day of the world track and field championships in Doha where empty seats Khalifa Stadium have been a blot on the IAAF showpiece.

The local organizing committee says it — along with "partners and public institutions" — distributed the tickets in a "marketing outreach to embassies, employees, schools and higher education."

Via an international PR company, the committee says some fans have been leaving the stadium after watching specific events and they have tried to find people to occupy those seats to "keep the stadium as full as possible."

A statement says organizers particularly wanted to give people the opportunity to see Mutaz Barshim of Qatar win high jump gold on Friday night and they claim the crowd exceeded 40,000.

The championships end Sunday night.

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10:10 p.m.

The United States has won the men's 4x100-meter relay, handing Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles their second gold medals of the championships, while Jamaica won the women's final.

A fiercely fast first leg by individual 100-meter champion Coleman put the U.S. on the way to win in a national record of 37.10 seconds despite a slow final handover to 200 champion Noah Lyles.

It's the eighth world title in the 4x100 for the United States but first since 2007. Only Jamaica has run faster with Usain Bolt at the 2012 Olympics.

Defending champion Britain took the silver in a European-record 37.36, with Japan third in 37.43.

Jamaica failed to qualify for the men's final but dominated the women's event. Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce won her ninth career world championship gold medal.

Running second with her hair yellow and pink, Fraser-Pryce chased down the British and U.S. teams before Jonielle Smith's third leg left Jamaica firmly in control.

Jamaica won in 41.44 seconds, 0.41 ahead of second-placed Britain. The British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith her third medal of the championships after individual 200-meter gold and 100-meter silver, and her third career world medal in the 4x100.

The U.S. women's team couldn't defend its 2017 title as it took the bronze in 42.10, the fifth world championships in a row that it has finished on the podium.

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9:55 p.m.

Yulimar Rojas has repeated as world women's triple jump champion for Venezuela.

Rojas leapt an unbeatable 15.37 meters in the second round and none of her opponents could come close.

Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts came closest with 14.92, while 2016 Olympic gold medalist Caterine Ibarguen took the bronze for Colombia on 14.73.

Rojas celebrated by jumping up and down with the Venezuelan flag before taking a victory lap.

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9:40 p.m.

Hellen Obiri of Kenya has retained her world 5,000-meter title after a tense final lap.

The Olympic silver medalist sped up sharply on the back straight of the last lap in an attempt to shake two fellow Kenyans and Oregon-based German Konstanze Klosterhalfen.

Obiri couldn't drop her challengers, but still managed to hold on for the win in a championship-record time of 14 minutes 26.72 seconds. She celebrated by dancing in front of a stand containing other athletes from the Kenyan team.

Margaret Chelimo Kipkemboi took second place for Kenya, with Klosterhalfen third.

The German trains with the Nike Oregon Project, which was headed by coach Alberto Salazar until he was banned for doping offenses Tuesday. Klosterhalfen has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands was expected to be a contender in the 5,000 before she chose to focus instead on the 1,500 and 10,000, both of which she won.

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9:15 p.m.

Joe Kovacs of the United States has won the shot put with the biggest throw for 29 years in a contest decided by just a single centimeter.

Kovacs threw 22.91 meters in the final round to overtake the mark of 22.90 set by both U.S. thrower Ryan Crouser and New Zealander Tomas Walsh.

Crouser was awarded the silver and Walsh the bronze.

Kovacs' throw made him the joint third-best thrower of all time and was 22 centimeters off the 1990 world record set by Randy Barnes, who was later banned twice for doping offenses.

The top four men Saturday broke the world championship record, which had stood since 1987.

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9:00 p.m.

Sifan Hassan has won the 1,500-meter gold medal for the Netherlands, adding it to the 10,000-meter title she won earlier in the championships.

The Ethiopian-born Dutch runner moved to the front of the pack with two laps remaining and charged away from the rest on the last lap to win in a championship-record time of 3 minutes 51.95 seconds.

She was less than two seconds off Genzebe Dibaba's 2015 world record.

Silver defeated the 2017 world champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, with bronze for Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia. It was first time any woman had won the world championship in the 1,500 and the 10,000.

Hassan is part of the Nike Oregon Project team, which was headed by coach Alberto Salazar until he was banned for doping offenses Tuesday. Hassan has not been accused of any wrongdoing and is now working with a replacement coach.

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8:50 p.m.

The U.S. men's relay teams are still struggling with the baton, but qualifying anyway.

A day after a dicey changeover in the men's 4x100-meter heats, the 4x400 team nearly dropped the baton. Vernon Norwood struggled to find Wilbert London's hand and London had to slow sharply. That let three other teams pass, but London overtook them all later in the lap, setting up the U.S. to qualify fastest.

Jamaica won the second heat after Javon Francis held off Belgium's Kevin Borlee on the last leg.

Progress was much smoother for the U.S. women, who won their 4x400 heat in the best time by anyone the year, 3:22.96. Jamaica is the closest rival for gold after winning the other heat.

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7:50 p.m.

Qatari fans have finally seen their world champion high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim receive his gold medal, a day after the ceremony was called off for a faulty sound system.

Roars from the crowd greeted Barshim's name before the medal was placed around his neck by Sheikh Joaan al-Thani, the president of Qatar's organizing committee for the world championships.

The Qatari flag was the only national symbol on the podium because the silver and bronze medalists came from Russia, which is officially suspended with a team of neutral athletes.

Barshim and the other medalists stood in silence on the podium Friday night for several awkward minutes before the ceremony was called off. Organizers said the sound system and its backup had both broken, making it impossible to announce the medalists or play Qatar's anthem.

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6:55 p.m.

Defending champion Brittney Reese is out of the women's long jump after missing qualification for the final by a single centimeter.

Reese jumped 6.52 meters and was in the 12th and last qualifying spot before Jamaica's Chanice Porter displaced her with the last jump of the session.

It's a major disappointment for Reese, who had cleared seven meters earlier this season. Malaika Mihambo of Germany posted the best qualifying result with 6.98.

Germany's Johannes Vetter, the 2017 champion, was best in qualifying for the men's javelin with a throw of 89.35 meters.

The 2015 world champion Julius Yego of Kenya and 2012 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago also qualified, but Germany's 2016 Olympic gold medalist Thomas Roehler of Germany was 23rd and failed to make the final.

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5:55 p.m.

Nigeria's Tobi Amusan was fastest in the heats of the women's 100-meter hurdles, with world record holder Kendra Harrison of the United States not far behind.

Harrison ran 12.55 seconds in what was the fastest world championship heat in history, but in the next race Amusan beat her time with 12.48.

The 2015 world champion Danielle Williams was another heat winner for Jamaica. Germany's 2015 silver medalist Cindy Roleder and European champion Elvira Herman of Belarus also qualified.

Olympic champion Brianna McNeal of the U.S. was the biggest name eliminated after false-starting in her heat.

Defending world champion Sally Pearson of Australia retired last month following a string of injuries.

Semifinals and finals are Sunday.

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5:30 p.m.

Just minutes into day nine of the world track and field championships, Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Brianna McNeal was out.

The joint fourth-fastest woman in history in her event, American McNeal false-started in the second heat and was disqualified.

She initially disputed the verdict before accepting it after watching a replay, and then collapsed to the floor in a backstage area with her hands covering her face.

Also Saturday, there are the finals of the men's and women's 4x100 relays and the women's 5,000 and triple jump. Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands can add 1500 gold to her earlier victory in the 10,000 meters.

There's also the men's shot put final in the stadium, while the men's marathon runners will have to contend with stifling heat and humidity on the Doha seafront.

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