Moments of Highs and Lows in Budapest
USA’s Crouser Slides to Gold
USA’s Ryan Crouser, the shot-put world record holder at 23.56m (77’-3¾”), managed to bring himself back from two blood clots in his lower leg as well as the stressing out over finding the safest treatment and wondering whether he would be able to defend his title in Budapest to heaving the ball to a championship-record distance of 23.51 meters (77’-1¾”) on his final attempt on the first day of the World Championships. He snatched victory with the ‘Crouser Slide’, a new technique he invented.
Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri took second and Crouser’s teammate and 2019 World Champion Joe Kovacs, the bronze.
Double Dutch Spills and Jamaican Hurdles Crash
The USA mixed 4×4 relay team anchored by Alexis Holmes stormed to a world record 3:08.80, and Dutch 400m hurdler Femke Bol in the lead cramped and fell just before the finish line. Her baton continued across the line as Bol crashed to the track.
The new mark set by Justin Robinson, Rosey Effiong, Matthew Boling and Holmes bettered the time of 3:09.34 set by the US at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Another unfortunate moment happened when Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner Sifan Hassan stumbled and fell in the home stretch of the 10,000m.
The former world record holder was sprinting for the finish line, trying to hold off the charging Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia. With about 50m left, Hassan stumbled and fell skidding along the track as Tsegay sprinted home for gold in 31:27.18 to lead an Ethiopian sweep.
Hassan won three medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics: bronze in the 1,500m and gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m.
And the drama continued as the highly anticipated men’s sprint hurdles began. Jamaica’s rising star Rasheed Broadbell, the fastest man this year over the 110m hurdles at 12.94secs, crashed out of the event.
He hit the ninth hurdle in heat three and ended up under another. The red hot Broadbell was a howling favorite among fans and pundits, going into Budapest as a sure gold medal contender, having made a surprise exit in Oregon last year.
100m Defending Champion Runs out of Steam
US defending 100m champion Fred Kirley failed to reach the final of the men’s 100m. His race was won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who ran 4th in the final behind USA’s Noah Lyles, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, and Britain’s Zharnel Hughes.
Mixed Relays Hit and Miss
Jamaica’s team of Demish Gaye, Notoya Goule, Malik James-King, and Stacy-Ann Williams made a shock exit from the Mixed 4×4 relay competition when they ran the first three legs in last position in the heats before Williams brought them back to fifth.
US won the final in a world record time of 3:08.80 as Dutch top 400m hurdler Femke Bol cramped in the lead and fell just before the finish line.
When a Gallant National Record Falls Short…
In her effort to qualify for the final of the women’s 1500m, Jamaica’s Adelle Tracey set a new national record of 3:58.77. Tracey, who was the nation’s only competitor in the event, raced against the likes of world record holder Faith Kipyegon of Kenya (3:55.14) and Netherland’s Sifan Hassan (3:55.48), but could only manage a seventh-place finish when she needed to be in the top six to advance.
-Desmond Palmer