The curtain came down on Tokyo 25 with a symbolic passing of the baton in the sprints. USA’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden joined Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as only the second woman to win the 100m, 200m and 4x100m treble at a single World Championships.
Her victory in the 4x100m alongside Twanisha Terry, Kayla White and Sha’Carri Richardson denied Jamaica, for whom Fraser-Pryce claimed bronze in her final global race before retirement. The US men’s quartet of Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, Courtney Lindsey and Christian Coleman completed a 4x100m double for the nation, winning in a world-leading 37.29 ahead of Canada and the Netherlands.
Relay drama: US dominance and Botswana’s shock
The USA also stormed to women’s 4x400m gold in a championship record 3:16.61, anchored by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone’s stunning 47.82 split. Jamaica and the Netherlands followed them home. But in the men’s 4x400m, Botswana turned the tables. World 400m champion Collen Kebinatshipi reeled in Rai Benjamin on the anchor leg to secure gold in 2:57.76 – just seven-hundredths ahead of USA, with South Africa also timed at 2:57.83 for bronze.
Neugebauer holds nerve in decathlon
Germany’s Leo Neugebauer emerged from a chaotic decathlon – where several favourites withdrew or faltered – with a decisive javelin personal best of 64.34m. That set up his winning tally of 8804 points, edging Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme (8784 NR) and USA’s Kyle Garland (8703).
Odira shocks in record-breaking 800m
Kenya’s Lilian Odira stunned a stacked 800m field to take gold in 1:54.62, breaking the oldest championship record. She timed her kick to perfection, overtaking Keely Hodgkinson and Mary Moraa in the final straight. The race was historic in depth: three women under 1:55 and five under 1:56.
Hocker’s redemption in the 5000m
After being disqualified from his 1500m semi-final, USA’s Cole Hocker bounced back to claim 5000m gold in 12:58.30. He outsprinted Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli and France’s Jimmy Gressier in the final lap of a tactical contest.
Olyslagers, Stahl close in style Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers secured her first outdoor world high jump title by clearing 2.00m in tricky, rainy conditions. Poland’s Maria Zodzik set a PB for silver, while Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Angelina Topic shared bronze. The last gold of the championships went to Sweden’s Daniel Stahl, who produced a 70.47m throw in the final round of the discus to claim his third world crown. Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna took silver, and Alex Rose delivered Samoa’s first global medal in athletics with bronze.
