EUGENE, Oregon — All six Team USATF men's and women' hammer throwers advanced to the final for the first time in meet history and the mixed 4x400m relay turned in the fastest time overall to highlight the first morning's events at the World Athletics Championships inside Hayward Field. Just over a mile away on MLK Jr. Boulevard outside Autzen Stadium, the first two gold medals of the Championships were awarded in the women's and men's 20km race walks.
Peru's Kimberly Garcia Leon was a somewhat surprise winner of the first medal awarded at the meet, smashing her national record with a dominating 1:26:58 to win by 33 seconds over Poland's Katarzyna Zdzieblo. China's Shijie Qieyang earned bronze in 1:27:56. Coming into the Championships as the No. 4 all-time U.S. performer with a best of 1:32:15, Robyn Stevens (Vacaville, California/USATF Pacific) was close to her personal best pace through the first half of the race, hitting 4km in 18:32 and 8km in 37:15. She was 21st at that point, 2:29 behind the leader, and then passed the halfway mark in 46:46 in 24th. By 14km, Stevens had gained one place as she hit the split in 1:06:07, but she lost that place over the next kilometer. With only 2km remaining, Stevens was 24th in 1:26:22 and she covered the final 2km in 9:54 to place 24th in 1:36:16. USATF champion Miranda Melville (Chula Vista, California/USATF New York) was at 49:25 at the 10km split, carrying two red cards and in 38th place. At 15km she was 35th in 1:14:53 and she went on to place 35th in 1:39:58.
Japan's Toshikazu Yamanishi defended his world title with an impressive 1:19:07 season best that was capped off by a final kilometer of 3:41, leading a 1-2 finish for his country as Koki Ikeda took silver in 1:19:14. Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom got the better of Kenya's Samuel Gathimba over the final stretch to earn bronze in 1:19:18, seven seconds ahead of Gathimba. Nick Christie (Vacaville, California/USATF Southern California), the USATF champion who had chopped his personal best to 1:22:44 earlier this year, went past the first 5km mark in 20:40 in 32nd place, and hit 10km in 42:34 while dropping back one spot. At 1:05:10 for 15km, Christie was on 1:27 pace and holding steady just outside the top 30, and he finished 31st in 1:28:28. USATF third-place finisher Dan Nehnevaj (Beckley, West Virginia/USATF North Carolina), a 1:23:10 performer, was never quite in rhythm, starting off near the back of the pack through 5km in 22:07 and 10km in 47:42. He went through 15km in 1:12:22 and finished 43rd in 1:43:07.
Starting the defense of the title they won at Doha in 2019, Team USATF fielded a very strong quartet in the first round of the mixed 4x400m relay and came away with the win in 3:11.75. Leadoff man Elija Godwin (Athens, Georgia/USATF Georgia) had the fastest opening split at 44.89, handing off to Kennedy Simon (Austin, Texas/USATF Texas Southern). Simon split 50.64 on her carry to hand off in second behind the Netherlands, and then Vernon Norwood (Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USATF Southern) turned in a 44.74 on the third leg to keep the team in contention, handing off .07 behind the Netherlands. Wadeline Jonathas (Columbia, South Carolina/USATF South Carolina) showed her experience and came off the final turn ready to roll, taking the lead down the stretch and splitting 51.48 to seal the victory with the fastest time overall.
For the first time in meet history there will be three Team USATF athletes in the final of the men's hammer. The first American competitor at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Daniel Haugh (Marietta, Georgia/USATF Georgia) opened with a 74.56m/244-7 and then neared the automatic qualifying line with a 77.13m/253-0 on his second attempt. On his final throw he launched a 79.34m/260-4, the farthest throw ever by an American at the World Championships and an automatic qualifier for the final. Haugh's mark was also the best in Group A and ended up being the second farthest overall. American record holder Rudy Winkler (Ithaca, New York/USATF New York) went out to 76.97m/252-6 on his first attempt in Group B and then nabbed an automatic qualifier with his second-round 78.61m/257-11. Sweating it out until the last thrower walked out of the ring, Alex Young (LaVergne, Tennessee/USATF Pacific) made it through to the final with his 74.67m/244-11 from the first round.
As expected, all three Team USATF entrants had a fairly easy time in the qualifying round of the women's hammer, with Janee Kassanavoid (Manhattan, Kansas/USATF Missouri Valley) leading all advancers to the final with a 74.46m/244-3 automatic mark on her first attempt in Group A. USATF champion and world leader Brooke Andersen(Manhattan, Kansas/USATF Inland Northwest) also achieved the auto standard with a 74.37m/244-0 in round one of Group B, while Annette Echikunwoke (Cincinnati, Ohio/USATF Ohio) threw 69.38m/227-7 on her opening effort before a 72.60m/238-2 in round two to ensure her berth in the final in fifth place overall.
All three U.S. athletes successfully navigated the opening height of 2.17m/7-1.5. At 2.21m/7-3, Darius Carbin (San Jose, California/USATF Pacific) went out after three misses. Shelby McEwen (Abbeville, Mississippi/USATF Southern) and JuVaughn Harrison (Baton Rouge, Louisiana/USATF Southern) cleared 2.25m/7-4.5 first time, though Harrison tickled the bar and had to watch it wobble. At 2.28m/7-5.75 both men missed their initial attempts before Harrison put a lot of air over the bar on his next try. It took USATF champion McEwen three attempts, but he matched Harrison's clearance margin on his final go and both men advanced to Monday's final. It is the first time since Berlin in 2009 for two U.S. athletes to make the final. Click here to find out how to watch. A full list of results and schedule of events can be found here. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #JourneyToGold.