Kassanavoid, Little top five-medal night for Team USATF on Day 6 of World Athletics Championships

BUDAPEST – Janee' Kassanavoid and Shamier Little grabbed a pair of silvers to lead a five-medal night by Team USATF on day six of the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Center. With 19 total medals, seven of them gold, the U.S. now has 11 more medals than Jamaica, the next nearest nation. In the team point standings the American lead has grown to 97 with 185 to Jamaica's 88.
 
Team USATF's women's throwers again grabbed the spotlight, this time in the hammer as they earned two medals for the second straight World Championships. Canada's Camryn Rogers, who was an NCAA gold medalist while at Cal, set a high standard with her opening throw of 77.22/253-4, and that distance held up through the final five rounds to give her nation a sweep of the hammer titles. 
 
Last year's bronze medalist, Kassanavoid, had a best of 76.36/250-6 and earned silver, with 2019 champion DeAnna Price overcoming early jitters to take bronze at 75.41/247-5. Price had two fouls to start her series and needed a solid throw in round three to earn three more attempts. She safely navigated that situation and went 73.28/240-5 to move on.
 
Prohibitive favorite Femke Bol of the Netherlands redeemed herself after a disastrous fall Saturday in the mixed 4x400, pulling away from the field over the final two barriers in the women's 400H to win in 51.70. Little closed well to earn her second silver medal in a season best 52.80, matching her 2015 placing, and Jamaica's Rushell Clayton took bronze in a PB 52.81. Clocking a lifetime best of 53.34, Anna Cockrell was fifth.
 
Bol, who was the silver medalist at Oregon22 behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone's world record run, was by far the fastest woman in the final, coming in with a 51.45. She ran more conservatively than usual and was not far ahead off the final turn, but she maintained her poise and eased away in the final 100. Little used her superior flat 400 speed to snag the silver over Clayton.
 
Jamaica's Antonio Watson was  the World U18 champion in 2017 and made the most of his first senior global championships as he stormed past Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith to take men's 400 gold in 44.22. Hudson-Smith held on for silver in 44.31, and Quincy Hall also performed superbly in his international debut to earn bronze in a PB 44.37. Vernon Norwood was only .02 behind Hall in fourth.
 
Watson was the fastest man in the semifinals with a PB run of 44.13, and Britain's Hudson-Smith set a European record of 44.26, setting up an intriguing matchup for the final. Hudson-Smith took off at a very rapid pace and led Norwood coming off the final turn. Watson and Hall started to press forward in the final 50 and the last 15 meters decided the medals.
 
Eight years after taking World Championships gold for the first time, Jamaica's Danielle Williams beat a stellar field in the women's 100H to win her second gold in 12.43, edging Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico by .01. American record holder Keni Harrison earned bronze in 12.46, with 2019 champion Nia Ali eighth in 12.78.
 
Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou was visibly disgusted by his silver at Oregon22, but should have a smile on his face after an 8.52/27-11.5 on the penultimate jump of the competition gave him men's long jump gold by two centimeters over Jamaica's Wayne Pinnock. The two had the same mark, 8.50/27-10.75, coming into round six, but Pinnock held the lead on the strength of a better second jump. The Jamaican could only manage 8.38/27-6 on his last leap and earned silver, with teammate Tajay Gayle taking bronze at 8.27/27-1.75. A round one jump of 7.94/26-0.75 placed Will Williams eighth, while USATF champion Marquis Dendy took two jumps with a best of 7.62/25-0 before retiring from the competition and placing 12th.
 
Spain's Maria Perez completed a walks double, taking gold in the women's 35K race walk in a Championships record 2:38:40 to add to her 20K victory on Sunday. Perez won by more than two minutes over Peru's Kimberly Garcia Leon, the defending champion, with Antigoni Ntrismpioti of Greece third. Competing in her seventh World Championships, Maria Michta-Coffey started out near the back of the pack, passing 10K in 52:07 in 40th place. She moved up four places by 20K, going through in 1:43:19, and then steadily worked her way through the field. At 30K she was 27th in 2:35:24, and she moved up three more places in the final 5K stretch to finish 24th in 3:01:22. Miranda Melville, under pressure with three red cards and spending 3:30 in the Penalty Zone after the 30K mark, finished 35th in 3:09:41, while Stephanie Casey was DQed after going by 20K in 1:49:06 in 41st.
 
Making it a clean sweep of walks golds for Spain, 20K champion Alvaro Martin set a national record of 2:24:30 in the men's 35K event, moving to No. 9 on the all-time world performer list. Ecuador's Brian Pintado grabbed silver, just four seconds adrift of Martin in another national record, with Japan's Masatora Kawano taking bronze in 2:25:12. There were no U.S. entrants in the event.
 
HEATS/QUALIFYING
 
Men's 5000
Another night of warm conditions dictated a slowish early pace in the first heat of the men's 5000. Two-time Olympic medalist and 2017 bronze medalist Paul Chelimo pulled the pack through 2K with France's Jimmy Gressier in just over 5:45, with USATF champion Abdihamid Nur not far behind. By the 3K mark, Kenya's Nicholas Kipkorir had pushed to the front in 8:33.72 with Nur in tow and Chelimo dropping back to the middle of the pack. The tempo increased but couldn't shed many runners as almost 20 were still in striking distance. Nur took to the front at 4K, a step ahead of Gressier, and at the bell Spain's Mohamed Katir and Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia started the sprint for home. Katir had the best closing lap to win in 13:35.90, with Nur fifth in 13:36.37 and Chelimo seventh in 13:36.51 to nab spots in the final. Chelimo had to turn on the jets in a big way over the final 100 to ensure his place in the top eight.
 
Sean McGorty and Luis Grijalva of Guatemala took the pacing duties in the first few laps of the second heat, hitting 1K in 2:48. Grijalva continued to lead through 2K in 5:42.78 with 11 men within a second and the rest of the pack very close. Quicker through 3K than the first heat, Grijalva led at 8:31.38 and McGorty remained a stride behind on the inside of lane one. With three laps to go it started to heat up as speed at the front markedly increased and Rodrigue Kwizera of Burundi passed 4K in 11:09.67, dropping McGorty. Grijalva outkicked Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia to win in 13:32.72, and McGorty was 15th in 13:40.28.
 
Women's 200 semifinal
Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas was second to Britain's Dina Asher-Smith, the 2019 champion, coming off the bend before she sped past her down the stretch to win the first semi in 21.97, the fastest time overall. 
 
In the final section, 100 champion Sha'Carri Richardson trailed reigning champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica off the turn and was also a step behind Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Cote d'Ivoire, but surged into second at the line to clock 22.20 and earn her spot in the final. 
 
Running against NCAA champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia in semi two, Kayla White outleaned Kevona Davis of Jamaica for fourth in 22.34, getting the decision by .007, but that left her just short of the final in ninth overall. 
 
Men's 200 semifinal
Oregon22 silver medalist Kenny Bednarek and NCAA runner-up Courtney Lindsey took to the track first. Bednarek and 100 silver medalist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana ran side-by-side down the stretch as the American won by .01 in 19.96. Lindsey was third in 20.22 and missed out on a spot in the final.
 
Last year's bronze medalist, 19-year-old Erriyon Knighton, blasted through the curve and then backed off on the run to the line in semi two, winning in 19.98 to stave off Britain's Zharnel Hughes, the 100 bronze medalist who clocked 20.02.
 
In the final semi, reigning champion and American record holder Noah Lyles, the newly crowned 100 king, was majestic in dominating the race and went from gun to gone in 19.76, by far the fastest time overall.
 
Men's 800 semifinal
Team USATF's lone remaining representative, Bryce Hoppel, was in the final semi and it turned out to be the quickest. Going through 400 in 49.53 on the heels of Britain's Max Burgin, Hoppel stayed in that position as the pack hit 600 in 1:16.63 with Kenya's Emmanuel Wanyonyi leading. The final 100 was a doozy with Wanyonyi taking the win in 1:43.83, and Spain's Adrian Ben sprinted through the pack to pass Hoppel for second in 1:43.92. The USATF champion did enough to make the final as a time qualifier, placing third in 1:44.04 for the fifth-fastest time overall. Slimane Moula of Algeria won the first section in 1:43.93, and Canada's Marco Arop took semi two in 1:44.02.
 
A full list of results along with a schedule of events can be found here. 
 
*records subject to usual ratification procedures
 
TEAM USATF MEDAL TOTAL (19)
 
Gold (7)
Ryan Crouser, men's shot put (23.51/77-1.75, championships record)
Mixed 4x400, Justin Robinson, Rosey Effiong, Matthew Boling, Alexis Holmes (3:08.80, world record)
Noah Lyles, men's 100 (9.83, =world lead)
Grant Holloway, men's 110H (12.96)
Sha'Carri Richardson, women's 100 (10.65, championships record)
Laulauga Tausaga-Collins, women's discus (69.48/228-0)
Katie Moon, women's pole vault (4.90/16-0.75 - shared gold)
 
Silver (6)
Anna Hall, women's heptathlon (6,720 points)
Tara Davis-Woodhall, women's long jump (6.91/22-8)
Valarie Allman, women's discus (69.23/227-1)
JuVaughn Harrison, men's high jump (2.36/7-8.75)
Janee' Kassanavoid, women's hammer (76.36/250-6)
Shamier Little, women's 400H (52.80)
 
Bronze (6)
Joe Kovacs, men's shot put (22.12/72-7)
Daniel Roberts, men's 110H (13.09)
Rai Benjamin, men's 400H (47.56)
Keni Harrison, women's 100H (12.46)
DeAnna Price, women's hammer (75.41/247-5)
Quincy Hall, men's 400 (44.37)