EUGENE, Oregon — A historic finish in the men's hammer and the third-fastest women's 10,000m performer in American history were the highlights of the morning session on day two of the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field.
Poland confirmed its status as the leading nation for men's hammer throwing with Pawel Fajdek winning his fifth straight world title ahead of Olympic champion Wojciech Nowicki. Fajdek's 81.98m/268-11 in the third round was the farthest throw in the world this year and put him well ahead of Nowicki's 81.03m/265-10. Eivind Henriksen of Norway earned the bronze with a best of 80.87m/265-4. Rudy Winkler (Ithaca, New York/USATF New York) threw 78.91m/258-10 on his first attempt to take the early lead, but the 80m+ efforts from his competitors started to come after that. Winkler, the American record holder, improved to 78.99m/259-2 in round five and ended up sixth, the highest finish by an American since Lance Deal was fifth at Goteborg in 1995. USATF champion Daniel Haugh (Marietta, Georgia/USATF Georgia) had a 78.10m/256-3 toss on his second try, and that held up as his best to place him eighth, marking the first time Team USATF put two men in the top eight at the World Championships. Alex Young (LaVergne, Tennessee/USATF Pacific) was 12th at 73.60m/241-6.
The deepest race in World Championships women's 10,000m history saw nine women finish under 30:30, and an entertaining sprint for the line featured world record holder Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia winning her first world title in 30:09.94, the fastest time in the world in 2022. Kenya's Hellen Obiri was the silver medalist in 30:10.02 and her teammate Margaret Kipkemboi earned bronze in 30:10.07. Gidey's time was the fastest ever run on U.S. soil. Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa/USATF Oregon) moved to third on the all-time U.S. performer list with a ninth-place lifetime best of 30:18.05, while Alicia Monson (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado) was 13th in 30:59.85. Natosha Rogers (Denver, Colorado/USATF Michigan) set a lifetime best of 31:10.57 in 15th. All three Americans were in the top 12 through 2km, with Schweizer in fifth at 6:09.80. Passing 3km in 9:12.42, Schweizer was still fifth with Rogers about a second behind her in 10th. The pace slowed and the front group bunched up with 15 women still in touch after 13 laps. At 8k the pace had quickened and Schweizer was the only American still in contention, near the back of a nine-woman lead pack. The serious racing started with a mile to go, with Gidey at the front. Olympic champion Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands lurked in seventh as the leaders started to lap runners. Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia took the lead with two to go and Schweizer was hanging on to ninth. At the bell it was Gidey and Obiri, with Taye just behind them and Hassan starting her kick. Gidey had to dig deep but held off her challengers and Hassan was unable to break onto the podium, placing fourth in 30:10.56.
Three of the four U.S. entrants advanced by winning their heat, but the USATF champion fell and was not able to finish. Reigning world champion Grant Holloway (Gainesville, Florida/USATF Florida) was untouchable in the second heat, blasting out of the blocks in lane one and putting a full stride on the rest of the field almost immediately before running on to win in 13.14. NCAA champion Trey Cunningham (Winfield, Alabama/USATF Florida) ran in heat one and added to his lead over each hurdle, winning easily in 13.28 despite clipping the sixth and tenth barriers. The fastest man in the world this year at 12.84, Devon Allen (Annapolis, Maryland/USATF Potomac Valley) didn't have the fastest start or the prettiest race in the final heat, but he came away with the win in 13.47. Daniel Roberts (Atlanta, Georgia/USATF Kentucky) clipped the fifth barrier and then hit the seventh hurdle in heat three and tumbled to the track, ending the USATF champion's hopes of an international title.
A hat trick of fourth-place finishes in very quick times ensured Team USATF's 3,000m steeplechase women would advance as time qualifiers. 2017 world champion and former American record holder Emma Coburn (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado) was third at the halfway point in heat one with a 5m gap back to fourth. She eased into second with three laps to go but dropped back to fourth on the penultimate circuit. Over the final lap she lost more ground but held on to place fourth in 9:15.19 in the fastest first round race in Championships history. Before this year, Coburn's time would have been the fastest ever in the first round. Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan won in 9:01.54, the second fastest time in meet history. NCAA champion and collegiate record holder Courtney Wayment (Layton, Utah/USATF Utah) was up against Olympic champion Peruth Chemutai of Uganda in the second heat. She was fourth with four laps remaining, running on the outside edge of lane one to avoid trouble at the barriers. Tucking into the inside with three to go, Wayment moved up to third, but the lead group was still compact. Coming off the penultimate water jump, Wayment was jockeying for the lead position and the pace cranked up at the bell. A mad dash for the line left her in fourth by .07 seconds, but her 9:14.95 was even faster than Coburn's in the previous heat. American record holder and Olympic silver medalist Courtney Frerichs (Beaverton, Oregon/USATF Oregon) was in a heat with the top seven bunched fairly closely for much of the race. She was third at the bell with three other women very close behind her and then joined a breakaway pack of four over the final 300m. A good water jump clearance helped her stay in touch with that group and she ended up fourth in 9:17.91.
As anticipated, all three U.S. men advanced to the semifinal in the 400m hurdles. Khallifah Rosser (Fontana, California/USATF Southwestern) was the fastest man overall, winning the final heat in 48.62. Rosser was aggressive over the first three hurdles and continued to attack the barriers around the final bend, putting himself ahead by five strides or more on the way to an impressive effort. Running as easily as is technically possible in the 400m hurdles, Olympic silver medalist and American record holder Rai Benjamin (Mount Vernon, New York/USATF New York) was never in a hurry and didn't take the lead in heat one until the final bend. Benjamin pulled away over the final three hurdles and won in 49.06. In heat four, Trevor Bassitt(Bluffton, Ohio/USATF Ohio) had trouble at hurdle two and lost ground on the field. He pushed over the final five barriers and placed fourth in 49.17 to automatically advance. Bassitt was second coming off the final hurdle but eased up and was passed by two athletes.
American record holder Keturah Orji (Atlanta, Georgia/USATF Georgia) came through with a 14.37m/47-1.75 in round three and Tori Franklin (East Lansing, Michigan/USATF New York) bounded out to 14.36m/47-⅕ on her second attempt, the only legal mark she had, to advance to the final. Jasmine Moore (Grand Prairie, Texas/USATF Southwestern) jumped 14.24m/46-8.75 in round three but did not advance, missing out by one position as she was 13th overall.
None of the Americans qualified for the final, with the majority of the advancers clearing 1.93m/6-4. Rachel McCoy (Austin, Texas/USATF Texas Southern) was the best of the U.S. trio, clearing 1.90m/6-2.75. USATF champion Vashti Cunningham (Las Vegas, Nevada/USATF Nevada) went out after clearing 1.86m/6-1.25, and Rachel Glenn (Long Beach, California/USATF Southern California) had a best of 1.81m/5-11.25, failing to advance. 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.