Duplantis joins Bubka and Kendricks in winning consecutive men’s pole vault titles, Ealey is fifth female athlete to repeat in shot put and Kipyegon becomes only women’s competitor to earn gold in 1,500 and 5,000 in same global championship

By David Woods for DyeStat

Photo by Getty Images

PHOTOS by Kim Spir | INTERVIEWS

BUDAPEST, Hungary – Recap from Saturday’s Day 8 at World Athletics Championships:

Co-stars of the day

Mondo Duplantis, Faith Kipyegon and Chase Ealey.

Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and Faith Kipyegon had been world champions before.

So had Chase Ealey. Yet, there was not the inevitability for a gold medal as there seemingly was for the two others.

Ealey seized the lead on her first attempt in the shot put, then never relinquished it in repeating the gold she won 13 months ago in Eugene, Ore.

She is the only American ever to win a World championship in the women’s shot put, and her gold gave the United States five of nine medals in women’s shot, discus and hammer.

Afterward, the Los Alamos, N.M., native ran to her mother to celebrate, and both ended up weeping, albeit with joyful tears. Ealey recently changed her throwing style in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and she said that risked failure in Budapest.

“It’s even more satisfying than last year because this year I’ve struggled to get my technique sorted out,” Ealey said. “So, for it to come together at the right time is perfect.”

She opened with a distance of 66 feet, 9.25 inches (20.35 meters). No one matched it until she did herself in the fifth round, extending her winning mark to 67-0.50 (20.43m).

U.S. teammate Maggie Ewen, the world leader at 67-1.25 (20.45m), finished sixth at 64-0.25 (19.51m).

Canada’s Sarah Mitton secured silver at 65-10.5 (20.08m) and China’s Lijiao Gong bronze at 64-7.25 (19.69m). Gong, 38, extended her record to eight world medals in the shot.

Ealey became the fifth female athlete to capture back-to-back World titles in the shot put, joining Gong, fellow Chinese athlete Zhihong Huang, along with Germany’s Astrid Kumbernuss and four-time champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand.

In the pole vault, the 23-year-old Duplantis won his fifth global gold and repeated as outdoor World champion, something only Sergey Bubka and Sam Kendricks had done.

Duplantis’ winning bar was 20-0.25 (6.10m). He then raised it to 20-5.25 (6.23m) in a bid to break the world record he set in February. In turn, that indoor vault of 20-5 (6.22m) broke the world record of 20-4.50 (6.21m) he set in Eugene last year.

He twice had his hips over the record height before knocking off the bar.

“This was maybe the craziest atmosphere I’ve ever competed in, so it meant a lot to be able to turn on a pole vault show for them,” Duplantis said. “There were so many Swedish supporters here, it almost felt like I was in the Stockholm stadium.

“I’ll be ready for Paris and the Olympics, but right now I want to live in the moment and enjoy these World Championships and this title.”

All three medalists were back on the podium. Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines tied his own Asian record of 19-8.25 (6.00m), upgrading from bronze to silver. The United States' Chris Nilsen, silver medalist at Tokyo 2021 and Oregon 2022, shared bronze with Australia’s Kurtis Marschall at 19-6.25 (5.95m).

France’s Thibaut Collet vaulted 19-4.25 (5.90m) for fifth. It was the first competition ever with five over 5.90m, according to World Athletics.

As for Kipyegon, she reaffirmed supremacy as the Simone Biles of distance running.

In a year in which she has set three world records, she now has two world titles. The 29-year-old Kenyan became the first to win a 1,500/5,000 double at a World Championships.

With a 56.59 last lap in what had been a slowish race, Kipyegon won the 5,000 in 14:53.88. The Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan was 0.23 behind in the closest finish in meet history. A second Kenyan, cross country world champion Beatrice Chebet, was 0.22 behind Hassan for bronze.

Oh, Canada; Oh, those decathletes

In what might have been the nation’s greatest day of track and field, Canada captured four medals.

Besides Milton’s silver in the shot put, Marco Arop won the 800 meters, and Pierce LePage and Damian Warner went 1-2 in the decathlon.

After passing the first lap in last in 53.38, Arop, usually a front-runner, ran the second lap in 50.86 to win in 1:44.24. He was bronze medalist at Eugene. Kenya’s 19-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi was second in 1:44.53.

LePage, silver medalist last year, took gold with 8,909 points to 8,804 for the 33-year-old Warner, the Olympic champion. Grenada’s Lindon Victor, 30, once a collegiate record-holder at Texas A&M, earned bronze with 8,756. 

Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, the Day 1 leader who had set a collegiate record of 8,836 for Texas in June at the NCAA Division 1 Championships, was fifth with 8,645.

Magical moment

After Sha’Carri Richardson crossed the line for a championship record of 41.03 in the 4x100 relay, Christian Coleman tried to hug her and instead tackled her to the track. The United States swept women’s and men’s golds in the sprint relay for the first time since 2007 and only the third time in meet history, along with 1987.

Oh-so-close

Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo had the same distance as bronze medalist Gong in the shot put, but Gong had a better secondary mark. So, Dongmo was out of the medals.

Quote of the day

“It’s exactly what I wanted to happen. I mean, it’s been nice to see. But when you plan for it and execute it, it’s kind of hard to be shocked.”

- Noah Lyles, on winning a third gold medal

Stat of the day

Canada became the fourth nation to win multiple medals in the decathlon at a World Championships. The United States, Germany and West Germany had all done so.

American Outlook

With 26 medals, the United States heads into the final day with a chance to equal the most ever on foreign soil – 30 from London 2017. Team USA won a record 33 at Eugene.

The Americans lost a near-certain medal when the final pass between Quanera Hayes and Alexis Holmes in the women’s 4x400 relay semifinals was out of the exchange zone. Holmes had been the heroine of Day 1 when she overtook Femke Bol to give the Americans a world record in the mixed 4x400 relay.

Elsewhere, the United States failed to medal in the men’s 800 meters or decathlon.

Bryce Hoppel was seventh in 1:46.02 in a peculiar 800 in which the first-lap leader ran a slowish 52.68.

In the decathlon, Harrison Williams was top American in seventh with 8,500 points. He had scored 8,630 to win the U.S. title. Kyle Garland dropped out after no-heighting in the pole vault, and 2022 bronze medalist Zach Ziemek could not continue after an injury in the high jump Friday.

“Obviously, not a great decathlon for the U.S. contingent,” Williams said. “We’re all medal contenders next year. Like, any one of us could win.

“It’s going to be battle for trials, that’s for sure. Gotta get through that, make the team and then focus on Paris.”

Unexpected

Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay finished 13th in the 5,000 meters.

She was 0.20 behind Kipyegon with one lap to go. Tsegay was defending champion in the 5,000 and won the 10,000 on Day 1.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007