Eaton breaks decathlon world record
Ashton Eaton was the only American winner on Saturday at the world track and field championships at Beijing as Jamaica swept both 400-meter relays.
Eaton needed an all-out run in the final event, the 1,500 meters, to set a world record in the decathlon, finishing the two-day event with 9,045 points. It was six points better than the mark he set at U.S. Olympic trials in 2012.
Usain Bolt completed a sweep of three sprint gold medals by anchoring Jamaica’s 400 relay, which took advantage of the U.S. men being disqualified when Tyson Gay’s handoff to anchor Mike Rodgers came outside the passing zone. It gave Bolt an overall world championship record of 11 gold. Jamaica won with a time of 37.36 seconds. This marked the eighth time since 1995 the U.S. men have either been disqualified or failed to finish at the worlds or the Olympics.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce anchored the Jamaica to the secondfastest women’s 400 relay in history, clocking 41.07 seconds. The United States, with Allyson Felix running second, took silver in 41.68. Trinidad and Tobago was third in a national-record 42.03.
Mo Farah completed his second straight double at the world championships, adding the 5,000-meter win to his earlier 10,000 title.
On Sunday, Mare Dibaba won the first women’s world marathon title for Ethiopia, holding off Helah Kiprop of Kenya in a race settled by a 100-meter sprint. Dibaba finished in 2 hours 27 minutes 35 seconds.