FRANCIS CAPTURES WOMEN’S 400 GOLD
Norway’s Warholm pulls off surprise by winning hurdles
Phyllis Francis of the USA upset the favorites to win the 400 meters in the world track and field championships Wednesday.
“At the finish line, I was surprised. I thought I was second or third,” Francis said. “But then they told me, ‘You are first.’ That is crazy.”
Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo looked poised to win the race until she slowed down the stretch. Salwa Eid Naser swept past Allyson Felix in the final meter to lunge at the line for silver, ahead of the American veteran.
Francis finished in 49.92 seconds, 0.14 seconds ahead of Naser. Felix took third in 50.08, and Miller-Uibo was fourth.
Despite her disappointing third-place finish, Felix won her 14th career world championships medal. That put her in a tie with Usain Bolt and Merlene Ottey at the top of the list.
Bolt can move to 15 with a medal in the 4x100 relay this weekend, but Felix might run in both relay races for the U.S. team, which could bring her to 16.
The biggest surprise on a cold and wet night came in the 400 hurdles. Karsten Warholm of Norway held off Yasmani Copello of Turkey and Kerron Clement of the USA for gold.
Warholm, 21, earned his first major title and then looked up in amazement as the result showed on the giant screen. The Norwegian won in 48.35 seconds, 0.14 seconds ahead of Copello. Clement, a two-time former champi- on, finished in 48.52.
Warholm’s eyes went agape and he stuck his fingers in his mouth when he realized he had won.
Later, he paraded around the track wearing a horned Viking helmet — appropriate given the cold, slick conditions in the stadium where the Olympics were held five years ago.
“For me, this is just a good Norwegian summer, actually,” Warholm said.
Gong Lijiao of China won the shot put title. Anita Marton of Hungary took silver, and Olympic champion Michelle Carter of the USA got bronze.
Gong took the lead on her penultimate throw and won with a toss of 19.94 meters. Marton then crept into second on her last throw, tossing it 19.49 and pushing Carter into third. The American had a mark of 19.14 meters.
Wayde van Niekerk is still on track for a men’s 200-400 double.
The South African runner qualified for the final of the 200 on time after finishing third in his heat.
With only two automatically through from the three semifinals, Van Niekerk’s time of 20.28 was good enough for the last spot in Thursday’s final.
Van Niekerk already won gold in the 400.
“I knew it would be a tough challenge,” Van Niekerk said. “I have time to recover now.”
One of his challengers figures to be Isaac Makwala. He made the most of a belated chance to compete in the 200 on Wednesday and qualified for the final.
The Botswanan sprinter’s plight became the cause celebre of the championships when he threw up before the start of the 200 preliminaries Monday, was determined to be among the handful of athletes afflicted with the stomach flu and was barred from the stadium for 48 hours to lower the risk of infecting other runners.
All along, Makwala insisted he was not sick. One of his managers, Sander Ogink, told the Associated Press it was simply a case of nerves.
“As you probably know, athletes throw up when they’re nervous,” Ogink said.
But the IAAF held firm, and Makwala was scratched from both his 200 heat and the 400 final, where he could have been the main challenger Tuesday to the eventual gold medalist, van Niekerk.
After further review, and another visit from the doctor, the IAAF determined that while it couldn’t do anything about the 400, it could try to right one wrong.
Makwala was allowed to race alone on the track ahead of the evening session at Olympic Stadium. He finished in 20.20 seconds, 0.33 seconds under the qualifying mark.
He was then given a tough assignment to reach the final, but, despite the tight bend and the water puddles from the relentless rain in Lane 1, he powered through to qualify second from his heat in 20.14, just behind Isiah Young of the USA.
“I’m running with anger,” Makwala said. “I have no point to prove because I know myself. I’m fit. I know I’m a great athlete. I believe in myself.”