The Malta Independent on Sunday
Coleman wins gold in men’s 100m after dodging ban
Christian Coleman has won the world championship gold medal in the men's 100 meters, three weeks after avoiding a ban for missed drug tests.
Coleman started well and extended his lead down the stretch to win in 9.76 seconds, beating defending champion Justin Gatlin into second place in the centerpiece race. Andre de Grasse of Canada was third.
Coleman had been accused of failing to provide accurate information on his whereabouts for drug testing. The U.S. AntiDoping Agency dropped the case after determining one of the missed tests should be backdated on a technicality, taking it out of the required 12-month window for violations.
Jamaica's Tajay Gayle won the long jump of 8.69 meters, becoming the first Jamaican to win a world championship field event.
Jeff Henderson of the U.S. was second and Cuba's Juan Miguel Echevarria third.
Less than five months after making her debut in the 10,000 meters, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands is the world champion.
The Ethiopia-born runner had won a slew of medals at shorter distances __ she also holds the world record in the mile — before moving up to the 10,000 in early May. Hassan took gold in 30 minutes 17.62 seconds, ahead of Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey. The bronze went to Agnes Jebet Tirop of Kenya.
Hassan has raced at international standard in distances ranging from the 800 to half marathon and has previous world bronze medals in the 1,500 and 5,000.
The Olympic champion and world record holder, Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia, didn't race at worlds because of persistent injuries.
DeAnna Price has become the first U.S. woman to win the world championship gold medal in hammer throw.
Price, from Moscow Mills, Missouri, threw 77.54 meters for first place, the first U.S. medal of the championships. Her victory was confirmed after silver medalist Joanna Fiodorow of Poland fouled her final throw Saturday night.
Price, a two-time NCAA champion at Southern Illinois who lost large parts of her career to injuries, wept after winning the gold as she posed with the flag. Fiodorow was overjoyed with silver and celebrated with teammates.
Zheng Wang of China was third on 74.76.
The world record holder and Olympic champion, Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland, didn't compete at worlds due to injury.
He's the world record holder in the pole vault, but Renaud Lavillenie has failed to even make the final.
Lavillenie fouled out at 5.60 meters in qualification, leaving him outside of the top 12 qualifiers. The Lavillenie name will still be represented after his younger brother Valentin, who qualified with 5.70.
Thiago Braz of Brazil, who beat Renaud Lavillenie at the 2016 Olympics after the Frenchman was booed by Braz's home crowd, was one of eight athletes to jump 5.75.
The United States will have three of the eight runners in the women's 800 meters final Monday after Ajee Wilson, Raevyn Rogers and Ce'Aira Brown all qualified from the semifinals. Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda was fastest in 1 minute 59.35 seconds.
The 800 takes place without 2017 champion Caster Semenya, who's been barred for refusing demands to medically reduce her natural testosterone level.
The men's 800 meters has been thrown wide open after Nijel Amos of Botswana, the fastest in the world this year, withdrew unexpectedly.
In July, Amos ran the fastest time of anyone since 2012, but he then struggled with injury problems before returning to action last month. The Botswanan said on Instagram he had a tight Achilles tendon.
In his absence, Kenya's Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir was fastest in 1 minute 45.16, while Diamond League winner Donovan Brazier of the United States won his heat in 1:46.04.
"I know messing around has gotten me into trouble in the past, so I was like, 'If you get first you're in the next round no matter what event it is,'" Brazier said.
Defending champion Karsten Warholm of Norway was fastest in the 400 hurdles semifinals. U.S. champion Rai Benjamin and Brazil's Alison dos Santos won the other two semifinals. Two-time Diamond League champion Kyron McMaster was disqualified after breaking a hurdle.
In the men's discus, 2017 silver medalist Daniel Stahl of Sweden was streets ahead in qualifying with a 67.88-meter throw. Mason Finley of the U.S. won bronze two years ago but failed to reach the final yesterday.
This will not be a walk in the park. The IAAF says the 50k race walks will go on as scheduled.
The races will take place Saturday night on the same course as the women's marathon, which kicked off the night before at midnight in humidity that made it feel like 105 degrees (40 Celsius).
Twenty-eight of the 68 women dropped out. The IAAF pointed out that the completion rate was similar to those at world championships in Tokyo (1991) and Moscow (2013). Next year's Olympic marathons in Tokyo are scheduled to start at 6 a.m., and runners can expect to face similar intense heat.
The IAAF said 30 runners visited the medical center as a precaution. A small number were kept under observation and one was sent to a hospital before being released.
Winner Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya crossed the finish line at 2:34 a.m.
Both the men's and women's race walks are scheduled for 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The women's race should last around 4 hours, 30 minutes.
Two-time Olympic champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica qualified fastest in the heats for the women's 100 meters, with her rivals close behind.
Fraser-Pryce, with golden hair that matched her jersey, ran 10.80 seconds, just a tenth of a second off her personal best and faster than any woman at the 2017 world championships.
The Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou, a double silver medalist in 2017, was closest to FraserPryce after matching her personal best of 10.85. Britain's Dina Asher-Smith ran 10.96 as only three women went under 11 seconds.
Defending champion Tori Bowie of the U.S. qualified third in her heat, far off her personal best with 11.30, and two-time world 200 champion Dafne Schippers ran 11.17.