Kenyans Chebet, Kipyegon smash world records
The leading group of Chebet, Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay and Kenyan Agnes Jebet Ngetich had fallen off world record pace with several laps remaining, but Chebet mustered a last mighty kick on the final lap. Jebet Ngetich was second in 14:01.29 and Tsegay — who set the previous world record of 14:00.21 on the same Hayward Field track in September 2023 — was third in 14:04.41.
Kipyegon, the three-time reigning Olympic champion, won the 1,500m in 3:48.68, improving on the record of 3:49.04 she set in July 2024. The 31-year-old Kenyan was running her first 1,500m of the season, having come up short in her bid for mile history in a special event in Paris. Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji finished second in 3:51.44, overhauling Australia's Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull, who had stuck to Kipyegon until the final lap but settled for third in 3:52.67. 'This was really special,' Kipyegon said. 'After what I tried last week, it gave me motivation that I can still do better.'
Faith Kipyegon of Kenya reacts after winning the Women's 1500m and setting a new world record.
With the World Championships looming in Tokyo on September 13-21, Jamaica's Kishane Thompson and American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden continued their stellar sprint campaigns with 100m victories. Olympic silver medallist Thompson clocked 9.85sec to win the men's 100m, confidently following up on his blistering 9.75sec at the Jamaican national trials that made him the sixth-fastest man all-time at the distance.
Thompson easily out-paced Britain's Zharnel Hughes (9.91) and American Trayvon Bromell (9.94) and said the race was another learning experience as he gears up for an expected world title tilt against American Noah Lyles - who bested him by just .005sec for Olympic gold in Paris. 'I'm the only one that can stop me,' Thompson said. 'I don't say that to brag but to be honest. Once I better my execution, amazing things are going to happen.'
Jefferson-Wooden outdueled Olympic champion Julien Alfred in the women's 100m, holding off the Saint Lucia star to win in 10.75sec. That was just outside her season-leading 10.73 set at the Philadelphia Grand Slam Track event, but impressive in a headwind of -1.5 meters per second. Alfred was second in 10.77 and Ivorian Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith came third in 10.90. American Sha'Carri Richardson, who revealed this week that an injury in February had slowed her season start, finished ninth in 11.19sec.
Sweden's two-time Olympic champion Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis won the pole vault with a leap of 6.00m. Duplantis finished comfortably ahead of Americans Sam Kendricks and Austin Miller, who took second and third with clearances of 5.80m, but he came up empty on three attempts to better the world record of 6.28m that he set in Stockholm three weeks ago.
In addition to records, there were multiple world-leading performances. Rising Ethiopian talent Biniam Mehary, 18, won the 10,000m in 26:43.82. Botswana's Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo won the 200m in 19.76sec and Bahrain's Olympic champion Winfred Yavi threatened a world record on the way to a world-leading 8:45.25 in the 3,000m steeplechase. Rudy Winkler set an American record in winning the hammer with a throw of 83.16m, American Joe Kovacs won the shot put at 22.48m and Olympic long jump gold medallist Tara Davis-Woodhall equalled the season's best with a 7.07m leap. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
3 hours ago
- Arab Times
Kuwait continues U-23 qualifier build-up with second friendly in Cairo
CAIRO, July 12: The Kuwait Olympic football team will take on Egyptian club El Gouna this evening in its second friendly match, part of its ongoing training camp in Cairo, which began last Monday. The Blues are scheduled to play two more matches against the Egyptian national team in July Kuwait fell 1-3 to Malia Kafr El-Zayat last Thursday in its first match, with Jarrah El Helili scoring the team's only goal. The camp is a key component of Kuwait's build-up to the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers, which will be hosted by Saudi Arabia in January. Kuwait is drawn into Group B of the qualifiers, alongside Japan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar—the group stage host—from September 1 to 9. Head coach Dario Pesic of Croatia and his assistant, Mohamed El-Felakawy utilized the match against Kafr El-Zayat to assess as many players as possible, using two different lineups in each half. The goal is to evaluate individual readiness before finalizing the roster for the qualifiers. In addition to tactical experimentation, the coaching staff is focused on improving the players' fitness and fostering team chemistry, especially important given the inclusion of several new faces in the squad. The ultimate aim is to prepare a competitive team capable of delivering positive results in the upcoming qualifiers.
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
S African athlete's gender eligibility trial wasn't fair
STRASBOURG: A top European court ruled Thursday that the Swiss judiciary did not give double Olympic champion Caster Semenya a fair trial when she contested a rule forcing her to lower her testosterone levels to be able to compete as a woman. However, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in its final decision, said it could not determine whether or not the South African runner had suffered discrimination. Its verdict comes after a row over the gender of an Algerian boxing champion engulfed the 2024 Paris Olympics, and as the International Olympic Committee mulls reintroducing contested gender testing. Semenya, 34, is classed as having 'differences in sexual development', but has always been legally identified as female. She has been unable to compete in her favored 800m category since 2018, after she refused to take drugs to reduce her testosterone levels under new rules from World Athletics, the governing body for track and field. Semenya told journalists the ECHR's decision was a 'positive outcome'. 'We need to respect athletes, we need to put their rights first,' said the athlete, who was Olympic 800m champion in 2012 and 2016 and world gold medallist in 2009, 2011 and 2017. It was a reminder to leaders that 'priorities lie in the protection of athletes,' she added. Semenya has embarked on a long legal marathon to contest the World Athletics rule. The Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against her in 2019 and the decision was validated by the Swiss Federal Court in Lausanne in 2020. It judged that a testosterone level comparable to that of men gave female athletes 'an insurmountable advantage'. The ECHR said the Swiss court did not give the case a 'rigorous judicial review that was commensurate with the seriousness of the personal rights at issue', and had therefore breached Semenya's right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights. It ordered Switzerland to pay her 80,000 euros ($93,000) for expenses. A lower chamber at the ECHR in 2023 ruled that Semenya was the victim of discrimination by the Court of Arbitration for Sport—even if it did not call into question the World Athletics rule, nor allow Semenya to return to competition without taking medication. Swiss authorities, supported by World Athletics, appealed to the European court's 17-member Grand Chamber, leading to Thursday's ruling. The Grand Chamber, however, said it could not rule on any discrimination as the alleged offence did not fall under Switzerland's jurisdiction. Seema Patel, a sports law expert, said 'the Grand Chamber didn't go far enough to recognize all violations in this case'. 'But there is at least an alert to sport that convention rights must be respected,' she said. Antoine Duval, another legal scholar, said the ECHR had implied the World Athletics rule was disproportionate. Its judgment 'encourages intersex athletes affected by these rules to go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and relaunch the debate', he said. There are many types of 'differences in sexual development', a group of rare conditions involving genes, hormones and reproductive organs. Formerly known as intersexuality, they occur in approximately one in 1,000 to 4,500 births. Semenya was born with the '46 XY' chromosome, rather than the XX chromosome most women have. Before the 2009 world championships, where Semenya won the 800m gold aged just 18, she was forced to undergo gender testing. She was then put on medication to reduce testosterone levels. But Semenya said she felt like a 'human guinea pig' and vowed to never allow it again. Testosterone is produced by men and women but men produce 20 times more of the sex hormone. But how much the hormone boosts performance remains a matter of debate. --AFP
Arab Times
3 days ago
- Arab Times
Kuwait Olympic soccer team eyes strong build-up against Kafr El-Zayat
CAIRO, July 9: The Kuwait Olympic soccer team will kick off its first friendly match this evening against Egyptian side Kafr El-Zayat, marking the beginning of a series of warm-up games during its training camp in Cairo, which started last Monday. Kuwait is scheduled to play three more friendlies during the camp. It will face El Gouna on Sunday, followed by two matches against the Egyptian national team on July 17 and July 20. This intensive training camp comes as part of preparations for the AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers, set to take place in Saudi Arabia in January. Kuwait has been drawn into Group B, alongside Japan, Afghanistan, and host nation Myanmar. The group stage will be played from September 1 to 9. Under the leadership of Croatian head coach Dario Pesic and assistant coach Mohammed Al-Failakawi, 29 players have been selected for the squad: Squad List: Jassim Al-Matar, Abdullah Al-Ghaniman, Ahmed Bodi, Mohammed Al-Sharifi, Abdullah Musa, Abdulredha Shehab, Bader Al-Mutairi, Yousef Majed, Hussein Al-Aryan, Mohammed Al-Kandari, Omar Al-Matar, Khaled Al-Kharqawi, Mohammed Al-Suraie, Saleh Al-Muhattab, Jarrah Al-Hilali, Salem Al-Khatlan, Omar Al-Saleem, Montaser Abdulsalam, Omar Al-Azmi, Hussein Shehab, Abdulrahman Al-Rashidi, Ali Jabr, Nasser Al-Enezi, Bandar Al-Barazi, Abdulrahman Al-Harbi, Jassim Al-Enezi, Adel Al-Shammari, Dhari Al-Masri, Moaz Al-Aseema, and Munir Al-Subaie. Coach Pesic and his staff aim to enhance the team's overall readiness and build stronger chemistry among the players, particularly as several new faces have joined the squad. The ultimate goal is to deliver strong performances and secure qualification for the U-23 Asian Cup Finals.
