The first gold of Russia
The main event of the day for Russian fans was the women's pole vault final. Among the 17 participants who took the required qualification in the qualification was Angelika Sidorova. She could be considered the real leader of the season in her discipline - only the Olympic champion Jennifer Sur from the USA climbed above the Russian woman, but it was back in March.
In order to immediately weed out as many athletes as possible in a dispute for medals, the organizers proposed in the second approach to jump 4.70 meters - for some participants even national records were lower than this mark. But she was still able to conquer 12 athletes, although two years ago there were only two of them - Katerina Stefanidi from Greece and American Sandy Morris. Sidorova with such a difficult height did not experience problems and took her on the first try.
Further, the bar rose another ten centimeters. She did not want to submit to many girls. Morris still managed to curb her, and for the other girls it was a small psychological blow. But Sidorova stood it. Speaking last in line, she also spent only one attempt at 4.80 m. They were still joined by Stefanidi, British Holly Bradshaw and Canadian Alisha Newman and Swedish Angelika Bengtsson, who broke the pole in the second approach. But only Sidorov and Morris shared the first place.
In exactly the same scenario, events developed at an altitude of 4.85 m. Once again, athletes from Russia and the USA coped with the first attempt, with Morris showing the best personal result of the season, and the rest of the girls had to linger. Only Stefanidi went further, and thus the Russian team got the first medal with excellent chances that it would be no worse than silver.
Even a height of 4.90 m did not separate Sidorova from Morris. The American took the height on the first attempt, celebrating it with a warlike cry, but right there her feat was repeated by a Russian athlete who continued to keep her emotions in herself. Stefanidi had already made one mistake by that time, and she had to climb five centimeters up, but there she did not set a new record for Greece, becoming a bronze medalist.
Morris and Sidorova still had two more attempts. The American never took advantage of a single one, and the fans have already begun to remember how the medals are distributed when the athletes show exactly the same results. But Sidorova interrupted all these speculations. On the third attempt, the Russian athlete conquered a height of 4.95 m, setting a personal record. Two years ago, she did not make a single successful attempt at qualification, and this year she became the world champion. For the first time since the days of Elena Isinbaeva, a Russian athlete won a medal in pole vaulting.
What a performance from Anzhelika Sidorova.
A world-leading 4.95m and a shiny pole vault 🥇 # WorldAthleticsChampspic.twitter.com / tfvjwpJLvI
Felix Record
American Allison Felix arrived in Doha to break Usain Bolt's record for the number of gold medals and repeat the achievement of Ezekiel Kemboy, who was the only one to win medals at seven different world championships. It was supposed that a historical award would be brought to her by participating in the semifinals of the women's relay race of 4 400 meters, but the US team decided to give her legend another chance. She entered the final four, who fought for the first medals in the mixed relay of 4 to 400 meters.
The day before, the Americans showed all their strength, setting a world record in the semifinals, so giving Felix a chance was perfectly acceptable. True, at her stage she didn’t polydise - the Poles decided to break the usual arrangement and released Rafal Emelko to her stage. The Polish team continued to go first until the final stage, but on it Michael Cherry brought the US team gold and another broken record. Felix officially became the most titled athlete in the world championships, and with a chance to increase the number of its gold medals to 13.
12 WORLD TITLES. @allysonfelix officially holds the record for the most world titles after giving birth 10 months ago. # WorldAthleticsChampspic.twitter.com / 68kKjfb0yw
- Team USA (@TeamUSA) September 29, 2019Last minute salvation
Crazy in the heat was the final of the competition in the men's triple jump. For gold, like two years ago, two American athletes Will Clay and Christian Taylor were supposed to argue.
Clay started the competition with an excellent attempt at 17.61 meters and immediately improved the result to 17.72 meters - the rest of the rivals were far from that. Taylor, in both attempts, stepped over the line. The further struggle for gold depended on whether he would make at least an average leap in the third attempt, and the Olympic champion coped with the task.
After that, Taylor did not restrain himself. In the fourth round, he flew 17.86 m, and then finally defeated Clay with a 17.92 m flight. Two Americans finished the competition in the same sequence as in London, and Taylor won the fourth gold of the World Cup. And the representative of Burundi South Fabrice Zango won the bronze in the last attempt - the representatives of Africa have not won medals in the triple jump among men since 1983.
There's a reason his twitter handle is @ Taylored2jump
It's 17.92m and a record fourth #WorldAthleticsChamps triple jump 🥇 for the American. pic.twitter.com/H5Tvmr8VRM
Victory with different hairstyles
The third day of the World Cup was closing with the women's final race of 100 meters. Seven athletes took part in it. One of the favorites, Daphne Schippers, starred due to a groin injury after the semifinal that took place that evening. Earlier, the current world champion Tori Bowie from the USA refused to fight. It is noteworthy that the Swiss was not allowed to take the place of Swiss Mujing Cambundi, who sympathizes with the whole track and field world. She became the fourth in the European Championship three times a year ago, and now she has not reached the final just because she lost one thousandth of a second in a dispute over the last trip.
The absence of such bright candidates for gold paved the way for the victory of the great and extravagant Jamaican runner Shelly-Ann Fraser Price. The day before, she ran in the preliminary round with bright yellow hair, but overnight repainted them in the colors of the rainbow. All rivals saw just such a hairstyle when a 32-year-old athlete ran to the finish line and stopped the stopwatch at around 10.71 s. Fraser Price won its eighth gold in a career, with the best result in six years in this competition.
Mommy rocket power! 👏
🇯🇲 @realshellyannfp wins #WorldAthleticsChamps 100m gold in world-leading 10.71. pic.twitter.com/4fPPvnzzlT
The second ran the British Dina Asher-Smith - her compatriots have not yet been winners in the shortest distance. The bronze medal was won by Ivorian Marie-José Ta Lou, who won silver two years ago. Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, also fond of experimenting with hair, was only fourth.
Silver at 43
The echo of the second day of the World Cup was completed by the morning of the third rounds of 50 km for men and women. Like the participants in the marathon, the walkers had to start late at night, when the weather conditions had softened a little.
The victory in the men's race was won by the Japanese Yusuke Suzuki, who had previously specialized in walking for 20 km and set an unbreakable world record in it four years ago. For three years he did not take part in competitions, and this 50 km race was his second in the last six years. Nevertheless, at a distance Suzuki boldly broke away from the main group immediately after the start and did not lose his leadership until the finish line, showing miracles of endurance. The Japanese became a little anxious in the last kilometers, when he stopped several times. But Suzuki continued walking and brought his country only the fifth gold in the history of world championships.
There were many applicants for silver among the pursuers, but the 43-year-old Portuguese João Vieira, who was in the shadow of the entire race, endured all of them. At his 11th World Championships, he won a second medal after the 2013 bronze medal at 20 km. Vieira became the oldest winner in the history of competitions. At the same time, he was not the oldest participant - the 49th-year-old Spaniard Jesús занngel García, who finished in eighth place, broke his record in Doha when he arrived at the 13th World Cup.
The Portuguese almost lost his silver, as in the last round he was quickly caught up with the Canadian Evan Dunphy. But in the end, they came to the finish line with a difference of three seconds. Dunphy became the first representative of his country to win a walking race medal. After another half-minute, the race was completed by the Chinese Nu Wenbin, who went second for a long time.
More history made at @ IAAFDoha2019 as Yusuke Suzuki wins Japan's first ever race walking #WorldAthleticsChamps title 🇯🇵🥇
Fantastic victory for the @jaaf_official athlete one year before @ Tokyo2020.
📰: https://t.co/gghIeeRTPapic.twitter.com/bZ0UYTgVWs
Chinese superiority
But in the women's call, Chinese athletes were not left without awards. Out of the 23 participants at the start, a leadership group of four athletes was formed early - the first world champion Iness Enriques, Italian Eleanor Georgie and Chinese Li Maotsuo and Liang Rui.
By the middle of the distance, Liang went into the lead, while Enriques lagged behind and could not even finish the race. Later, Li accelerated, after which the trio of prize-winners finally formed, and only force majeure circumstances could affect the distribution of seats.
As a result, China won gold and silver, and the winner of the last European Cup became a bronze medalist. Fourth to the finish line came Ukrainian Elena Sobchuk. Two years ago, only four out of seven participants reached the finish line. This time, 17 girls conquered the entire distance.
Gold for China 🇨🇳 as Liang Rui wins the #WorldAthleticsChamps 50km race walk title in 4:23:26.
📰: https://t.co/dMmK5iyO2fpic.twitter.com/b8LWOmpklz