BUDAPEST: Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles went through the motions as they began their 200m campaigns bidding to add to the 100m golds they won earlier in the week at the World Athletics Championships on Wednesday.

Richardson, seeking to become the fourth woman to achieve the double and first since Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013, recorded the fastest time in the heats of 22.16sec.

Two-time defending 200m champion Lyles did what was required as he timed 20.05sec. The American is aiming to become the first men’s sprint double winner since Usain Bolt in 2015.

Swedish pole vault superstar Armand Duplantis had no problems reaching the final but the defending champion and his rivals had to spend three and a half hours out in the sweltering morning conditions.

Richardson will have her work cut out to emulate Silke Gladisch, who won the 100m-200m world championships double in 1987, Katrin Krabbe (1991) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (2013).

Gabby Thomas, who beat Richardson in the US trials, and Jamaica’s defending champion Shericka Jackson, who is out for revenge after having to settle for silver behind Richardson’s remarkable gold in the 100m, will be formidable rivals.

Thomas, who has the world’s fastest time this year of 21.60sec, recorded the second fastest time of 22.26sec.

Lyles’s toughest opposition may come from 100m silver medallist Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and teenage American Erriyon Knighton.

Tebogo, 20, won his heat in 20.22sec.

Duplantis, 23, is bidding to claim a sixth successive title. He was European, world outdoor and world indoor champion in 2022 and Olympic and European indoor winner in 2021.

His last defeat at a major championship was when he was 19, finishing runner-up to American Sam Kendricks at the 2019 world championship in Doha.

Jamaican Wayne Pinnock produced perhaps the performance of the session as the 22-year-old long jumper posted a 2023 world-leading mark of 8.54m to cruise into Thursday’s final.

The women’s 800m promises to be one of the races of the championships and the heats kicked off with defending and Olympic champion Athing Mu, European gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson and Commonwealth titleholder Mary Moraa progressing serenely.

On Tuesday, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon won a historic third world 1500m gold and although Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim missed out on a fourth crown, he became the first man to win five medals in the event.

Kipyegon produced an imperious front-running performance to add to her 2017 and 2022 titles, her face creasing in joy as realisation of her feat struck home.

Sifan Hassan never landed a punch and once again, as at the Tokyo Olympics, had to make do with bronze.

For Kipyegon, 29, it crowned an annus mirabilis having already broken three world records.

“I told myself, ‘You are the strongest and just keep going’,” said Kipyegon. “I was chasing history today and I was chasing this title. I have done it.”

Barshim tried to rouse the crowd at the National Athletics Centre as he went for his third and final attempt at 2.36m as the women’s 1500m final reached its final stages.

But just as the women’s race was a bit flat due to Kipyegon’s sublime brilliance so Barshim’s challenge for a fourth successive world crown ended as a damp squib, the Qatari bowing out at 2.33m.

He took bronze whilst victory instead went to the man with whom he shared Olympic gold in Tokyo, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi (2.36m).

“I consider this bronze as history,” Barshim said. “In any competition, our ambition is gold and victory, but this is sport.

“With this bronze, I became the only athlete in the history of the high jump to win five medals in the world championships and I am very proud.”

There was a repeat victory in the men’s steeplechase.

Morocco’s Olmypic champion Soufiane El Bakkali left Ethiopia’s world record holder Lamecha Girma trailing as the 27-year-old champion crossed the line in 8min 03.53sec.

Kipyegon, Tamberi and El Bakkali then all celebrated by jumping into the steeplechase water jump, something to be envied by the spectators who sat in sweltering heat throughout the evening.

Another Olympic champion, American Valarie Allman, looked downcast as her less celebrated team-mate Laulauga Tausaga improved her personal best by more than four metres to win with the discus 69.49m.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2023