Day One Preview: Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and distance-running legend Mo Farah would like to finish their careers on a high by winning the World Championships golds in their events. The IAAF World Athletics Championships that begins on 4 August will see both these Bolt and Farah in action on Day 1 in the 100 metres 1st round and the 10,000 metres final respectively. While India has gone with a 25-athlete contingent to the event, the entire selection came under immense scrutiny. With Asian Athletics winning athletes left out of the squad, there is added pressure on the rest of the Indians to deliver. Day 1 will see Lakshmanan Govindan, who won the long-distance double in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships, trying to prove his mettle on a bigger stage when he takes to the track alongside Mo Farah. Britain’s Laura Muir also kick-starts her quest for the 1,500 metres-5,000 metres double. Though she is recuperating from a foot stress fracture, Muir is confident of her chances in winning both races.
Highlights, IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017, Results, Day 1 in London: Mo Farah wins gold; Usain Bolt qualifies
Catch all the live updates and results from Day 1 of the much-anticipated IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017 in London.
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And that’s all from us for tonight’s coverage of 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships. It was an incredible day for Britain as the legendary Mo Farah captured his 10th successive global title with a gold in the 10,000m event. The double-double is on!
Meanwhile, Usain Bolt too had a good outing in his 100m heat race. All eyes will be on him in the semi-finals.
Hope you enjoyed our live coverage. We will be back tomorrow to provide all the updates. Till then, take care!
Here’s what Mo Farah had to say about his win:
Mo’ Farah, Mo’ Medals
The MO-MENT of the night!
Here are the results from the men’s 10,000m race:
Winner? Mo Farah
Not to forget, this man was incredible too!
While we were busy watching Farah win the gold medal, Andrius Gudzius of Lithuania with 67.01m, the second best of the evening, and Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres, who managed 64.82, has progressed to the final round.
Meanwhile, Greece’s Olympic pole vault champion Ekaterini Stefanidi needed just one vault, clearing 4.60m, to be top qualifier for the women’s final. US vaulter Sandi Morris, who cleared 5.55 will join Ekaterini and Britain’s Holly Bradshaw, who managed 5.50.
Farah hungry for MO!
What a dramatic end to the night! Just at the start of the final lap, Farah struggled to retain his balance after getting his heels clipped by a chasing runner. Despite all the extra pressure of being a crowd favourite, the mentally-strong runner ran towards a third consecutive world 10,000m gold.
What’s next for Farah? The 5000m race, as he seeks his FOURTH consecutive world title!
That’s it! MO FARAH WINS GOLD!
What a great moment this is Mo Farah, who wins the 10,000m in 26:49.53, exactly five years on from his 2012 London victory. The crowd is still roaring. Surely, the greatest long distance runner of all time!
Eight kms done as Tanui leads with Kamworor. The pace has slowed but Mo Farah is now 3rd. Four laps left.
Mo Farah in the lead. The roar is deafening. They are sprinting…
Can he do it once again?
The noise is beginning to grow and with 11 laps to go, Kamworor leads, with 2017 fastest Hadis of Ethiopia. The paced has slowed but what’s important is that Farah is still in the mix, easing along in the eighth place. Between three Kenyans, Ugandans and Ethiopians, Mo is the only Briton.
Nine laps to go. 19-year-old Kifle takes the lead
Another upset!
Jenn Suhr, who won the Olympic pole vault title at the 2012 London Olympics five years ago, is out after a failure in her final qualifying attempt. Tough luck!
Good question though.
After Bolt, it’s time for Sir Mo Farah to steal the thunder.
The 10,000m athletes are out on the track. Mo Farah comes out of the tunnel, looks at the crowd, who just cannot stop chanting his name, and gets ready for the race.
We are into the last heat of the men’s 100m. All eyes are on the man of the moment – Usain Bolt. Again, there’s a huge roar. Alright London, we know you love him. Time for the race.
Result:
Same old story, same old result. Bolt, who started slowly has finished first. He makes it look so easy there. Dasaolo comes second, and Vicaut third.
The penultimate 100m heat will be underway now. USA’s Justin Gatlin and Thando Roto of South Africa receive boos from the crowd. Strange!
Oh well, Roto has been disqualified for a false start. The referee sends him off
Results:
Gatlin responds strongly and wins the race. Korea’s Kim Kukyoung comes second. With Roto disqualified and Chavaughn Walsh pulling out with an injury, out of the six racers, three go through
The penultimate 100m heat will be underway now. USA’s Justin Gatlin and Thando Roto of South Africa receive boos from the crowd. Strange!
Oh well, Roto has been disqualified for a false start. The referee sends him off
Results:
Gatlin responds strongly and wins the race. Korea’s Kim Kukyoung comes second. With Roto disqualified and Chavaughn Walsh pulling out with an injury, out of the six racers, three go through
Olympic Champion Jeff Henderson of the United States has crashed out of the Long Jump Qualifying. He won Gold in Rio. His best effort of 7.84m not good enough for a place in the top 12.
It’s time for Heat 3 in the men’s 100m. But everybody waiting in the stadium for Usain Bolt who runs Heat 6, the last of the qualifying for the semi-finals. USA’s Justin Gatlin is in Heat 5. While Heat 3 won’t see Canada’s Andre De Grasse as he pulled out earlier.
Let’s see what’s in store for us!
Results:
Forte starts well and wins the race. Meite and Prescod too have qualified.
Upset!
USA’s Jeff Henderson, the winner of the men’s long jump gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, produces his best effort of the qualifying round – 7.84m but unfortunately, it is not enough to earn him a place in the top 12.
The second 100m heat features Yohan Blake and Sani Brown, who have been in great form recently. Let’s see how they perform.
Results:
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown of Japan wins the men’s 100m first round heat in a personal best of 10.05, finishing ahead of Jamaica’s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake. The Jamaican clocked 10.13, with China’s Zhenye Xie being credited with the same time in third place. Despite the decent result, Blake – who started terribly – could have done much better.
The men’s 100m heats will begin in a moment. Christian Coleman’s 9.82sec makes him the fastest this year in the first heat.
Boom! Coleman crosses the line first in 10.01 comfortably. Jak Ali Harvey comes second.
Bolt will contest in heat six.
Take a look at the results from the men’s discus throw qualifying round:
Meanwhile, at the Long jump event:
Czech Republic’s Radek Juska has just jumped to the top of the men’s long jump jumpers with an incredible effort of 8.24.
So, the results are out: Third women’s 1500m prelims
As expected Kipyegon is through and so are Meraf Bahta, Besu Sado and Laura Weightman, followed with Klosterhalfen, who was leading throughout but looked tired at the end.
London is beautiful, without a doubt.