When the going gets hot, the heats get going later. There's Scandi noir and, yes, Scandi gloire but most heartwarming of all, there's sharing.
Revamp
The heats for the women's 5,000 metres heats were pushed back from the morning session o the evening because it was going to be too hot for people to be running at full pelt for the best part of 15 minutes. World Athletics – the outfit that’s organising the Budapest extravaganza - said that the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature - a combination of factors including air temperature, humidity, wind direction and cloud cover - would not be at an acceptable level for the athletes. So they ran in the balm of eventide. Favourites such as the defending champion Gudaf Tsegay, Sifan Hassan and Faith Kipyegon progressed to the finals which take place on Day 8 - in the evening.
High hopes
Juvaughn Harrison was back on site for the medal ceremony in front of fans in the medal plaza at the National Athletics Centre. The 24-year-old won silver in the men’s high jump on Day 4. He cleared 2.36m – the same as Gianmarco Tamberi but the Italian claimed top spot because he went over at his first attempt. “It’s been fun,” Harrison told the review. “It’s been a great crowd and I’ve enjoyed the whole experience.” Harrison admitted he had not seen Tamberi’s post triumph splashing in the steeplechase water jump with the champion Soufiane El Bakkali and bronze medalist Abraham Kibiwot. “I only found out about it when I got back to my room and saw it on Instagram," said Harrison. "When you win there’s a lot of emotion.” Harrison’s next appointments will be in Zurich for the Diamond League meeting on 30 August and the Diamond League final in Eugene on 16 September. After that, he said, the preparation starts for the 2024 Olympics in Paris where he plans to compete in high jump as well as the long jump. “You have to dream big,” he confided.
Beware men from this running club
According to various tales, a soothsayer gave Julius Caesar the heads-up about the Ides of March. And come mid March, the soldier turned politician met a brutal end. Clearly noone has tipped Jakob Ingebrigtsen off about the doom emanating from Scotland. The Norwegian came second in the 1500m final in Eugene last year just behind Jake Wightman - a member of Edinburgh Athletic Club. And despite leading for the vast majority of the 1500m final in Budapest, Ingebrigtsen, the overwhelming favourite, lost out to Josh Kerr - a member of Edinburgh Athletic Club. You don't have to be clad in a Faroe Islands sweater to spot a pattern here.
Karsten Warholm let out a scream
Can't get away from thinking about the David Bowie song about Andy Warhol. But that's our space oddity. Soon after Jakob Ingebrigtsen was left all undone and forlorn, Karsten Warholm restored the glory of Norway with gold in the 400m hurdles. The 27-year-old even said the medal was back where it belonged. That's the kind of big buckle brashness we like at the review. And there's some validity to that medallion manliness. Warholm won gold in 2017 and 2019. And then he claimed the Tokyo Olympics title in 2021 but went into the world championships in Eugene last year six weeks after injuring his hamstring. He reached the final but it didn't end well for him. He finished in seventh - and no there were no runners from Scotland. "There's still a lot of work to be done before the Olympics in Paris but I'm ready to go get it." Woof.
Share
Nina Kennedy from Australia and the American veteran Katie Moon shared the pole vault gold medal after a pulsating contest. Both went over the bar on their final attempt at 4.90m but failed to pass 4.95m. In a scene reminiscent of the Tokyo Olympics high jump final where Qatar's Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy decided to share their gold medal, Kennedy and Moon agreeed they couldn't take the trauma of "a jump-off". So they both have gold. It's a first for 26-year-old Kennedy and Moon retained her crown. “I didn’t think she’d want to share it," said Kennedy. "I thought we might have had to keep jumping. But I looked at her and said: ‘Hey, girl, you maybe wanna share this? And the relief on her face ... and it was mutual. We’ve been friends for so long so it’s super special.” World Athletics supremos say they want stories to project. Well, this is the first time this has happened in the 40-year history of the world championships ... you couldn't make this up.
