World Athletics C'ships: Bol retains 400m hurdles; Benjamin adds another title to Olympic gold

Tokyo, Sep 19 (IANS) American Olympic champion Rai Benjamin and Dutch sprinter Femke Bol ruled the men's and women's 400m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships at the National Stadium here on Friday, easily adding one more gold medal to their respective collections.

Benjamin stormed to victory in the men's 400-meter hurdles on Friday, clocking a season-best 46.52 seconds. The 28-year-old American dominated the final to secure his first world outdoor title. Brazil's Alison dos Santos, the 2022 world champion and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, claimed silver in 46.84, while Qatar's Abderrahman Samba took bronze in 47.06.

World record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway, the Tokyo Olympic champion and three-time world champion, faded to fifth in 47.58.

But the 28-year-old Benjamin’s celebrations were upset 20 minutes later as it emerged that he had been disqualified after his weary collision with the last hurdle – en route to a season’s best of 46.52 – had left the next-door barrier, due to be cleared by Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel, slightly askew.

However, the medal was restored within 10 minutes as his team successfully appealed to get the disqualification overturned.

Bol storms to victory

Dutch star Bol successfully defended her women's 400 meters hurdles crown, clocking a world-leading 51.54 seconds. The 25-year-old, who also won bronze medals at the last two Olympic Games, underlined her dominance in the event with the fastest time of the season.

American Jasmine Jones claimed silver in 52.08, while Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova earned bronze.

Dutchwoman Bol arrived in Tokyo undefeated this year over her pet event, but she took nothing for granted after her brave bid to unseat Olympic and world record-holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at last year’s Paris Olympics backfired.

With McLaughlin-Levrone focused on the flat 400m this year, and Bol back in the ascendant in Europe, most people assumed she would hold the world title comfortably at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, but she assumed nothing, putting together a beautiful race to dominate the final by four metres.

Bol, 25, was already the world leader with the only sub-52-second clocking this year, and she lowered the benchmark to 51.54, her fastest time in more than a year.

“This is my second gold medal in a row, which makes me really proud," she said. “This means the world to me. This year, we tried to change some things in training to get better at finishing the race. I really improved myself with that. The last 100m was the best I've had all season; that is what was special today.”

Bol has put together a perfect season over the quarter-sticks, winning eight successive races in Rabat, Hengelo, Stockholm, Monaco, London, Budapest, Silesia, and Zurich before arriving in Tokyo.

--IANS

bsk/