The second day of the World Athletics Championships in Eugene brought even more fanfare and set the stage for an exciting Sunday.
The third day of the event will see two Oregon natives competing on the big stage, as well as a former Duck look for another medal before attempting a career in the NFL.
Some highlights from the second day of the World Athletics Championships include:
Olympic medalists ready to clash in 400-meter finals: Norway’s Karsten Warholm and USA’s Rai Benjamin came into the worlds as the reigning Olympic gold and silver medalists, respectively. The two will battle again on Tuesday in the finals.
Excitement in final turn of women’s 10,000-meter race: In the final stretch, four women were battling for the gold. But Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey was able to take the race by just a fraction of a second.
Team USA sweeps men’s 100-meter dash: Fred Kerley wins the race with fellow Americans Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell bringing home the other two medals.
Chase Ealey wins first gold for USA: The former Oklahoma State athlete beat the reigning Olympic champion for her first gold medal as a representative of Team USA.
Women’s 1,500 sets up monster final: With a pool full of Olympic medalists and upstarts Jessica Hull and Sinclaire Johnson, the women’s 1,500 final on Monday night promises to be electric.
Other highlights from Saturday:
Courtney Frerichs represented the Portland-based Bowerman Track Club well, qualifying for the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase finals.
Randolph Ross, North Carolina A&T back-to-back NCAA champion, was disqualified from the world championships for not appearing for an antidoping test.
Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas leads the pack in the triple jump ahead of Monday’s finals.
Former Duck Devon Allen qualified for the men’s 110-meter hurdles semifinals, finishing his heat in fifth place.
No one met the qualifying height in the women’s high jump qualifying round, sending the 12 best performers to Tuesday’s finals.
Poland’s Pawel Fajdek continues to dominate, wins his fifth consecutive world championships in the men’s hammer throw
Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finishes women’s 100-meter qualifier with commanding first place time ahead of Sunday’s semifinal.
World Athletics announced that two of Japan’s six athletes entered in the marathon tested postivie for COVID-19 and will miss the race.
Australia’s Stewart McSweyn leads the way for men’s 1,500 ahead of finals on Sunday night.
China’s Jianan Wang wins gold medal in long jump, going from fifth place to first place on his final jump of the day.
Some things to watch Sunday at the world championships:
Galen Rupp in men’s marathon: Rupp has been a star runner for two decades. Now 36, the former standout for the Oregon Ducks and for Central Catholic High School before that looks for a major marathon medal in front of a home crowd. The start and finish lines are near UO’s Autzen Stadium. The race starts at 6:15 a.m. Sunday (TV on CNBC).
Women’s heptathlon begins: The United States’ Anna Hall is a rising star in the heptathlon, bringing impressive versatility to the seven-discipline event. The Day 1 events are the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 meters. The 200 heats begin at 6:38 p.m. (TV on CNBC).
Men’s 10,000 final: Grant Fisher of the Bowerman Track Club will look for a world championships medal a year after finishing fifth in the 10,000 at the Tokyo Olympics. U.S. 10,000 champion Joe Klecker also could be a factor in Sunday’s final, which begins at 1 p.m. (TV on NBC).
Will Devon Allen medal? Before he shifts to the NFL, two-sport star Devon Allen is trying to bring home a medal in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. He won his qualifying heat Saturday but wasn’t sharp, finishing in 13.47 seconds. He owns this year’s world-leading time of 12.84 seconds, however. The 110 hurdles semifinals are scheduled for 5:05 p.m. (TV on CNBC), with the final at 7:50 p.m. (TV on NBC).
Ryan Crouser goes for gold: Oregon-born shot putter Ryan Crouser has dominated the men’s shot put in the past couple of years, setting the world record at Hayward Field in 2021 and later winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. But a world championships gold has eluded him. That could change starting at 6:27 p.m. Sunday (TV on CNBC until 7 p.m., then NBC).
