[Just getting up to speed with the IAAF World Championships? Let us help!]
Who loved watching the Canadian track and field team compete and win at Pan Ams last month? Lucky for us, they’re back in action in Beijing right now at the IAAF World Championships! The meet started August 22 and concludes August 30, meaning there are still lots of great events coming up, with the top Canadian and world athletes competing.
Some of the top results so far
Still to come this week/weekend
How to follow and watch
Some of the top results so far
Men’s Marathon
This was the first event of the competition. With the current world record holder, the previous world record holder, the reigning world and Olympic champion and a few other big names on the start list (but no Canadians), the world was looking forward to an exciting race. Surprisingly, none of the above-mentioned athletes were factors in the end; they all sat middle of the pack and eventually faded out of contention. Both Dennis Kimetto and Wilson Kipsang ultimately dropped out, and the sole Kenyan finisher crossed the line almost nine minutes after the winner. Instead, young Ghirmay Ghebreslassie ran away from the field to be the first Eritrean and the youngest ever to win gold in the marathon world championships.
Men’s and Women’s 3000m Steeplechase
Canada had three men competing in the steeplechase this year: Taylor Milne and Alex Genest, both of whom train in Guelph, and Matt Hughes, the Canadian record holder. Milne and Genest both failed to qualify out of their heats, Genest suffering a bad fall halfway through the race, but finishing bravely. Hughes ran a great race in the finals to finish 8th overall in a season best performance of 8:18. The Kenyans swept 1-2-3-4 in the event.
In the women’s event, Canada was represented by Geneviève Lalonde and Erin Teschuk. Both ran great races, but did not qualify for the finals. The final for this event will run at 9:00am tomorrow morning.
Men’s 100m: CANADIAN BRONZE
The most anticipated race: Usain Bolt versus American Justin Gatlin, recently returned from serving a doping ban, and new Canadian superstar Andre de Grasse. In the end they finished in just that order: Bolt retained his status as the fastest man in the world, and de Grasse ran a stunning race to tie American Trayvon Bromell for the bronze medal, and a new PB as well! This marked Canada’s first 100m medal at a world championships since 1999.
Women’s Heptathlon: CANADIAN SILVER
Canadian Brianne Thiesen Eaton was the favourite to win; however, she struggled with an abdominal injury that inhibited her performance in the final two events, javelin and 800m, and finished with the silver medal behind Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill of Great Britain.
Men’s Pole Vault: CANADIAN GOLD
Canadian Shawn Barber has been on fire all year, cleaning up at NCAAs, Pan Ams, and now a gold medal at the world championships! His is Canada’s first gold in a world track and field event since Perdita Felicien won the 100m hurdles in 2003.
Shawn Barber's gold is Canada's 1st @ world track & field champs since @perditafelicien in '03 http://t.co/9ZGDVsjPJJ pic.twitter.com/vIqMJ1Amf9
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) August 24, 2015
Men’s 20km Race Walk: CANADIAN BRONZE
Another stellar performance by a young Canadian: Benjamin Thorne surprised everyone including himself when set a new Canadian record and he took bronze in a strong, experienced field of race walkers on the second day of competition.
Men’s and Women’s 10,000m
Canada was represented by Cam Levins (14th) in the men’s race as well as Lanni Marchant (18th) and Natasha Wodak (23rd), lovingly known as “Betty and Veronica” by their fans, in the women’s race. It was no surprise to see Mo Farah take the gold, followed by a trio of Kenyans for the men, while the women’s race was similarly won by East Africans Vivian Cheruiyot and Gelete Burka. The biggest excitement came from the American women, who finished 3rd, 4th and 6th: newcomer Emily Infield out-leaned veteran U.S. champ Molly Huddle for the bronze medal!
Women’s 1500m
This has been one of the most exciting events to date. Featuring world record holder Genzebe Dibaba (3:50.07), it was destined to be a great race. Nicole Sifuentes represented Canada, but unfortunately was in the slowest heat and did not qualify for the semi-finals. Dibaba amazed all in the finals this morning, with an incredible 1:57 final 800m (essentially tying the world-leading 800m time this year) to win her first outdoors world title. She will also compete in the 5000m later this week.
Men’s 800m
No Canadians in the men’s 800m this year, but there was still plenty of great racing from the rest of the world. Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha has battled injury for the last few years and is just coming back to form. His primary rivals were both eliminated in the semi-finals, and Rudisha ran a brilliant race from the front to win confidently.
Still to come this week/weekend
There is still a lot of great racing, and field events, to come, including:
* Cam Levins and Mo Ahmed in the men’s 5000m heats (Aug. 25 9:35pm)
* Fiona Benson and Melissa Bishop in the women’s 800m heats (Aug. 25 10:25pm)
* Sultana Frizell in the women’s hammer throw (Aug. 25 10:55pm)
* Jonathan Cabral and Sekou Kaba in the men’s 110m hurdles (Aug. 25 11:20pm)
* Kimberly Hyacinthe, Khamica Bingham and Crystal Emmanuel in the women’s 200m heats (Aug. 26 7:15am)
* Brandon Rodney in the men’s 200m semi-finals (Aug. 26 8:30am)
* Nicole Sifuentes in the women’s 5000m heats (Aug. 26 9:40pm)
* Christabel Nettey in the women’s long jump (Aug. 26 10:20pm)
* Charles Philibert-Thiboutot in the men’s 1500m heats (Aug. 26 10:35pm)
* Phylicia George and Nikkita Holder in the women’s 100m hurdles (Aug. 26 11:15pm)
* Rachel Seaman in the women’s 20km race walk (Aug. 27 8:30 pm)
* Damian Warner in the men’s decathlon (starting Aug. 27 9:00pm)
* Derek Drouin and Michael Mason in the men’s high jump (Aug. 27 9:45pm)
* Mathieu Bilodeau and Evan Dunfee in the men’s 50km race walk (Aug. 27 7:30pm)
* Women’s 4x400m relay heats (Aug. 27 10:15pm)
* 4x100m relay heats (Aug. 28 12:00am)
* Paul Osland and Michael Sherar in the men’s 800m masters final (Aug. 28 5:45am)
How to follow and watch
Live results and updates can be found on the IAAF website as well as on Athletics Canada’s website. The IAAF is streaming the event live on Youtube and the CBC is also broadcasting the Championships.
Enjoy!
