Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet made history on day eight of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, storming to victory in the women’s 5,000 meters and completing her golden double after already winning the 10,000m earlier in the week. The 25-year-old Olympic champion, who shattered the world record this year in Eugene with a blazing 13:58.06, crossed the finish line in 14:54.36 to claim the title.
Her fellow Kenyan, Faith Kipyegon—the defending champion and recent 1,500m winner—fought hard but settled for silver, finishing just 0.71 seconds behind at 14:55.07. Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, the 2022 European champion and 10,000m silver medalist here, grabbed bronze in 14:55.42. All three women now have two medals from these championships.
The race stayed tactical and relatively slow until the final lap, where Kipyegon and Chebet shadowed Battocletti before surging ahead in a thrilling kick to the line.
In the women’s 20km race walk, Spain’s Maria Perez etched her name deeper into the record books by defending her title and securing a rare double with the 35km gold she won on day one—just like she did at the 2022 championships in Budapest. At 29, Perez now boasts four world titles and two Olympic medals. She finished in 1:25:54, her second-fastest time ever.
Mexico’s Alegna Gonzalez chased fiercely to take silver in a North American record of 1:26:06. Japan’s Nanako Fujii thrilled the home crowd with bronze in 1:26:18, setting a national record and earning her country’s first-ever medal in the event at the World Athletics Championships.
Kenya kept the excitement rolling as 21-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi powered to gold in the men’s 800m, smashing the championship record with 1:41.86 and adding this world title to his Olympic crown. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati made a late charge for silver in 1:41.90, while Canada’s Marco Arop, the defending champ, earned bronze in 1:41.95.
Ireland’s Cian McPhillips impressed in fourth with a national record of 1:42.15. Remarkably, all eight men in the final broke 1:43—a first in championship history.
Shifting to the field events, the Netherlands’ Jessica Schilder seized the women’s shot put gold with a season-best throw of 20.29 meters on her final attempt. The 26-year-old edged out defending champion Chase Jackson of the United States, who hit 20.21 meters for silver. New Zealand’s Maddison-Lee Wesche showed nerves of steel to snag bronze with a personal-best 20.06 meters.
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