Mo Farah showed what a great athlete he is, powering to victory in the men’s 5,000m at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, to make it a “triple double” in his bulging list of accolades.
The Great Britain athlete had already won the 10,000m GOLD, and there were doubts if his legs would be able to last the long haul in another demanding race, but Farah executed a very tactical race, especially in the last 800m that Kenya’s Caleb Ndiku was ahead of him to win in 13:50.38. Ndiku settled for Silver in 13:51.75, with Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet taking the Bronze in 13:51.86
If there is nothing to learn from Farah, it is that he finishes strongly and tends to capitalize on other competitors losing steam in the home stretch. Ndiku bolted in front, but couldn’t hold the lead in the last 150m as Farah came from the outside to take the win.
Farah’s victory is historic because it is the first time that someone is winning a “triple-double” in quick succession. His dominance dated back to the London 2012, and he carried the form to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow where he equally completed the double…. and now in Beijing.
Can he be beaten at the 2016 Olympics in Rio? It might be too early to say, but on the evidence of his form and winning streak, he remains the favourite going into the Games next year.
The other incredible achievement of the day came from America’s Ashton Eaton who set a new World Record of 9045 points to win the men’s Decathlon. The defending champion erased his former WR of 9039 points, after finishing 2nd in the 1500m, but running a new Season’s Best of 4:17.52 which earned him 829 points to increase his tally.
In the 4x100m relays, it was a total dominance by Team Jamaica as they powered to two GOLDs in both the men and women categories. The quartet of: Veronica Campbell-Brown, Natasha Morrison, Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a flawless women’s 4x100m relay as they powered to victory in a new Championship Record of 41.07s. USA won Silver in a Season’s Best of 41.68s with Trinidad & Tobago running a National Record of 42.03s to take Bronze.
Usain Bolt anchored the Jamaican men’s team to victory in a World Leading mark of 37.36s, and by so doing he became the first ever to win the “Triple-Triple” at the World Champs, dating back to Berlin 2009. USA were disqualified after a mix-up in their final baton exchange that saw Mike Rodgers crossing the mark before getting the baton from Tyson Gay.
China were the surprise package, winning Silver in 38.01s after USA got disqualified, with Canada upgraded to Bronze finishing with a time of 38.13s.
In the women’s 800m, Kenya’s Eunice Jepkoech Sum gave her all in the home stretch, but there was no way she could usurp Belarus’ Marina Arzamasavo who held on to win GOLD in 1:58.03. Even Canada’s Melissa Bishop came from the inside and stayed there till the end to claim Silver in 1:58.12, with Sum settling for Bronze in 1:58.18.
Slovakia’s Matej Toth emerged winner of the 50 Kilometres Race walk, taking the win in 3:40:32, with Australia’s Jared Tallent taking Silver with an SB of 3:42:17 while Japan’s Takayuki Tanii won Bronze in 3:42:55.
Field Events:
Coming into the Championships as favourite, this year’s Diamond Race leader Piotr Malachowski won GOLD in the men’s Discus after throwing the furthest of 67.40m. His compatriot Robert Urbanek won Bronze with 65.18m, but Belgium’s Philip Milanov will be delighted to have become the first person to win Silver for his country in this event with 66.90m, and it was a National Record.
The other field event of Day 8 was the women’s High Jump and it was very exciting. Former world champion, Blanka Vlasic narrowly missed making it a 3rd world title because she failed her first attempt at 1.92m. The Croatian was the first to clear 2.01m, but Russia’s Maria Kuchina won GOLD because she had a clean slate and also cleared 2.01m. Olympic champion, Anna Chicherova won Bronze, clearing 2.01m in her second attempt. All three athletes attempted all three jumps at 2.03m, but none was able to clear it.
With just a day left to the end of the competition, Kenya still leads the standings with 13 medals overall: 6 GOLDs, 4 Silvers and 3 Bronzes, and they will be hoping that their lead gets extended with the men’s 1500m still to come on the final day.
