BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Kenya's Faith Kipyegon pushed the pace early and pulled away down the stretch to defend her 1,500-meter title at the world championships on Tuesday night.
The 29-year-old Kipyegon only grew stronger as the race went along, finishing in a time of 3 minutes, 54.87 seconds to beat Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia by almost a second. Sifan Hassan, running from back in the pack for a chunk of the race, surged into third place.
Whether it's winning races or setting records, Kipyegon has been in quite a zone this summer. Over a 50-day span, she set world marks in the 1,500 meters, 5,000 and the mile.
In Budapest, it was all about medals for Kipyegon, not breaking records.
“This is a great season for me," Kipyegon said. “I told myself, ‘You are the strongest and just keep going.'”
No time for rest, though. Kipyegon will be back on the track Wednesday evening for the start of the 5,000 meters. She got a bit of a longer break than expected with officials moving the event to the night session due to excessive heat forecast for Wednesday morning.
The Dutch runner Hassan will be in the field, too, and running her third event at worlds. Hassan earned a medal Tuesday after a fall over the weekend cost her one. Hassan tumbled about 25 or so meters from the finish line in the 10,000 meters.
Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali rose to the occasion once again at a big meet in defending his steeplechase world title. For Lamecha Girma, the world record holder in steeplechase, another silver medal. He's finished runner-up three times at worlds and at the Tokyo Games to El Bakkali.
Laulauga Tausaga and Valarie Allman finished 1-2 for the Americans in the discus. Tausaga used the biggest throw of her career — a four-meter improvement (13 feet, 1 inch) to edge Allman.
Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi added a high jump world title to his Olympic title. Tamberi, with one side of his face cleanly shaved, the other side stubbly, finished just ahead of American JuVaughn Harrison.
It was a tough night for former world champions Dalilah Muhammad (400 hurdles) and Steven Gardiner (400). Muhammad, struggling with injuries this season, couldn't advance out of the semifinals, while Gardiner collapsed to the track rounding the final bend and grabbed at his leg.
In the first round of the women's 100 hurdles, defending world champion and record holder Tobi Amusan returned to the track after having a temporary suspension lifted. An appeals panel found Amusan had not violated anti-doping rules that call for a suspension for missing tests.
“I’m just thankful to be out here,” Amusan said. “I tried to stay as relaxed as possible (through all the uncertainty). So here I am.”
For Muhammad, it was a rare early exit. The runner-up at last summer's worlds and at the Tokyo Games, Muhammad has struggled with Achilles and feet issues.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet that I won’t make the final, but it was all a bit of a Hail Mary to be honest,” the 33-year-old said.
Dutch hurdler Femke Bol has regrouped from her fall a few meters before the finish line in the mixed 4x400 relay. She showed precisely why she's the favorite in the 400 hurdles, powering her way past the field to win her semifinal heat.
It's a gold medal up for grabs in the absence of world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who skipped the competition to focus on the 400 and later withdrew due to a knee issue.
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
