WORLDS DAILY: GOATS Gonna GOAT (Day 5)

Four athletes - count ‘em, four - picked up their FOURTH global titles last night in Eugene. We live in a truly golden age of track and field and it’s so beautiful to watch.

In the heptathlon, Nafissatou “Nafi” Thiam of Belgium overcame a 19-point deficit through six events with a big personal best in the final event, the 800m, of 2:13.00. The 2016, 2017 and 2021 champ scored 6,947 points – just missing hitting the 7,000 point mark for the second time in her career.

In the high jump, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Bahrain overcame an injury-plagued spring to take down his rivals in style, the only athlete above 2.37 meters.

In the triple jump, Yulimar Rojas made the 5th-farthest jump of all time look routine with a 15.47m leap. She also owns 3 of the 4 marks ahead of that jump on the all-time list, including the world record.

And the night concluded with a bang as an Ethiopian duo of Gudaf Tsegay and Freweyni Hailu decided to put the hurt on Faith Kipyegon, but even a 58-second opening 400m couldn’t shake the Olympic champ and Kipyegon emerged victorious in 3:52.96. Kipyegon’s last six World/Olympic Championships: Silver in 2015, gold in 2016, gold in 2017, silver in 2019, gold in 2021, and now gold in 2022. An unprecedented streak for a 1500m runner.

While the Americans didn’t romp through the medals like they did on Sunday, last night did feature two new bronze medalists as NCAA champ Anna Hall picked up a 3rd place in the heptathlon in a new collegiate best of 6,755 points and Tori Franklin became the first American ever to medal at Worlds in the women’s triple jump after failing to make the final in Tokyo.

We got a preview of some potential upcoming medalists, however, in the first round of the 200m, as folks like Erriyon Knighton, Noah Lyles, and Abby Steiner looked smooth and comfortable opening up the competition. Steiner will have her work cut out for her, however, as all three Jamaican medalists from the women’s 100m will be back for more hardware.

And of course, we can’t forget the memorable women’s marathon all the way back yesterday morning. Gotytom Gebreslase made it an Ethiopian sweep of the men’s and women’s titles with a big kick and a 2:18:11 personal best, and the Americans took 5-7-8 in an impressive display of teamwork and consistency. Emma Bates, who finished 7th in 2:23:18, also got a PB of over a minute out of the day.

Today, we’ll only have events in the evening, but the final two events of the session are must-watches as Jakob Ingebrigtsen takes on the world in the 1500m and the three fastest men in history battle for the gold in the 400-meter hurdles. Plus we’ll get another peek at the 200m runners and our first look at 400H world record holder Sydney McLaughlin in the first round of her specialty event.

We had one of the all-time best CITIUS MAG lives yesterday, as newly-crowned 110m hurdles world champion Grant Holloway stopped by along with 2/3 of the men’s shot put podium sweep in Joe Kovacs and Josh Awotunde. We also heard from Canadian marathon record holder Cam Levins after his historic 4th-place finish at Worlds on Saturday. You can watch all the action here - it’s a must-see.

SCHEDULE AND TV DETAILS FOR DAY 5 (all times EST):

8:15pm Women’s 400m Hurdles Heats8:40pm Women’s High Jump Final9:05pm Women’s 200m Semi-Final9:33pm Men’s Discus Throw Final9:50pm Men’s 200m Semi-Final10:30pm Men’s 1500m Final10:50pm Men’s 400m Hurdles Final

The good news: there’s only one session of Worlds today, so you have some time to rest, recover, and get hyped up. The bad news: The only way to watch it live is on Peacock, but for the night owls, there will be a tape-delayed broadcast on the USA Network from 11:30pm to 2:30am EST.

Full timetable and live results | Full streaming details

MUST-WATCH EVENT OF THE DAY: MEN’S 400 METER HURDLES (Presented by Hayward Magic)

After Karsten Warholm of Norway twice broke the world record in the 400m hurdles in 2021 en route to winning gold in Tokyo, it looked like he owned the event for the foreseeable future. But then Warholm picked up a hamstring twinge and didn’t race much all spring, while Olympic bronze medalist Alison Dos Santos has only gotten better.

Of course, you can’t forget about 3-time U.S. champ and American record holder Rai Benjamin, who also lost some time earlier this spring with health issues but is back looking like himself in the early rounds of this competition. All three men appear to be within reach of the 2021 form that saw them become the #1, #2, and #3 all-time in the event, but the order of finish is less predictable than before.

What to watch for: Warholm and Dos Santos will get out hard over the first few hurdles and Benjamin will come back in the final 150m. If Warholm has more than a few steps on his competitors entering the home stretch, it’s probably over, however.

What to tell your friends: It’s rare that the three fastest athletes in history all face off head-to-head-to-head in an event, but in the men’s 400H, it’s happening for the second year in a row.

Show your D2 Pride: Trevor Bassitt of Ashland University is in the final and, if any of the top three falter, has an outside shot at a medal.

MUST-WATCH ATHLETE OF THE DAY: JAKOB INGEBRIGTSEN (Presented by Hayward Magic)

All eyes will be on the Olympic champion in the final of the men’s 1500m. When he took down reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya, some considered it a fluke since Ingebrigtsen had never beaten his rival before. Others saw it as a passing of the torch to the world’s next great miler.

In 2022, Ingebrigtsen has looked virtually untouchable, save for his upset at World Indoors in March by Samuel Tefera, who was eliminated in the semifinal of this competition. He later shared he tested positive for COVID-19 following the race, so that may be why.

He’s run 3:46.46 for the mile, 3:28.32 for the 1500m, and he’s going for gold in both the 1500m and the 5000m in this championship. He’s proven he can run fast and he’s proven he can win when it counts but is the 21-year-old now on another level and completely untouchable? Only one way to find out.

What to watch for: Was gold in Tokyo a lucky run? Or do we have an undisputed #1 miler in the world for the foreseeable future?

What to tell your friends: The guy in the speed suit with the weird tattoos can run a whopping 14 seconds under 4 minutes in the mile. Watch him work.

How the race will go: The Kenyans and Australian Stewy McSweyn will want a fast pace; the Spaniards will want it to come down to a kick. Who controls the early laps of the race may ultimately determine how the medals shake out.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Happy birthday Noah!

An emotional birthday post from defending 200m world champion Noah Lyles, who turned 25 yesterday and celebrated by cruising through his prelim in 19.98.

PHOTOS OF THE DAY

A joyous Anna Hall celebrates the end of a long season with a bronze medal.

Photo captured by: Justin Britton

Yulimar Rojas, the most fun athlete to watch in track and field, celebrates her victory.

Photo captured by: Johnny Zhang

FOLLOW ALONG WITH CITIUS MAG:

CITIUS MAG LIVE AT WORLDS: Every day of the World Championships, we will invite athletes, coaches and fellow media members to kick back for fun interviews with Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, and ESPN SportsCenter host John Anderson. Today’s show will air live at 4pm EST with a whole new group of entertaining guests.

CHAMPS CHATS ON THE CITIUS MAG PODCAST DAILY: The CITIUS MAG team of Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber Jasmine Todd, and Katelyn Hutchison unpack all of the day’s biggest surprises and offer up their insights and analysis from being at Hayward Field and interviewing athletes each day.

DAILY MORNING RUNS: If you’re in Eugene, catch some miles with The CITIUS MAG team in partnership with Garmin and Tracksmith Running. We’ll have giveaways, coffee and treats for people in town. On most days, we will meet in front of the CITIUS MAG House at 1981 Moss Street and go for some easy miles along Pre’s Trail, the Amazon Trail. We’ll also have a special day at Dorris Ranch. We’ll plan to start these runs at 8:30 am each day.

Tracksmith is a presenting sponsor of CITIUS MAG’s coverage of the World Championships. CITIUS MAG Newsletter readers get a special offer only during the World Championships. Visit Tracksmith.com and use code WORLDS at checkout for 20% off. That’s for all readers - whether you’re new to Tracksmith, or if you’re like me and already have a whole wardrobe in your closet. New customers who spend $150 or more can receive a free Van Cortlandt Singlet in Navy. Go to Tracksmith.com/vcpromo to add your singlet to your cart. When your total cart from other items has reached or exceeded $150, the price will reduce to $0 in cart.

In addition to our content, Tracksmith partnered with Puma to produce a six-episode podcast series with Pushkin Industries as best-selling author and Revisionist History podcast host Malcolm Gladwell explores the story of the 1960s San Jose State Track and Field team that excelled on the track but also led the protest at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. “Legacy of Speed” features conversations with athletes, journalists, coaches, and documentarians who made it happen. Listen to Legacy of Speed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your shows. Get tickets to his live show in Eugene here.

Hayward Magic has a lot slated for the World Championships with Demitra Carter returning with her mini mic for Tiny Talks on the track, Real Talks interviews with Tiara Williams, always-entertaining content from the 2 Black Runners Podcast, and a few other surprises throughout the week. Tap into Hayward Magic's coverage of the action in Eugene. Follow them on Instagram: @HaywardMagic.

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