Mondo Duplantis continues to fly higher than anyone else

BarcelonaThe World Athletics Championships in Tokyo continue to inspire excitement in a stadium that four years ago hosted a sad, spectator-less Olympic Games. A stadium where Mondo Duplantis quietly won his first Olympic gold. Now the Swede, a true sports rock star, has managed to break a new world record in front of a devoted crowd. The pole vaulter has won gold for the third time at the World Athletics Championships, surpassing his own world record with 6.30 meters on his third and final attempt. The silver medal went to Greek Emmanouil Karalis—who had a brilliant competition that forced Duplantis to jump more than expected—and the bronze went to Australian Kurtis Marschall (5.95 meters), a personal best.

Since his first gold medal in 2018 at the European Championships in Berlin, Duplantis has amassed an impressive list of achievements, including two Olympic golds, three outdoor and three indoor World Championships, three outdoor and one indoor European Championships, and 41 event victories. This year, he has already broken his world record four times. And he is only 25 years old. "I knew I wanted to leave Japan with a new record," explained the Swede, who has already broken the world record 14 times. "I don't know what the future holds, I don't care. I'll just enjoy the moment, like now. I knew I had the record in me. If I have the right track, I know anything is possible, and today I'm happy that everything worked out well," he said.

Duplantis's flight served to close out a beautiful day with surprises such as Geordie Beamish's gold in the 3,000m steeplechase final, surprising the top favorite, Moroccan Soufian El Bakkali, by just seven-hundredths of a second at the finish line. Never before had a New Zealand athlete won this event. Previously, Ditaji Kambundji had won gold in the 100m hurdles, surprising many. The 23-year-old Swiss woman ran a perfect race, beating Nigerian Tobi Amusan and American Grace Stark. In the hammer throw, there were no surprises with the victory of Canadian Camryn Rogers, Olympic champion in Paris 2024. The most exciting final was the longest event, the marathon. Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania won by just three-hundredths of a second after a sprint finish against German Amanal Petros.

Jamaica, euphoric

If Duplantis shone on Monday, Sunday was the turn of speed. Hidden under a cap, Usain Bolt seemed nervous. The greatest sprinter of all time was at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, one of the venues he had conquered, to see if his compatriots would reclaim the men's 100m crown, 10 years after their last triumph. The king of speed events. And so it was. Oblique Seville, with a personal best (9:77), won gold ahead of his compatriot Kishane Thompson, who took silver. A few days ago, Usain Bolt had predicted gold and silver for the Jamaicans. His prophecy has come true.

In the women's category, American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won with a championship record of 10.61. A spectacular mark for an athlete who is aiming to win three gold medals at the Japanese event. The South Carolina sprinter edged out two Caribbean athletes on the podium, Tina Clayton of Jamaica and Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia. The Caribbean has long been a mecca for speed.

The Americans had won the men's 100 meters in four consecutive world championships. Two years ago in Budapest, Noah Lyles, the man who somewhat wearily claims he wants to be the greatest of all time, reached the top. The Olympic champion, at 28 years old, is already late if he wants to be like Bolt, after losing the final. It must be said that, sportingly, he showed his best laugh and congratulated the Jamaicans. Seville is the third Jamaican to win gold at the World Championships, following Bolt's three titles and Yohan Blake's in 2011. Seville's celebration, and by extension Thompson's, came as the stadium's PA system blared "... Buffalo soldier From Bob Marley, another Jamaican legend.

Emotional farewell to Fraser-Pryce

The upset came in the women's 100m final, where Melissa Jefferson-Wooden edged out Jamaican Tina Clayton, who finished second (10.76) with a personal best, and Olympic champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia, who came third with 10.84. Jefferson-Wooden held on to her lead with authority, maintaining a very high pace and posting the fourth-best time of all time. "It's been an incredible year. I've been dreaming of this moment. To come away with the gold medal and a championship record is a great start to my second World Championships. Today was all about me, trusting in my abilities, my coach, the path I'd been given, and my faith." And simply trusting that I was there.

The emotional note was provided by Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a living athletics legend, who competed in her last individual final at a major competition at the age of 38. A five-time world 100m champion, this true legend is retiring at the end of the event in the Japanese capital, where she finished sixth with a time of 11.03. At 38 years old, and having just become a mother, she proved to be faster than most of her competitors.