WC/Day 4: Glorious Performances On Track And In The Field Kipyegon! El Bakkali! Tausaga! Tamberi!

This is Dave Hunter’s column for day 4, which was a superb day of track & field! 

WC/Day 4: Glorious Performances On Track And In The Field

Kipyegon! El Bakkali! Tausaga! Tamberi!

Followers of track & field generally love the sport under all conditions. They can become ecstatic when they are fortunate enough to witness absolutely stunning performances on the track and in the field. Day Four of the 2023 World Athletics Championship was such a day.

In this track & field banquet, there were terrific little nuggets throughout the evening. One appetizer was witnessing veteran Vernon Norwood in the 400m semi, looking terrific down the homestretch, digging down deep to notch a new personal best, and holding off the reigning world record holder to secure his advance to the 400m final.

But the centerpiece of this track & field banquet was served in four delicious courses. And here they are.

w1500m – Final: In a middle-distance race in a global championship, it can be risky to attempt a wire-to-wire strategy. But when you are Faith Kipyegon, and earlier this season, you set new world records in the mile, the 1500m, and the 5000m (the event you will be running!), you can employ such an approach. In the final, the two-time Olympic champ set sail up front, which was dutifully accepted by her competitors. Running well within herself, the Kenyan star was prepping for her patented sprint to the finish line. Taking off after the bell, Kipyegon left the field behind as she covered the final circuit in 56.63 to cross the line in 3:54.87. Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji (3:55.69) held off Sifan Hassan for the silver medal, with Sifan (3:56.00) taking the bronze. USA’s Cory McGee, the only American to make this final, finished 10th in 4:01.60.

m3000SC – Final: The steeplechase final was a much-anticipated showdown of the two most accomplished athletes in this event: world record holder Lamecha Girma and reigning Olympic and World Champion, and defending champion and master strategist Soufiane El Bakkali, In the race’s early stages, the duo was feeling each other out, with El Bakkali covering Girma’s every move. The real action unfolded in the race’s second half as Girma tried unsuccessfully to break away from his Moroccan opponent. The crowd roared as the twosome took the bell. El Bakkali had the…