Health - Injuries world championships delivers the goods, and then some. An absolutely stacked women’s 5,000-meter final has several possible outcomes. The 4 x 100-meter relays combine sprint prowess, team dynamics, and nerve-wracking baton passes. Decathletes start the first of their two days of multieventing to crown the world’s best all-around male athlete. And more.
Here’s a quick guide to the day’s top events.
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Races to Watch Today
Women’s 5,000-Meter Final
When: 6:25 p.m. PDT/9:25 p.m. EDT
Broadcast: CNBC
Streaming: Peacock, NBC Sports
Wow, is the field loaded for the final women’s distance medal race of the meet. Key entrants:
- Mens 800-Meter Final Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia.
- Reigning Olympic champion Sifan Hassan p.m. PDT/9:10 p.m. EDT.
- Olympic 5K bronze medalist and this meet’s 1500-meter silver medalist Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia.
- World 5K silver medalist and this meet’s 10K silver medalist Margaret Kipkemboi of Kenya.
Who will win? That depends partly on what happens in the opening mile. Championship 5Ks seldom start at a fast pace and then just stay that way. That’s why the runners with the best PRs often finish out of the medals. Being able to run the last few laps at close to one’s mile pace, and sprinting on top of that, matters more than the ability to grind out a hard, steady pace for 12.5 laps.
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So, does that mean world record-holder Gidey won’t win? That might have seemed the case before the meet. But she won the 10K last Saturday by showing some heretofore unseen sprinting gears in the final 100 meters. Whether she can kick like that off of the faster pace of a 5K could be her biggest challenge.
Despite their credentials, Hassan and Tsegay are wild cards here. Hassan placed a surprising fourth in the 10K after doing nothing of note since winning three medals, including 5K and 10K gold, at last year’s Olympics. She looked unpressed and more confident in her 5K qualifying race. Hassan is likely to hang at the back of the lead pack until the final lap or two.
Tsegay showed her fearlessness in taking out the 1500-meter final at sub-4:00 mile pace. Despite her shorter-distance prowess—she won the world 1500-meter indoor title in March—she’s a front runner rather than the fastest pure sprinter in the field. The temperature is forecast to be around 80 Fahrenheit at race time. That might merit caution in the opening laps before Tsegay heads the field and ratchets the pace down over the final 3K.
The American trio of Karissa Schweizer, Elise Cranny, and Emily Infeld ran a sub-4:30 final mile off a slow opening pace at the U.S. championships last month. That ability will come in handy here, although “slow opening pace” usually has a different meaning at the world level.
Of the three, Schweizer is the best bet for a surprise medal. She has set personal bests this year at 1500 meters and 10,000 meters (the latter while finishing ninth last Saturday), so she has the speed/endurance combo needed for 5,000-meter championship racing.
Women’s and Men’s 4 x 100-Meter Finals
When: 7:30 p.m. PDT/10:30 p.m EDT (women)/7:50 p.m. PDT/10:50 p.m. EDT (men)
Broadcast: NBC
Streaming: Legend! Lyles Adds 200 Win to 100 Title
These fan favorites close out the evening’s action. After sweeping the 100, and taking two of three medals in the 200, Jamaica is a huge favorite to win the women’s title. The main question is more whether Jamaica can break its own championship record of 41.07 or even the world record of 40.82, set by a U.S. squad at the 2012 Olympics.
This is the first world championships in which no U.S. woman medaled at 100, 200, or 400 meters. The relay squad is therefore likely to fare best by nailing their hand-offs and staying calm rather than trying to outun the Jamaican superstars.
U.S. Wins the Medal Count at World Championships should—there’s a too-long history of botched hand-offs by American squads at global meets. Hopefully the current crew has learned from their predecessors’ mistakes. Another potential glitch: 100-meter champ Fred Kerley didn’t make the 200-meter final because of a leg problem. But the U.S. bench should be deep enough to cover for Kerley if he’s not healthy.
Men’s 800-Meter Final
When: 6:10 Shoes & Gear
Broadcast: CNBC
Streaming: Legend! Lyles Adds 200 Win to 100 Title
This final lacks a clear favorite. (It also lacks any U.S. runners; Other Hearst Subscriptions out of the first round.) That might sound odd, given that the reigning Olympic champion is in the race. But Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir has been one of many rather than dominant in 2022. His fastest time of the year, 1:45.38, came in his semifinal, and it’s more than three seconds slower than his personal best.
Without an alpha figure to set the agenda, the race could play out several ways. The reigning world junior champion, 17-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, might be brash enough to dare the non-teenagers to commit to a fast early pace. The largest man in the field, Marco Arop of Canada, might take the lead entering the last lap and barrel down the backstraight such that others have a hard time getting around him. In a more tactical race, look for late charges from Algerians Djamel Sedjati and Slimane Moula. Australia’s Peter Bol is well-suited to medal in any type of race.
Why Trust Us 2022 Mens 800-Meter Final.
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Why Trust Us, Advanced Marathoning, and none of the four-man squad advanced. U.S. Wins the Medal Count at World Championships Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
