BUDAPEST, Hungary— Ivana Vuleta of Serbia won the women’s long jump at the World Athletics Championships, soaring 7.14 metres as Sweden’s Daniel Stahl claimed World discus gold.
Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango soared to victory in the men’s triple jump for the country’s first-ever World Championships gold.
American Grant Holloway raced to his third consecutive World gold medal in the men’s 110 metres hurdles.
Vuleta, 33-year-old bronze medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, secured the victory on her fifth of six jumps.
Tara Davis-Woodhall of the United States captured the silver with a leap of 6.91m in her senior world championship debut, while Alina Rotaru-Kottmann of Romania jumped 6.88m for bronze.
Reigning Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany missed the competition due to injury.
Stahl won a dramatic World Championship discus gold with the final throw just minutes after Kristian Ceh thought he had done enough to retain his title when his final throw edged him in front of the Swede.
On a hot, sultry night Slovenian Ceh led with 69.27 in the second round before Stahl went 10cm further in the fourth.
With only two throwers left to go, Ceh finally crossed the 70 mark with 70.02 but showed only a muted celebration, knowing just what a competitor his big rival is.
Sure enough, Stahl launched the disc 71.46 – the second-longest throw of the year and a championship record – to take gold.
Lithuania’s 20-year-old Mykolas Alekna, whose father won the world title twice, took bronze with 68.85.
Elsewhere, Sha’Carri Richardson scraped into the women’s World Championship 100 metres final as a fast loser after just about recovering from a terrible start in a heat where Shericka Jackson and Marie-Josee Ta Lou dead heated in 10.79 seconds.
The three fastest in the world this year lined up side by side in the second heat but American Richardson was left for dead at the start as Jamaican Jackson, the world leader, and Ivorian Ta Lou were a metre up before she was upright.
Jackson was clear and eased at the end, allowing Ta Lou to exactly match her 10.79 finishing time, even to the thousandth of a second.
A desperate Richardson had to strain every sinew to claim third in 10.84 – which proved good enough to send her through as one of the two fastest losers.
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, seeking a remarkable sixth title at 36, looked totally relaxed as she got things moving with a comfortable-looking 10.89 in the first heat.
She recovered from a sluggish start to drive home, with American Tamari Davis going through alongside with 10.98.
Julien Alfred of St Lucia had a scare, being given a warning card after moving in the blocks in the third heat. She then had a terrible start in the restarted race but finished well to win in 10.92.
Meanwhile, Fabrice Zango soared to victory in the men’s triple jump for the country’s first-ever World Athletics Championships gold, while 18-year-old title favourite Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica pulled out injured.
Zango, ranked No. 2 in the world, jumped 17.64 metres on his fifth of six attempts to overtake Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez, who won silver with 17.41 after fouling on three of his attempts. Martinez edged team mate Cristian Napoles who jumped 17.40.
The 30-year-old Zango won his country’s first Olympic medal with bronze in Tokyo. He was the silver medallist at the 2022 worlds and third in 2019.
Hibbert, who has the best jump in the world this season – 17.87 – ran through the pit on his first attempt and clutched his hamstring. He received treatment but then withdrew from the competition.
Holloway raced to his third consecutive World Athletics Championships gold medal in the men’s 110 metres hurdles.
The 25-year-old, who won in 2019 in Doha and last year in Eugene, led from the first hurdle and held on for the victory in a season’s best 12.96 seconds.
Hansle Parchment of Jamaica closed well to take the silver in 13.07, while Daniel Roberts of the United States crossed in 13.09 for bronze.
