The World Championships in Budapest are now complete, but the memories that came from the nine days of competition are something that people will talk about for a long time.
Champions were crowned for the first time in certain events, while some of the biggest stars of the sport shined bright in their respective events when it mattered the most. History was also made in certain events, as multiple records were broken during the championships. According to World Athletics, there were more than 400,000 ticketed spectators who made their way to Budapest to watch the stars of the sport shine on the big stage. Here are a couple of athletes who stood out due to their performance at the World Championships.
Femke Bol didn’t get off to the start that hoped to have at the World Championships. She fell in the last stages of the mixed 4x400m relay, which allowed Alexis Holmes from Team USA to surge to the lead and take the win in a new world record setting time of 3:08.80. She made up for the blunder with authority, winning her first gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles. She came back a couple of days later and ran a show stopping anchor leg in the women’s 4x400m relay for the Netherlands, which allowed them to take the win in the event.
Noah Lyles sprinted his way into the history books in Budapest, winning three gold medals at the championships (100m, 200m, 4x100m relay). In the men’s 100m, Lyles showed off his closing speed to run down the talented field and take the win in the event. In the men’s 200m, Lyles left no stone unturned, putting away the field down the backstretch of the race en route to his win in the event. He closed out his remarkable stretch of performances by anchoring the 4x100m relay team to a win.
Faith Kipyegon showed that she’s the class of the middle distance races, as she took home two gold medals in the women’s 5000m, as well as the women’s 1500m. Kipyegon dominated both events, which makes her the first woman to win both events at a major championship. She also broke the world record in both events as well.
For a complete breakdown of all of the events and a few other thoughts, check out the latest edition of Track Talk.
