Day 9 of the 2023 World Athletics Championships: Closing in tune with a wonderful tournament

Saturday, August 16th. At night in Budapest, the first day of World Athletics World Cup competitions closes with the Mixed Posta 4×400, the newest event in this sport.

Halfway through the race, the Netherlands takes the lead and ensures good news with Femke Bol as anchor. She is the queen of the 400 with fences but easily adapts to the same distance without obstacles.

Urged by the North American Alexis Holmes, Bol stumbles and falls so close to the finish line that she rises and crosses in third place… but without the testimony in her hand. The United States wins with a world record, two honors that seemed reserved for the Dutch. What could have been a glorious night turns into a nightmare.

Especially for Bol.

Sunday, August 27. The bright night of the Hungarian capital is preparing for the closing test of this fantastic athletic tournament. Again, a post. Again 400 meters per relay. But it’s the women who are fighting for the last title of the competition.

Until then, the big news of the test was the disqualification of the favorite North American team, due to a violation of the passing of testimony, something rare in posts this distance.

The final thus entered an open stage in which Great Britain and Jamaica seemed to take over the stage, relegating the Netherlands to, apparently, third place. The stage remained immovable well into the final 100 meters. At 50 from the finish line, the possibility of Bol surpassing the British in the fight for the silver medal began to creep up. Less than five meters from the finish line, Femke gave his team a memorable victory.

Frustration. Eternal glory. What goes for the same athlete from one week to the next.

With everything that happened on the last day of competition, it’s a symbol of how wonderful each of the days of the tournament were.

The closing of the party was also dreamed for Yaroslava Mahuchikh. The Ukrainian jumper won gold in the women’s high jump final. It’s impossible to imagine what it meant for her to achieve this title for her country at a time as delicate as the one they are going through. The 21-year-old had a rematch for the last two world championships -she was silver in Eugene and Doha- and won her first world title and was also the only gold won by Ukraine in Budapest. Great tournament also for Australia, who won silver and bronze with Patterson and Olyslagers respectively.

Neeraj Chopra achieved no less in javelin throw. The 25-year-old athlete now holds an Olympic and, now, a world title. With a mark of 88.17 meters, he comfortably secured the title. He was followed by Arshad Nadeem, who won a historic silver medal for Pakistan, and Jakub Vadlejch, who won bronze. It is worth noting that, in addition to the importance of the title won by Chopra for India, the final also included two other Indian throwers. Jena and Manu came in fifth and sixth place. Even more important if we highlight that the oldest of the 3 will only be 28 years old in September. A secure future for India.

Earlier in the day, other titles were defined like that of Víctor Kiplangat in the marathon, Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 5000 meters and with his season best, Mary Moraa in the women’s 800 meters and Winfred Yavi in a tight final in the 3000 meters with women’s obstacles.

Although the women’s 4×400 meter relay was in the hands of the Netherlands and the wonder that is Bol, the United States was also left with one last celebration for its country, winning the gold medal in the men’s relay. The North Americans outperformed the rest of the delegations by a large margin and will take home a total of 29 medals, 12 of them gold. Jamaica was the country that got closest to it, but it won 17 fewer medals and was left with a total of 12.