Great Britain’s Amy Hunt won silver in a thrilling women’s 200m final to announce her arrival on the world stage on day seven of the World Athletics Championships, while 100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden became the first American woman to win the sprint double at the same world championships.
Hunt made a relatively slow start and was in danger of being left behind but recovered superbly to storm down the final straight, beating defending champion Shericka Jackson by just four-hundredths of a second for silver.
Jefferson-Wooden was well clear in a world-leading 21.68s, becoming the first woman since Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013 to complete the sprint double. Dina Asher-Smith was fifth, behind American Anavia Battle.
Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson continued her bid for a maiden world title, winning her semi-final on Wednesday as compatriot and training partner Georgia Hunter Bell also progressed to the final.
Noah Lyles stormed to a fourth straight world 200m gold with a dominant performance in a star-studded men’s final, beating compatriot Kenny Bednarek and talented young Jamaican Bryan Levell with a blistering time of 19.51s. Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo ran 19.65s but could only managed fourth, while Britain’s Zharnel Hughes ran a season’s best of 19. 78 for fifth.
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World Athletics Championships - Day 7
- Day 7 schedule, full timetable and results
- Noah Lyles wins fourth straight world 200m title in star-studded field
- Melissa Jefferson-Wooden wins world sprint double after claiming 100m crown
- Britain's Amy Hunt wins 200m silver with Dina Asher-Smith fifth
- Katarina Johnson-Thompson begins heptathlon title defence
- Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell qualify for final
- George Mills qualifies for 5000m final
- Rai Benjamin reinstated as world champion after controversial disqualification
Amy Hunt: 'I am showing you can do anything'
14:55
,
Flo Clifford
More from Amy Hunt... “I have not stopped smiling or crying!” she grins.
“I just beat some amazing girls and I can't believe it.”
As if being an extremely accomplished runner wasn’t enough, she also has a degree from Cambridge, and she says she wants to show young athletes that they can both have a career on the track without sacrificing their education. “I am showing you can do anything, if you set your mind to you can be the best at anything.”
Asked how she’ll celebrate, she says: “Maybe some karaoke tonight!”
Dina Asher-Smith: 'All I can do is work and get better'
14:49
,
Flo Clifford
Dina Asher-Smith chats to BBC Sport and is a little frustrated but happy for her teammate. “I am a bit disappointed in my race. I could have done better with executing and I have to go away and work on that.
“Amy [Hunt] did incredibly. Bless her.
“I am really disappointed, all I can do is work and get better. I didn't put the best race together for myself.
“Coming into this, I felt so good and I'm excited to go away, do a little world tour and scope out where I'm going to be basing myself.
“Overall, I am very happy. I wish I could have executed that better but it is what it is.”
Amy Hunt: 'I am so proud of myself'
14:46
,
Flo Clifford
Amy Hunt has a lovely interview with BBC Sport. She says: “As soon as I saw my mum I just burst into tears. I knew I could do it. I knew I could do it!
“As long as I put in a good turn off the bends and then I was like … expletives – a lot of them! I was like Oh my god, I am about to do this. I was just like keep going, keep going, keep going! Stay strong!
“I am so proud of myself. Moments before the race I just thought about my grandad, I knew he was watching over me. I have a tattoo of him on my arm of his name. I knew he was going to guide me. I am just so proud of myself, my whole team, for putting this together.”
George Mills reacts to qualifying for men's 5000m final
14:30
,
Jack Rathborn
“I think heats are always deceptive. You want to save as much energy as possible and just get through it without too many issues. And I think I managed to do that today. I had to run a little bit wider than I'd want to in places just to get the position, but I was where I wanted to be when it picked up, because once it picks up, it's hard to close the gaps.
“So I wanted to be there and just be ready to qualify on the top eight. (about hanging back early on) It's just my race plan and knowing what cues I want to move with and how I want to set up myself and where I feel the most comfortable, it’s something that works for me.”
Jefferson-Wooden wins sprint double, silver for GB's Hunt
14:29
,
Flo Clifford
Tears of joy for Amy Hunt as she goes to celebrate with her family, she cannot believe it. Just amazing.
Jefferson-Wooden wins sprint double, silver for GB's Hunt
14:28
,
Flo Clifford
Amy Hunt screams in delight as she realises she’s won a world silver medal! An enormous, enormous achievement. 22.14 for the Brit.
Shericka Jackson, the defending champion, has been dethroned but hangs on for bronze in 22.18.
Jefferson-Wooden’s winning time was 21.68, miles away from everyone else. Hunt’s final 50m was superb, just a fraction quicker over the line than Jackson.
Women's 200m final
14:26
,
Flo Clifford
They get away cleanly, great start by Asher-Smith, Hunt has been left behind but Jefferson-Wooden powers away round the bend - Jefferson-Wooden is miles away from everyone!
Hunt storms through for silver!
Women's 200m final
14:25
,
Flo Clifford
Let’s go again...
Strachan disqualified from women's 200m final
14:25
,
Flo Clifford
Strachan is disqualified; she goes over to have a look at her time and nods her acceptance.
Women's 200m final
14:24
,
Flo Clifford
False start! Strachan moved way too early; BBC Sport comms suggest she is possibly struggling to get into the ‘set’ position with that injury she’s carrying.
Women's 200m final
14:23
,
Flo Clifford
No time to reflect on that however as it’s time for the women’s 200m final.
It’s another star-studded field: defending champion Shericka Jackson was the quickest qualifier, but Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the new 100m champion, has looked phenomenal all week - all year, in fact.
British hopes Dina Asher-Smith and Amy Hunt, the latter the third-quickest qualifier, will hope to disrupt the favourites. Hunt has a great lane, in five just on the inside of Jefferson-Wooden.
Veteran 36-year-old Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith is here too, as are Anthonique Strachan (with a lot of strapping after pulling up in the semi-final), Mckenzie Long, Brittany Brown, and Anavia Battle.
Pichardo wins men's triple jump final
14:20
,
Flo Clifford
So much drama in the men’s triple jump final: Andrea Dallavalle is guaranteed a medal but Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez pulls up before he’s able to jump and hobbles away, clutching his hamstring, and it’s bronze for him.
Pedro Pichardo of Portugal has one more jump to go, and he more than rises to the occasion, with a world-leading 17.91 for gold!
The world champion from 2022 regains his title and goes to celebrate with his team, shouting “Who is the best!” at them after doing the same to the camera. Fair enough.
Men's triple jump final
14:16
,
Flo Clifford
Screams and cheers from Italy’s Andrea Dallavalle, who leapfrogs the medallists into provisional gold with an enormous personal best of 17.64.
His jumping style is compared to world record holder Jonathan Edwards, which is some compliment...
And he is guaranteed a medal as Algeria’s Yasser Mohammed Triki fails to better that with his final jump.
Noah Lyles wins men's 200m final
14:12
,
Flo Clifford
Lyles raised four fingers as he crossed the line for his four world titles. Some achievement.
Great to see young Jamaican Bryan Levell with another superb run, a beaming smile on his face with that bronze.
Noah Lyles wins men's 200m final
14:09
,
Flo Clifford
Lyles wins in 19.52s, just a hundredth of a second off his semi-final time, with compatriot Bednarek second in a season’s best 19.58 and Levell third in a personal best time of 19.64.
The Olympic champion Tebogo ran a season’s best of 19.65 but is left down in fourth.
Zharnel Hughes is fifth in 19.78, another season’s best, the remaining three runners all over 20 seconds. That’s a good run from the Briton, so close to the British record of 19.73.
Men's 200m final
14:08
,
Flo Clifford
They’re waiting for a while in the blocks... but they’re off!
Hughes is quickly caught by Bednarek, Levell leads from Lyles but it’s the American who takes it! A fourth straight world title for Noah Lyles!
Men's 200m final
14:06
,
Flo Clifford
Lyles was the quickest qualifier in a rapid 19.51s, a world-leading time this year.
14:05
,
Flo Clifford
10 years after he first made the World Champs final, Zharnel Hughes is the oldest of the competitors at 30.
He’s on the outside, with Bednarek, Levell, Lyles and Tebogo inside him, in that order.
Oagnda, Makarawu and Dambile are the last three finalists.
Lyles does a bit of screaming as he’s introduced. Levell and Tebogo - the Olympic champ - look much cooler.
Men's 200m final
14:04
,
Flo Clifford
Onto the men’s 200m final and this should be an absolute firecracker.
Lyles, Levell, Tebogo, Bednarek... and GB’s Hughes vying to knock them all off their perch.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson happy with first day of heptathlon
14:00
,
Jack Rathborn
"It's a tough timetable today, I can't lie, it's a solid first day for me, I've had a lot worse, but I've had better. I just need to recover. My day two has got better in recent years, I'm excited for tomorrow, excited for the long jump. Third overall, that's really good."
Keely Hodgkinson reveals warm up problem before semi-finals
13:59
,
Jack Rathborn
“It's an interesting one. It doesn't feel good out there. Not really - I think the whole warm up situation - you're warming up for almost two hours, can be quite draining. So maybe I could look at doing something better when it comes to Sunday
“I'm happy to be in my fifth world finals in a row. I'm really happy to do that and be in contention for another medal.
“This would mean more to me than last year, just the journey here makes it that much sweeter. And it's so difficult to get here anyway, and then to come here and perform, especially off the year that I've had. So I'm just, I'm grateful to be running, and I just want to put together a performance I'm proud of, and I want to be able to say, I left it all out there.”
Rai Benjamin reinstated as world champion after controversial disqualification
13:53
,
Jack Rathborn
The USA’s Rai Benjamin was temporarily disqualified minutes after winning the gold medal in a controversial men’s 400m hurdles in Tokyo.
The American knocked over the final hurdle, before coming home in first with a blazing time of 46.52secs.
But his collision on the last hurdle moved it into the path of Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel, who was initially fourth and just outside of the medals, handing the Olympic champion a disqualification for several minutes before the decision was reversed.
Georgia Hunter Bell on qualifying for women's 800m final
13:52
,
Jack Rathborn
“I feel really good and just wanted to get the job done. Today felt a lot better than yesterday. I felt like I just needed a run out.
“This is really cool tonight, like, when we were in Miyazaki training in the morning – Trev did that on purpose - it was like hell, so that when we came here, it wouldn't feel bad! And yeah, this is like a nice British summer's evening!
“I like getting through the rounds as smooth as possible. I think at this level, it's how you can recover the quickest and do everything to be your best for Sunday. So the goal is to do everything to get through comfortably without using everything you've got to come.”
Bol dominant in Women's 400m hurdles
13:33
,
Jack Rathborn
Femke Bol with a superb run, the Dutch athlete is dominant without Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
It’s 51.54secs for Bol, then Jones in silver with a PB (52.08secs) and Zapletalova and a new Slovakian national record (53.00secs) for bronze.
A disaster for the Americans, really, only one grabbing a medal. Anna Cockrell went off hard but faded to fourt, while Dalilah Muhammad was way back in seventh.
Warholm, Benjamin and Dos Santos battle in Men's 400m hurdles
13:26
,
Jack Rathborn
Warholm is out quick, making up ground, but Benjamin is out with him, the American looks to be ahead at half-way...
Benjamin is too strong, he’s storming down the straight, Warholm can’t come back, but oh no!
The Olympic champion batters the last barrier, is he in trouble? No, he’s too far clear and it’s gold in 46.54secs!
Warholm was nowhere, he’s out of the medals, a disaster for the Norwegian.
Warholm suffers men's 400m hurdles upset
13:22
,
Jack Rathborn
Dos Santos claims bronze behind imperious Benjamin
13:21
,
Jack Rathborn
Alison Dos Santos, out in lane nine, came home for silver, 0.32secs behind, while Qatar's Ismail Doudai Abakar nabbed the bronze.
That was close, too, with Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel just five hundredths back.
Keely Hodgkinson: 'Semi is the final before the final'
13:14
,
Flo Clifford
Keely Hodgkinson looks very relaxed as she chats to BBC Sport. “Happy with that, it wasn't anything special, getting through, getting around,” like it’s easy, which I suppose it is for her.
“It's my fifth global final at 23, so I'm proud of that, it's an achievement. I'll have a nice day off tomorrow. It's tough out there, no pacemaker, no lights, that's what makes championship racing so different and interesting. But me and G in the final, so happy.
“I was having a cheeky look [up at the screen in the home straight], but the semi-final is the final before the final.”
Two British women into 800m final
13:10
,
Flo Clifford
So Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell both progress to the final, with Kenyans Mary and Sarah Moraa (no relation) and Lilian Odira looking threatening, Odira the fastest of the qualifers. Swiss record holder Audrey Werro is safely through too.
Jess Hull and Sage Hurta-Klecker go through as the next fastest two from the semis.
Women's 800m semi-finals
13:08
,
Flo Clifford
Moraa is helped up by medical staff and she’s grimacing, not quite sure what happened there as she ran incredibly smoothly. Fingers crossed she is okay.
Women's 800m semi-finals
13:07
,
Flo Clifford
Wow, Sarah Moraa finishes really strongly and it looks like she pips Hodgkinson on the line!
A new personal best for the young Kenyan... ah, the photo finish gives it to Hodgkinson.
Another beaming smile from Jess Hull because she and Sage Hurta-Klecker have made it into the final.
Moraa has a lot of strapping on her leg and is on the track, is she okay?
Women's 800m semi-finals
13:05
,
Flo Clifford
It’s a fairly steady pace but Hodgkinson looks to wind it up now, forcing Bourgoin of France to come round her... the Frenchwoman latches onto her shoulder.
Women's 800m semi-finals
13:04
,
Flo Clifford
Hodgkinson sets off with some real intent, Abbey Caldwell of Australia too.
Hodgkinson slots into the front.
Women's 800m semi-finals
13:03
,
Flo Clifford
Onto the final semi.
Keely Hodgkinson is the clear favourite in this one. She looks a tad nervous, if I’m not imagining things. She blows a kiss to the crowd.
Women's 800m semi-finals
13:00
,
Flo Clifford
Kenyan Mary Moraa watches from the sideline and claps in delight at her compatriot Lilian Odira winning that heat.
1:57.15 is Jess Hull’s Oceanian record, 1:57.62 Sage Hurta-Klecker’s season’s best.
Tsige Duguma just went backwards in that final straight.
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:59
,
Flo Clifford
Nakaayi, the 2019 Doha champion is there.... Werro leads from Duguma still but Odira is finishing strongly!
Hull is getting run out of it and Odira in fact comes through to win from Werro!
1:56.85 is the winning time.
Hull has set an Oceanian record, what a brilliant run! She’s thrilled with that, as she should be. She and American Hurta-Klecker, who has run a season’s best, move into the top two next best spots.
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:57
,
Flo Clifford
Duguma moves to the front quickly and there’s a bit of a tussle between her and Werro for the lead, the Swiss just edging in front.
Hull is way at the back but starts moving up and winds it up well for third.
Two to go through automatically...
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:56
,
Flo Clifford
Onto the second of the three 800m semi-finals.
2019 world champion Halimah Nakaayi and Swiss star Audrey Werro are in this one.
Australia’s Jess Hull has been advanced to this after being tripped up in her heat.
Women's heptathlon - shotput
12:53
,
Flo Clifford
Hall is looking a serious threat in the heptathlon and she looks very pleased as she sets a new lifetime best of 15.32m in the shotput.
That’s the best throw so far, Nafi Thiam has thrown 14.85 with her first attempt.
In the other group, KJT has thrown 13.37 and 12.26. One more attempt to go.
Georgia Hunter Bell: 'Pretty perfect' race
12:50
,
Flo Clifford
“Pretty perfect” is Hunter Bell’s assessment of that race. “I just wanted to settle in and come top two. It felt a lot smoother than yesterday, happy to get the job done and now 48 hours to chill out.
“Today [Moraa] was pretty honest with the pacing, I was determined to not break my rhythm. She did a really good job!”
“I knew I’d be able to get out of whatever situation I’m in,” she says confidently of that very dicey moment when she was boxed in in third.
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:47
,
Flo Clifford
It opens up a little for Hunter Bell and she moves clear with Moraa, finishing a little behind the Kenyan and they’re the two qualifiers. That looked dicey for a moment but she didn’t panic and came through nicely.
1.58.40 is the winning time. Moraa looks to be growing into this competition.
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:46
,
Flo Clifford
Goule-Toppin comes past Hunter Bell and she’s in danger of being swamped. She’s looking for a gap on the inside but a little boxed in...
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:45
,
Flo Clifford
Moraa comes to the front, Hunter Bell latching onto her shoulder. It’s a reasonable pace so far. 500m to go.
Women's 800m semi-finals
12:43
,
Flo Clifford
Back onto the track now for the women’s 800m semi-finals.
Keely Hodgkinson looked pretty imperious in her heat, without really having to go up a gear.
Georgia Hunter Bell also won hers in fine style; she’s up in the first semi, with Mary Moraa, Daily Cooper Gaspar and Claudia Hollingsowrth the others to watch.
Men's 5000m heats
12:36
,
Flo Clifford
A season’s best for Ingebrigtsen, incidentally: 13:42.15.
Men's 5000m heats
12:35
,
Flo Clifford
Ingebrigtsen is in a spot of bother... Mills is slipping back, it’s a hairy moment but he holds on for fourth.
Mehary wins from 10,000m champ Gressier.
Ingebrigsten clinches the final qualifying spot!
Men's 5000m heats
12:33
,
Flo Clifford
Into the final two laps and Mills has moved himself right back up into third.
Ingebrigtsen is moving up and around 12 athletes are clear as they take the bell...
Men's 5000m heats
12:33
,
Flo Clifford
Eritrea’s Amanuel injects a bit of pace at the front. Mills has slipped a bit further back.
Fisher has decided to get himself out of here, taking Laros, Mehary and Kemboi with him at the front.
Oh no, Laros has stopped! He’s injured, he hobbles to the side and buries his head in his hands. What a shame.
Men's 5000m heats
12:30
,
Flo Clifford
George Mills now looks to wind things up a bit, Niels Laros is hot on his heels, and they slot in behind Fisher at the front - essentially alongside him.
Five laps to go.
Men's 5000m heats
12:28
,
Flo Clifford
The runners are a lot more bunched together than in the first heat, with Fisher of the USA leading alongside Kemboi of Kenya.
Mills and Laros are still right at the back, not far off Ingebrigtsen.
Men's 5000m heats
12:25
,
Flo Clifford
Ingebrigtsen’s season has been derailed by an Achilles injury and he didn’t make it through the 1500m heats, but this in theory is a better event for him - even with the injury.
With 1400m gone George Mills is very far back, 19th in this field along with Laros and Ingebrigtsen.
Nine laps to go.
Men's 5000m heats
12:20
,
Flo Clifford
Onto the second heat. Two 1500m stars who endured disappointing races this time round, Niels Laros and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, are in action.
Newly-crowned 10,000m champ Jimmy Gressier of France is in this heat too, and Grant Fisher of the USA.
As is GB’s George Mills - what can he do?
Men's 5000m heats
12:18
,
Flo Clifford
Isaac Kimeli of Belgium wins, with Kenya’s Mathew Kipchumba Kipsang, Cole Hocker and Nico Young of the USA, Australia’s Ky Robinson, Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia, Dutchman Mike Foppen and Frenchman Etienne Daguinos the remaining qualifiers.
Men's 5000m heats
12:16
,
Flo Clifford
Kimeli leads from Kipsang, Hocker is powering down the home straight - those are our three first qualifiers.
Almgren, the 10,000m bronze medallist, is out, finishing ninth! Did he miscount how many of them were in the leading group, or was he totally spent?
Men's 5000m heats
12:15
,
Flo Clifford
Hocker has slipped back to around sixth place, he’s a bit boxed in ahead of this final lap.
There are eight places available in the final from this heat and about 10 in this leading group...
Men's 5000m heats
12:14
,
Flo Clifford
600m to go and poor old Mori looks to maybe have cramp, he’s certainly really hurting.
Everyone is just clinging on, Almgren still leads from Young and Catrofe.
Men's 5000m heats
12:11
,
Flo Clifford
Hocker appears to slow the pace down, not happy to still be leading this one, and Almgren eventually takes it up for him. 1700m or so to go.
Still all spread out.
Men's 5000m heats
12:08
,
Flo Clifford
The temperature has dropped by around 10 degrees over the last day; that downpour last night has no doubt contributed to the much more pleasant conditions.
Hocker is still leading at the 2000m mark, with Catrofe and Young comfortably behind him along with Almgren.
Men's 5000m heats
12:06
,
Flo Clifford
Cole Hocker has certainly gone out with some purpose. He’s leading with 1200m raced and spreading this field out, almost into single file.
Men's 5000m heats
12:01
,
Flo Clifford
There’s a big cheer for Japan’s Nagiya Mori as they line up for the first of two 5000m heats.
US champion Cole Hocker is going for redemption here after being disqualified in the 1500m.
Men's 5000m heats
11:58
,
Flo Clifford
Up next, George Mills is in action in the men’s 5000m heats.
Jack Rathborn spoke to the famously ascetic Briton ahead of his Tokyo campaign:
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:50
,
Flo Clifford
Jade O’Dowda and Abigail Pawlett were joint-seventh in the high jump, with 978 points, having cleared 1.80m.
1,054 points for KJT with her 1.86m clearance, along with Kate O’Connor and Sofie Dokter, while Thiam and Hall take 1,093 for clearing 1.89m.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:46
,
Flo Clifford
In Group B, Britain’s Abigail Pawlett has cleared a personal best of 1.80m, a great way to bounce back after that fall in the hurdles.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:45
,
Flo Clifford
Neither Hall nor Thiam can clear 1.92m, and it’s now onto the shot put.
With two events complete, Hall leads Thiam from Johnson-Thompson in the overall standings.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:37
,
Flo Clifford
Five athletes left.
Thiam clears 1.89m on her first go, seemingly hitting her stride. Hall, Dokter, O’Connor and KJT all miss their first and second...
And Hall is the only one to clear it on her last go. KJT is out of the high jump, and that’s a blow in a really strong event for her. Every point counts.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:22
,
Flo Clifford
Ireland’s O’Connor screams in delight as she clears 1.86m, a new lifetime best!
Thiam clears it too and that’s a sigh of relief for the two-time world champion.
Johnson-Thompson, her arch-rival, must clear it now... she does it!!
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:20
,
Flo Clifford
Much better from Hall, who gets some good height over the bar at 1.86m.
The Netherlands’ Sofie Dokter is very pleased as she clears it too on her second attempt.
Ooh, Thiam is giving away a lot of points here as she brings the bar down on her second attempt...
Advantage KJT, can she take it? Oh, no.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:16
,
Flo Clifford
So far Hall, O’Connor, and Thiam have all knocked the bar at 1.86m... what can KJT do?
Ahh, she knocks it too, directly into the bar. Not a great jump.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:13
,
Flo Clifford
Ooh, O’Dowda is close, but it’s another failure at 1.83m and she’s out of the high jump.
Saga Vanninen, the world indoor pentathlon champion, goes out too.
Women's heptathlon - high jump
11:11
,
Flo Clifford
O’Do