Britain’s Mo Farah entered the pantheon of long-distance running on Friday when he completed a World championship double with 5,000m gold, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s 200m title gave her a first sprint double.
Farah defended his 2011 title six days after winning the 10,000m and a year after also winning both distances at the London 2012 Olympics.
The only other man to hold Olympic and World doubles at the same time is Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, from the 2008 Games and 2009 Worlds.
Fraser-Pryce was unstoppable in the 200m after winning the 100m while her American rival Allyson Felix pulled up injured early in the race.
Elsewhere, Usain Bolt smiled at a cheeky rival as he breezed into the 200m final, host Russia celebrated as Alexandr Menkov got long jump gold and Olympic champion Tatyana Lysenko defended her hammer throw title, German David Storl defended his shot put title and the USA was a familiar winner in the men’s 4x400m relay.
Trademark move
Farah started his trademark long sprint at the bell of a slow race, but his African challengers followed until he shifted into the highest gear with 50m left for victory in 13 minutes 26.98 seconds.
Hagos Gebrwihet of Ethiopia took silver and Kenya’s Isiah Koech bronze in a photo-finish as both clocked 13:27.26. The ruling body IAAF said later they were separated by a mere one-thousandth of a second.
“I never thought in my career I would achieve something like this. This was very tough — it was all left to the last two laps. I had a lot of pressure but at the same time I enjoyed it,” said Farah.
Fraser-Pryce won in 22.17 seconds and Muriel Ahoure of Ivory Coast got silver.
Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare took bronze, decided in a photo-finish by six thousandths, with both on 22.32.
Felix pulls up
Felix, a three-time world champion and 2012 Olympic champion over the distance who was bidding for an unprecedented ninth Worlds gold, pulled up with what appeared to be a left hamstring injury.
Menkov shocked the opposition with a world leading 8.52m early on and then increased the lead with 8.56m for the long jump gold ahead of Dutchman Ignisious Gaisah (8.29m) and Mexico’s Luis Rivera (8.27m).
Lysenko brought the house down when the Olympic champion defended her hammer throw world title with a championship record 78.80m, as the Polish record 78.46 from ex-champion Anita Wlodarczyk was only good enough for silver.
China’s Zhang Wenxiu got bronze.
The 400m champion LaShawn Merritt anchored the US to a fifth straight relay gold in 2:58.71 ahead of Jamaica and Russia.
Storl won with 21.73m, a put that was originally ruled foul, but then counted after the German intervened and officials reviewed photo-evidence. American season leader Ryan Whiting had to settle for silver as a result and Canada’s Dylan Armstrong had bronze.
Fun at the finish
In the men’s 200m semifinals, Bolt slowed down well before the finish line and then grinned at Anaso Jobodwana next to him before pipping the South African by one hundredth of a second, 20.12 to 20.13 — a personal best for Jobadwana.
“I was trying to slow down early but then I saw Jobodwana on the inside. I didn’t want to lose the race so I had to switch gears,” Bolt said.
Jobodwana said: “We were both just laughing at the whole situation that I almost beat him.”
Fellow-Jamaican Olympic bronze medallist Warren Weir had 20.20 while, on the US side, Curtis Mitchell saw a personal best with 19.97 and Isiah Young had 20.36 by coming third in Bolt’s heat.
Defending champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya reached Sunday’s 1,500m final, with compatriot Nixon Chepseba topping the semis in 3:35.88.
Alysia Johnson Montano of the US was fastest into Sunday’s 800m final.
