30/09/2019

World Athletics Championships, Day Three - Asher-Smith second to Fraser-Pryce in 100m, USA win first mixed relay event

Dina Asher-Smith made history as she claimed silver in the 100m final with Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce taking gold.
Photo from The Independent
Dina Asher-Smith ended a 36 year wait for a British woman to win an individual World Championship sprint medal, taking silver behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the 100m final.
The 23-year-old secured her first 100m global medal outdoors, and still has a chance to double her medal haul with the 200m where she is a contender for gold.
Fraser-Pryce - at the other end of a successful career - secured her eighth world title in 10.71 seconds, with Asher-Smith breaking the British record in 10.83.
Bronze went to Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast, who ran 10.90.

Kathy Cook was the last woman to take home a medal for a World Championship sprint, when she claimed bronze in the 200m in the inaugural competition in Helsinki in 1983.
In the intervening years, there were few who showed the potential to succeed on the world stage before Asher-Smith's emergence.
The Kent-born runner won two European junior golds in 2013, and followed that up with a junior world championship gold in the 100m the year after.
She became the first British woman to run 100m in under 11 seconds in 2015, and won senior European gold in 100m in 2016.
Relays at world and Olympic level brought medals also, and she was one of the stars of last year's European championships with three gold.
Medal hopes and expectations grew, but prior to this competition, she made it clear that any predictions were not to be made public, sharing those only with family and close friends, including long-time coach John Blackie.
She has raised her game this year, showing great mental fortitude and has been rewarded accordingly.
Greater success may still be to follow in Doha, with two more medals available in the 200m and 4x100m relay.
Photo from Eurosport Australia
The battle between Fraser-Pryce and Asher-Smith is not a novel one, with the Brit having beaten the Jamaican in the Burssels Diamond League final earlier this month.
Asher-Smith's season has been of consistently high quality, running all of her 100m races in under 11 seconds before coming to Doha, apart from the British Championships heats.
That continued into her journey to the World Championship final, running 10.96 in her heat and 10.87 in her semi-final.
While Asher-Smith's journey to the final was near faultless, Fraser-Pryce too breezed through to the showpiece, setting the fastest time in a World Championship heat with 10.81 followed by 10.81 in the semi-final.
The 32-year-old - who won a first major global gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympics - was pushed all the way in the final, but try as she might Asher-Smith couldn't dethrone a certified sprinting legend.
Asher-Smith can take comfort from the fact that Fraser-Pryce will not compete in the 200m, while Shaunae Miller-Uibo will only compete in the 400m due to the schedule.
The Bahamian easily beat Asher-Smith in the Birmingham Diamond League, and despite that the Brit is ranked first in that event this season, although Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria and Jamaican Olympic champion Elaine Thompson have both run faster times.
Photo from Daily Mail
For what should have been the headline act of the evening in the stadium, the arena was virtually empty when Fraser-Pryce, Asher-Smith and Ta Lou completed their lap of honour at 23:20 local time.
The sports governing body the IAAF revealed that the 40,000-seater Khalifa International Stadium had 11,800 ticket-holders in attendance on day one with up to 2,000 guests, while day two saw 11,300 attend plus guests.
Photo from BBC Sport
European pole vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw agonisingly missed out on a first global outdoor medal, finishing fourth with a best clearance on 4.80m - 1cm below equalling her own British record.
Failing twice at 4.85m, her last ditch attempt at 4.90m was also unseuccessful, with Russian Anzhelika Sidorova taking gold under the Authorised Neutral Athlete flag, with 4.95.
Sandi Morris of the USA took silver and Greek Katerina Stefanidi claimed bronze.
Photo from Athletics Weekly
Allyson Felix claimed her 12th world title, with the USA 4x400m mixed relay team taking gold.
The 33-year-old returned to competition earlier this month, just 10 months after giving birth ti her first child by emergency caesarean, and ran the second leg as her team won with a world record time of 3:09.34.
Jamaica took silver and Bahrain bronze, while Rabah Yousif, Zoey Clark, Emily Diamond and Martyn Rooney came fourth for Great Britain.

Adam Gemili, Miguel Francis and Zharnel Hughes all advanced from their men's 200m heats.
25-year-old Gemili won his heat in 20.06 seconds, in a somewhat long awaited return to form - his fastest time in three years and his fourth fastest ever, after agonisingly missing out on the 100m final.
He'll be in the semis on Monday alongside Francis - the fastest Brit over 200m this year with 19.97 in London - and Hughes, who came sixth in the 100m, with the European 100m champion running 20.24 to come second.
The firm favourite is American Noah Lyles, who ran the fourth fastest time ever in Lausanne this year with 19.50, and he came through second in his heat in 20.26.

The men's 800m final will be without British representation, as Elliott Giles, Jamie Webb and Kyle Langford all failed to progress from the semi-finals.
Christian Taylr won a fourth triple jump world title, the American's fifth-round effort on 17.92m was enough to seal the win, while his compatriot Will Claye took silver with 17.74m and Burundi's Hugues Fabrice Zango broke the African record to clinch bronze with 17.66m.
Liu Hong won her third 20km walk world title less than two years after returning from maternity leave.
The medals in this event were a Chinese clean sweep, with Qieyang Shenjie and Yang Liujing completing the podium positions.


RESULTS
Day Three - 29 September
Women's Pole Vault

1. Anzhelika Sidorova (ANA) 4.95m
2. Sandi Morris (USA) 4.90m
3. Katerina Stefanidi (GRE) 4.85m

Men's Triple Jump

1. Christian Taylor (USA) 17.92m SB 
2. Will Claye (USA) 17.74m
3. Hugues Fabrice Zango (BKF) 17.66m AR

Mixed 4x400m Relay
1. United States (USA) Wil London/Allyson Felix/Courtney Okolo/Michael Cherry/Tyrell Richard*/Jessica Beard*/Jasmine Blocker*/Obi Igbokwe* 3:09.34 WR 
2. Jamaica (JAM) Nathon Allen/Roneisha McGregor/Tiffany James/Javon Francis/Janieve Russell* 3:11.78 NR 
3. Bahrain (BHR) Musa Isah/Aminat Jamal/Salwa Eid Naser/Abbas Abubakar Abbas 3:11.82 AR
* Athletes only competed in the heats but received medals

Women's 100m

1. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM) 10.71s WL 
2. Dina Asher-Smith (UK) 10.83s 
3. Marie-Josée Ta Lou (IVO) 10.90s

Women's 20km Race Walk

1. Liu Hong (CHN) 1:32:53 
2. Qieyang Shenjie (CHN) 1:33:10 
3. Yang Liujing (CHN) 1:33:17

Key
WR - world record
AR - area record
SB - season best
WL - world leading (in a given season)

SCHEDULE
Day Four - 30 September
14:30 - Women's Javelin Throw - Qualification Group A 
15:05  -Women's 200m - Heats 
16:00 - Women's Javelin Throw - Qualification Group B 
16:20 - Women's 400m - Heats 
18:05 - Men's 110m Hurdles - Heats 
18:30 - Women's High Jump - Final 
18:50 - Men's 200m - Semi-Final 
19:20 - Men's 5000m - Final
19:25 - Men's Discus Throw - Final
19:50 - Women's 3000m Steeplechase - Final
20:10 - Women's 800m - Final
20:40 - Men's 400m Hurdles - Final


World Athletics Championships Day One Report
World Athletics Championships Day Two Report


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29/09/2019

Formula One: Russian Grand Prix - Hamilton back to winning ways after Vettel crashed out

Sebastian Vettel ignored Ferrari's orders to let team-mate Charles Leclerc overtake before crashing out and letting Lewis Hamilton take the victory in Russia.

A virtual safety car cost Charles Leclerc the lead in the Russian Grand Prix allowing Lewis Hamilton to take the win, his first in four Grand Prixs.
It inches the Brit closer to a sixth world title, but the headlines were stolen by the Ferrari drivers, when their chances of victory were dashed when Sebastian Vettel disobeyed team orders.
Ferrari had planned to let Leclerc tow Vettel into the first corner to prevent Hamilton - who was starting second - taking an early lead.
Leclerd followed the instructions, but once Vettel had the lead, he refused to let his team-mate back past.
Photo from BBC Sport
Conversations on the Ferrari radio confirmed the decision to do the swap later, with Leclerc recovering first place with a pit stop four laps earlier than planned, allowing him to benefit from fresher tyres.
But Vettel suffered an engine problem in the hybrid system of his car on his first lap out of the pits, and his stop prompted the virtual safety car's (VSC) deployment.
The timing could scarcely have been worse for Ferrari, with Hamilton being able to stop under the VSC, losing far less time than in racing conditions, allowing him to keep the lead that he had gained when the Ferraris had pitted.
Leclerc couldn't hold onto second place either, with George Russell crashing due to a brake fault just as the VSC period was ending, but then a real safety car as brought out.
The Monegasque pitted again, swapping medium tyres for soft, matching the Mercedes drivers, meaning Leclerc dropped to third behind Valtteri Bottas.
Leclerc struggled to attack the front two, allowing Mercedes a first one-two finish since the British Grand Prix in July.
Hamilton got the fastest lap and secured an extra points, taking his lead in the drivers championship to 73 points.
Mathematically he cannot win the title at the next race in Japan - but it could be sealed in the following race in Mexico.
Photo from BBC Sport
Failing to see out the victory was bad luck for Ferrari, but there will be questions over whether Vettel would have been able to pit under the VSC that cost them the race.
But that will be nothing to the debate over Vettel's disobedience at the start of the race, with Leclerc seemingly making a mistake to leave the door open for Vettel at the first corner.
A radio message soon after confirmed a change to the pre-race plan, with the team telling Leclerc "We are looking into doing the swap later in the race," referring to a strategy for Leclerc to allow Vettel past to secure the top two positions, before the German would let his team-mate back into the lead.
Leclerc was told "Seb will let you by on the next lap, after five laps, but the problems began when Vettel said "I would have got him anyway."
Vettel was again asked to let Leclerc past, but objected and suggested the team should tel his younger team-mate to go faster.
Leclerc then told the team "You put me behind. I respect everything. We speak later."
The team asked a third time for Vettel to let Leclerc past, with no action from the German, with the team the radioing Leclerc to say "We will do the swap later."
That turned out to be the pit stops, when Leclerc was brought in on lap 22, he was given four laps on fresh tyres to close sufficiently on Vettel, to take the lead when the four-time world champion pitted.
It seemed that there would be a tussle for the win right to the end, with Vettel determined to prove that he was right about being quicker than his team-mate, while Hamilton was chasing with fresher tyres.
Vettel's retirement changed the complexion of the race, with the fall-out from his actions likely to rumble on.
Max Verstappen took fourth for Red Bull, climbing from ninth on the grid after a penalty for using too many engine parts, with his team-mate Alexander Albon finishing fifth after starting in the pit lane, as Carlos Sainz took sixth for McLaren.
Photo from Straits Times
2019 Russian Grand Prix Results
#
DRIVERteamLAPSTIME/RETIREDpts
C
L HamiltonMERCEDES531:33:38.99226
2
V BottasMERCEDES53+3.829s18
3
C LeclercFERRARI53+5.212s15
4
VerstappenRED BULL53+14.210s12
5
A AlbonRED BULL53+38.348s10
6
C Sainz Jr.MCLAREN53+45.889s8
7
S PerezRACING POINT53+48.728s6
8
L NorrisMCLAREn53+57.749s4
9
K MagnussenHAAS53+58.779s2
10
N HulkenbergRENAULT53+59.841s1
11
L StrollRACING POINT53+60.821s0
12
D KvyatTORO ROSSO53+62.496s0
13
K RäikkönenALFA ROMEO53+68.910s0
14
P GaslyTORO ROSSO53+70.076s0
15
A GiovinazziALFA ROMEO53+73.346s0
NC
R KubicaWILLIAMS28DNF0
NC
G RussellWILLIAMS27DNF0
NC
S VettelFERRARI26DNF0
NC
D RicciardoRENAULT24DNF0
NC
R GrosjeanHAAS0DNF0
Formula One Driver's Championship Standings
#/Driver/Team/Points/Wins/Podiums
1/L Hamilton/Mercedes/322/9/13
2/V Bottas/Mercedes/249/2/12
3/C Leclerc/Ferrari/215/2/9
4/M Verstappen/Red Bull/212/2/6
5/S Vettel/Ferrari/194/1/7
6/P Gasly/Toro Rosso/69/0/0
7/C Sainz Jr./McLaren/66/0/0
8/A Albon/Red Bull/52/0/0
9/L Norris/McLaren/35/0/0
10/D Ricciardo/Renault/34/0/0
11/N Hülkenberg/Renault/34/0/0
12/D Kvyat/Toro Rosso/33/0/1
13/S Pérez/Racing Point/33/0/0
14/K Räikkönen/Alfa Romeo/31/0/0
15/K Magnussen/Haas/20/0/0
16/L Stroll/Racing Point/19/0/0
17/R Grosjean/Haas/8/0/0
18/A Giovinazzi/Alfa Romeo/4/0/0
19/R Kubica/Williams/1/0/0
20/G Russell/Williams/0/0/0


2019 Races and Results
Australian Grand Prix
Melbourne, 15-17 March
1. Bottas, 2. Hamilton, 3. Verstappen

Bahrain Grand Prix
Sakhir, 29-31 March
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc

Chinese Grand Prix
Shanghai, 12-14 April
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Vettel

Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Baku, 26-28 April
1. Bottas, 2. Hamilton, 3. Vettel

Spanish Grand Prix
Barcelona, 10-12 May
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Verstappen

Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, 23, 25-26 May
1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Bottas

Canadian Grand Prix
Montreal, 7-9 June
1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Leclerc

French Grand Prix
Le Castellet, 21-23 June
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc

Austrian Grand Prix
Spielberg, 28-30 June
1. Verstappen, 2. Leclerc, 3. Bottas

British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 12-14 July
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc

German Grand Prix
Hockenheim, 26-28 July
1. Verstappen, 2. Vettel, 3. Kyvat

Hungarian Grand Prix
Budapest, 2-4 August
1. Hamilton, 2. Verstappen, 3. Vettel

Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, 30 August-1 September
1. Leclerc, 2. Hamilton, 3. Bottas

Italian Grand Prix
Monza, 6-8 September
1. Leclerc, 2. Bottas, 3. Hamilton


Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay, 20-22 September
1. Vettel, 2. Leclerc, 3. Verstappen

Russian Grand Prix
Sochi, 27-29 September
1. Hamilton, 2. Bottas, 3. Leclerc

Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 11-13 October

Mexican Grand Prix
Mexico City, 25-27 October

United States Grand Prix
Austin, 1-3 November

Brazilian Grand Prix
Sao Paulo, 15-17 November

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina, 29 November-1 December


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