{"id":22702,"date":"2025-09-20T11:02:01","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T11:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=22702"},"modified":"2025-09-20T11:02:01","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T11:02:01","slug":"world-athletics-championships-2025-thiam-out-of-heptathlon-usa-miss-mens-4x400-final-live-world-athletics-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=22702","title":{"rendered":"World Athletics Championships 2025: Thiam out of heptathlon, USA miss men\u2019s 4×400 final \u2013 live | World Athletics Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The calculation<\/strong> (courtesy of the BBC) is that Johnson-Thompson needs to beat Ireland\u2019s O\u2019Connor by six seconds in the 800m to win a medal.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI brought it home strong<\/strong>,\u201d says Charles Dobson after the men\u2019s qualification for the 4x400m final. \u201cHappy with that. We have such good depth in the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Great success!<\/span> Photograph: Petr David Josek\/APShare<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a time of 2min 57.68sec<\/strong> for Botswana to win Heat 2 of the men\u2019s 4×400. Belgium second, Australia third. GB finish a strong fourth, one hundredth of a second slower, which will be enough to qualify.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a006.55 EDT<\/p>\n

Here come Great Britain<\/strong> in Heat 2 of the men\u2019s 4x400m.<\/p>\n

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\u201cKJT\u201d places 15th<\/strong> in the javelin, throwing 41.91m with her third attempt. As it stands she is fourth overall.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Katarina Johnson-Thompson could not get close to her javelin personal best.<\/span> Photograph: Matthias Schr\u00e4der\/APShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a006.45 EDT<\/p>\n

South Africa<\/strong>, Qatar, Netherlands is the top three in Heat 1 of the men\u2019s 4x400m.<\/p>\n

USA are out! Demarius Smith and Bryce Deadmon appeared to muck up their changeover in a big way, and they could not recover.<\/p>\n

<\/span>A bad day at the office for Demarius Smith and Bryce Deadmon.<\/span> Photograph: Edgar Su\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a006.48 EDT<\/p>\n

The javelin<\/strong> in the women\u2019s heptathlon is ongoing, and I\u2019ll have an update soon.<\/p>\n

Team USA nearly drop the baton in the men\u2019s 4×400!<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s the men\u2019s 4×400 relay<\/strong> (Heat 1).<\/p>\n

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\u201cHaving succeeded<\/strong>, unlike Bob and Terry, in avoiding the score, I watched back the heptathlon on the iPlayer yesterday, which also allows skipping the studio punditry and those interviews on VT wherein athletes tell us they\u2019ll be happy to medal with a PB,\u201d emails Gary Naylor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing a multi-disciplinary event play out in real time is such a privilege. You get to know the personalities, you see the competition and the camaraderie between them and you appreciate just how hard it is to go from high jump to shot-put with barely time to change shoes. It\u2019s a shame it so often gets lost between track races.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a006.34 EDT<\/p>\n

A statement from British Athletics<\/strong>, via the magic of social media:<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately Abi Pawlett has withdrawn from the heptathlon as she is still suffering the after-effects of yesterday\u2019s fall in the hurdles. We wish Abi a speedy recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Britain’s Abigail Pawlett competing in the long jump.<\/span> Photograph: Aleksandra Szmigiel\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n

The high jump<\/strong> in the men\u2019s decathlon has also begun.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the athletes for the upcoming relays are pictured getting off the transfer buses from the much-maligned warm-up area.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a006.28 EDT<\/p>\n

Via Reuters<\/strong>, some quotes from Nafi Thiam of Belgium, who withdrew from the women\u2019s heptathlon before this session.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve struggled with this heptathlon from the start. I tried to fight it and persevere, but it clearly didn\u2019t work,\u201d Thiam told Het Nieuwsblad. \u201cI started this morning thinking I would fight until the end and not leave empty-handed because I\u2019ve worked hard this year …<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I could do something good here and fight for my place in the standings but that didn\u2019t happen. So I\u2019m disappointed, yes. This championship is a real black cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had accused the Belgian athletics body of excluding her from their pre-championships camp in a row over image rights. The federation denied that. Thiam was asked whether the row had impacted her performances in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to quantify that,\u201d she said. \u201cRegardless of the reasons why I feel the way I do, the reality remains that I feel the way I do. So that doesn\u2019t make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Nafi Thiam of Belgium had a disagreement with the national federation over image right.<\/span> Photograph: Marcel ter Bals\/MTB-Photo\/ShutterstockShare<\/p>\n

Kate O\u2019Connor of Ireland<\/strong> threw a PB of 53.06m at her first attempt in the javelin. Her second throw was over 50m too. Incredible performance.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Ireland’s Kate O’Connor.<\/span> Photograph: Dylan Martinez\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a throw of 40.51m<\/strong> for Johnson-Thompson at the second attempt.<\/p>\n

She threw 45.49m at the Olympics last year. She will need a big performance in the closing 800m to get a medal.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a006.20 EDT<\/p>\n

Johnson-Thompson\u2019s first effort<\/strong> places her fifth at the moment. Here comes No 2.<\/p>\n

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Hall, O\u2019Connor, Brooks<\/strong> is the top three in the javelin in the women\u2019s heptathlon right now.<\/p>\n

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Johnson-Thompson<\/strong> has thrown 38.82m with her first of three attempts in the javelin. She\u2019s been pushed out of the medal positions for now.<\/p>\n

Kate O\u2019Connor of Ireland has mustered a phenomenal personal best of 53.06m.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a006.12 EDT<\/p>\n

Amy Hunt has a chat<\/strong> with the BBC after collecting her 200m medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I went to sleep at 5.30am. The sun was up. It was a long night in anti-doping as well, so it wasn\u2019t entirely all glamourous. There wasn\u2019t many celebrations going on. It still definitely hasn\u2019t sunk in. But this [the medal] is helping a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, if these girls are letting me come ninth in the 100m, something pretty special is coming in the 200. The way I was finishing the races, I was obviously coming through \u2026 A lot of the lessons the 100 taught me paid dividends in the 200.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy coach loves numbers. It\u2019s maths, physics, science \u2026 we\u2019re using all the data we can, all the technology we can, to keep track of everything. We have all the numbers down. He knows what I\u2019m about to run. He did predict I was going to do a 22.00 the other day, so to him it wasn\u2019t a surprise. It gives me so much confidence \u2026 I knew if I could be with them off the turn, then it\u2019s game over.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing in as a really hot junior, making a big noise, making a big splash \u2026 it was then nice to take a back seat almost [studying for her degree and having injuries] and have that pressure taken off me \u2026 I was able to make a senior debut without the kind of weight and expectation that I probably might have had. It also taught me a lot, it taught me my strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s taught me that I am stronger than I could possibly imagine and the team I have around me are world-beaters as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>(L-R) Great Britain\u2019s Amy Hunt, USA\u2019s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden with gold, and Jamaica\u2019s Shericka Jackson with bronze for the women\u2019s 200m.<\/span> Photograph: Martin Rickett\/PAShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a006.14 EDT<\/p>\n

The defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson<\/strong> is third with two heptathlon events remaining.<\/p>\n

The 2024 Olympic silver medallist has 4874pts before the javelin throw and 800m on Saturday in a field led by American pair Anna Hall, on 5041 points, and Taliyah Brooks, with 4930.<\/p>\n

Johnson-Thompson has a 50-point lead over fourth-placed Kate O\u2019Connor of Ireland after the morning session\u2019s long jump, where the Englishwoman was third-best with a 6.42m effort behind Brooks and Great Britain\u2019s Jade O\u2019Dowda.<\/p>\n

Brooks reached a personal-best 6.79m, 30cm more than O\u2019Dowda, who currently sits sixth after the Netherlands\u2019 Sofie Dokter. Abigail Pawlett, Great Britain\u2019s third entrant, is 15th.<\/p>\n

According to reports in Belgium Nafi Thiam, who beat Johnson-Thompson to Olympic gold in Paris last summer, has withdrawn. She was placed eighth.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Anna Hall leads the women\u2019s heptathlon before the javelin and 800m.<\/span> Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Thiam\u2019s pre-championship build-up was marred by a row with her federation.<\/p>\n

She told Belgian newspaper DH Les Sports+: \u201cIt was difficult from the beginning. I tried to fight, to go through these difficulties, but clearly it does not follow. I have trouble explaining it myself. Clearly my body is not happy. I don\u2019t want to do anything stupid, because I think that now, finishing would be for the principle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Great Britain secured their second medal of the 2025 championships on Friday, when Amy Hunt stormed to 200m silver, adding to Jake Wightman\u2019s second-place finish in the men\u2019s 1500m final.<\/p>\n

They could win medals in up to three events on the penultimate evening of the World Championships.<\/p>\n

Hannah Nuttall will start the women\u2019s 5000m final at 1.29pm UK time before Max Burgin goes for men\u2019s 800m gold in his final, scheduled for 2.22pm. (PA Media<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a005.57 EDT<\/p>\n

Hats off<\/strong> to the digital content team for producing such a clear and user friendly timetable on the official website, by the way.<\/p>\n

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Katarina Johnson-Thompson<\/strong> of Great Britain will be up shortly for the javelin throw in the Women\u2019s Heptathlon (from 11am)<\/p>\n

The GB men will compete in Heat 2 of the men\u2019s 4×400 relay at 11.46am, then the women will take the stage in Heat 1, scheduled for 12pm.<\/p>\n

At 12.25pm it\u2019s the men\u2019s 4×100 (Heat 1) for GB, then it\u2019s Heat 2 for the women\u2019s team at 12.54pm.<\/p>\n

The Women\u2019s 800m Heptathlon is scheduled for 1.11pm, with Johnson-Thompson aiming for a medal, and the Women\u2019s 5000m is locked in for 1.29pm UK time, with Hannah Nuttall on the start line.<\/p>\n

Then the 23-year-old Halifax-born Max Burgin will go for glory in the men\u2019s 800m: which is booked in for 2.22pm UK time. Cian McPhillips of Ireland qualified quickest for that race, so plenty to get excited about.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Britain\u2019s Katarina Johnson-Thompson is aiming for a medal in the women\u2019s heptathlon.<\/span> Photograph: Dylan Martinez\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a005.50 EDT<\/p>\n

World Athletics has underscored its commitment<\/strong> to the \u201cathlete experience\u201d after some competitors at the world championships in Tokyo \u2013 including Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson \u2013 criticised warm-up logistics.<\/p>\n

Yoyogi Park, where the main warm-up facility is located, is a two-and-half-kilometre drive from Japan National Stadium, a bus journey the PA news agency understands takes about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

The final call for competitors to board the bus is reportedly scheduled for 50 minutes to an hour before the start of each event. Athletes can also use an indoor straight at the stadium, including on days when they have more than one race in a session.<\/p>\n

A World Athletics statement read: \u201cThe athlete experience is of utmost importance for World Athletics and the Local Organising Committee at these World Athletics Championships, and we have put a lot of consideration into their preparations within the constraints of locations and venues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis type of configuration is not unique \u2013 as we have seen from previous Olympic Games and other major athletics championships.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Tokyo 25, we ensured that team leaders were fully briefed at a site visit in March in order for teams to have ample time to prepare \u2013 and the rules regarding warm up, call room, and transport apply to every team and every athlete without exception.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe brilliant performances we have seen so far from the athletes speak for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span>Britain\u2019s Keely Hodgkinson (right) has questioned the warm-up arrangements in Tokyo.<\/span> Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier\/Reuters<\/p>\n

On Friday, after qualifying for Sunday\u2019s 800m final, Hodgkinson said: \u201cI think the whole warm-up situation, you\u2019re warming up for almost two hours. It can be quite draining, so maybe we will have to look at doing something better come Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than that I\u2019m happy to be in my fifth world final in a row. That\u2019s an achievement in itself. I\u2019m really happy to do that and be in the picture for another medal, hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only athletes are allowed to board the bus for the stadium, turning it into a kind of call room on wheels. Last Saturday, speaking after their 1500m heats, American middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz told Citius Mag: \u201cIt\u2019s a solid 10-minute bus ride of just sitting. It\u2019s just weird. It\u2019s definitely not usual, but we\u2019re all in the same boat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jamaica coach Stephen Francis was more critical. In an interview with Jamaica\u2019s TVJ on Saturday, Francis described what he felt were a number of logistical issues, including the \u201cdistance from the stadium to the warm-up track\u201d.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThose areas of a meet are not befitting the top meet of the year for World Athletics.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the website of the manufacturer Mondo, the warm-up track for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (located next to the stadium) was dismantled and reinstalled at Aichi University in 2022. (PA Media)<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a005.34 EDT<\/p>\n

The official schedule informs us<\/strong> that Day 8 (Evening Session) starts in 40mins.<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ve got time to recap Hunt\u2019s sensational silver from yesterday.<\/p>\n

Read Sean Ingle\u2019s report here:<\/p>\n

ShareSean Ingle<\/span><\/p>\n

Amy Hunt<\/strong> is just collecting her silver medal. She is looking a little tired, which is not surprising given she got to bed at 5am this morning, and will not be running in the heats of the women\u2019s 4x100m relay later today.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Britain’s Amy Hunt collects her 200m silver medal.<\/span> Photograph: Eloisa Lopez\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n

Thiam withdraws from heptathlon<\/h2>\n

Nafi Thiam \u2013 one of the defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson\u2019s key rivals \u2013 withdrew on Saturday withdrew from the heptathlon on Saturday after an underwhelming long jump left Belgium\u2019s triple Olympic champion with little chance of a medal.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old, who won world titles in 2017 and 2022, failed to get over the six-metre mark with her two legal jumps on Saturday morning to stand in eighth place in the overall standings, 377 points behind the competition-leader Anna Hall.<\/p>\n

Thiam, who last lost in competition at the 2019 worlds, had been withdrawn by her coach before the javelin and 800m in the evening session. \u201cI\u2019ve struggled with this heptathlon from the start. I tried to fight it and persevere, but it clearly didn\u2019t work,\u201d a tearful Thiam told Het Nieuwsblad after Saturday morning\u2019s session. \u201cI started this morning thinking I would fight until the end and not leave empty-handed because I\u2019ve worked hard this year … \u201cI knew I could do something good here and fight for my place in the standings but that didn\u2019t happen. So I\u2019m disappointed, yes. This championship is a real black cloud.\u201c<\/p>\n

Thiam competed sparingly in 2025 and had a disrupted run up to the championships after a row with her national federation. She accused the Belgian athletics body of excluding her from their pre-championships camp in a row over image rights. The federation denied the allegation. Thiam was asked whether the row had impacted her performances in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to quantify that,\u201d she told the newspaper. \u201cRegardless of the reasons why I feel the way I do, the reality remains that I feel the way I do. So that doesn\u2019t make a difference.\u201d (Reuters<\/strong>)<\/p>\n

<\/span>Nafi Thiam of Belgium during the high jump.<\/span> Photograph: Marcel ter Bals\/MTB-Photo\/ShutterstockShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a005.16 EDT<\/p>\n

Preamble<\/h2>\n

Hello and welcome to the penultimate day of action in Tokyo. Breaking news in the heptathlon: Belgium\u2019s title contender Nafi Thiam has pulled out after underperforming in the long jump.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a005.04 EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature The calculation (courtesy of the BBC) is that Johnson-Thompson needs to beat Ireland\u2019s O\u2019Connor by six seconds in the 800m to win a medal. Share \u201cI brought it home strong,\u201d says Charles Dobson after the men\u2019s qualification for the 4x400m final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[13920,7190,8277,82,13919,132,1143,13918,882,550],"class_list":{"0":"post-22702","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-4x400","9":"tag-athletics","10":"tag-championships","11":"tag-final","12":"tag-heptathlon","13":"tag-live","14":"tag-mens","15":"tag-thiam","16":"tag-usa","17":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}