WAC 2023: Tsegay, Cheptegei win gold …as Tebogo wins first African medal in Men’s 100m
Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay claimed the 10 000m world title in dramatic fashion at the World Athletics Championships (WAC) in Budapest on Saturday night.
With the 25-lap race coming down to a sprint finish between the Ethiopian and defending champion, Sifan Hassan, of the Netherlands, the two made contact in the final metres with Hassan tumbling to the track while Tsegay held on to win in a time of 31.27.18.
She led home a trio of Ethiopians, with world record-holder, Letsenbet Gidey, taking the silver in 31:28.16 and EjgayehuTaye the bronze in 31:28.31, before heading back to a shaken Hassan to embrace her after the incident.
On Sunday Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei delivered a devastating last lap to win a third successive World Championship 10,000 metres gold despite barely competing over 25 laps in the last three years.
The world record holder over 5000m and 10,000m has had an injury-hit year and struggled to hit his top form but, on a hot, humid night in Budapest he broke clear approaching the bell and stamped his authority over the field with a 53-second last lap to come home in 27:51.42.
Daniel Simiu Ebenyo of Kenya took silver with Selemon Barega of Ethiopia taking the bronze.
Botswanan 100-metre sprinter, Letsile Tebogo, become the first African to win a men’s 100m medal at the World Athletics Championships.
The 19-year-old sprinter clocked 9.99 seconds in a sensational race won by America’s Noah Lyles, who promised gold in the final and delivered in a time of 9.83 seconds.
The silver medal caps off a phenomenal season for the youngster, who will also run in the 200m. He holds the African record in the 200m, which he broke in the 2023 London Diamond League last month, per Olympics.
The young Botswanan will look to win another medal in the 200m in the nine-day event in Hungary. Considering he is only 20, Tebogocould breaks all kinds of records when he reaches his prime. —Sportsbrief
