• Longest javelin throw in 14 years • Masrahi finishes eighth • Campbell-Brown disqualified BEIJING — Julius Yego continued Kenya's dominance of the World Athletics Championships by winning his country's fifth gold medal with a longest javelin throw in 14 years with a mark of 92.72-meters in a dramatic final. It is the first time that Kenya, a nation noted for its distance-running prowess, has won a world title in a field event, and Yego's victory comes a day after Nicholas Bett won the 400m hurdles title, the shortest distance over which any Kenyan has become a world champion. Yego was in eighth position before his third attempt in the final, when he landed chest-down behind the line after unleashing the world-leading throw. The world record of 98.48 meters was set in 1996 by Jan Zelezny of the Czech Republic, who also set the championship record at 92.80 in 2001.
See Also: 2 Kenyan runners test positive In an event which has long been a European stranglehold, there was a one-two for Africa, as Egypt's Ihab El Sayed took the silver medal with his 88.99m second-round effort. Finland's Tero Pitkamaki maintained European pride by taking bronze with his 87.64m best effort. Thomas Rohler, of Germany placed fourth with 87.41, after having led in the early stages. Yego, 26, is diminutive by the standards of international javelin throwers, standing only 5ft 8in/1.75m tall. Rejected as a runner by sports coaches as a schoolboy, he learned himself the javelin by watching videos on YouTube. Wayde van Niekerk won his first world championship title in the 400 meters, holding off defending champion LaShawn Merritt and Olympic gold medalist Kirani James. The 23-year-old South African went out hard and held on to win in 43.48 seconds. Merritt took silver in a personal best 43.65 and James finished third in a season-best 43.78. Saudi Arabia's hopes for a medal vanished as Yousef Ahmed Masrahi finished eighth in 45.15. Hyvin Kiyeng Jepkemoi of Kenya won a three-way sprint to the line to take the gold in the 3,000-meter steeplechase ahead of Habiba Ghibri of Tunesia and Gesa Krause of Germany. Over a tight last lap, Ghribi stumbled ahead of one barrier and once the last water pit was passed, the finishing kick made the difference with Jepkemoi coming from behind to win in 9 minutes, 19.11 seconds. Ghribi got silver, .13 seconds behind, and beat Krause by .01. Yarisley Silva of Cuba cleared 4.90 meters on her third attempt in the pole vault to secure her first world championship. Silva was a silver medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, missing out on gold in a countback. Fabiana Murer of Brazil, the 2011 world champion, held the lead when she cleared 4.85 at her first attempt but missed all three attempts at the next height. Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou of Greece missed her first attempt at 4.85 and, with a bronze medal guaranteed, passed her next attempt at that mark and moved to the next height but failed twice more. American teammates Jenn Suhr, the Olympic champion, and Sandi Morris finished in a share of fourth place after failing to clear 4.80. Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic defended her world title in the 400-meter hurdles with a world leading run of 53.50 seconds. Hejnova came back strongly after missing the 2014 season after breaking a bone in her left foot. Shamier Little of the United States got silver from the tight inside lane .44 seconds behind the Czech, edging teammate Cassandra Tate, who finished in 54.02. Commonwealth champion Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica stumbled early in the race and finished last. Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin looked in fine form as they ran the fastest times of the 200m semifinals to set up a mouthwatering second sprint showdown. Bolt, who beat Gatlin when they clashed for the first time this year in the 100m final, looked relaxed and took time to chat with a fellow competitor as he approached the line to win his heat with his first sub-20 second time of the year. Veronica Campbell-Brown rounded the curve in the 200m and kept going and going, straight into the next lane. The Jamaican started in Lane 5 and wound up in Lane 6 at the world championships Wednesday. She won her heat, but running out of your lane leads to disqualification. British sprinter Margaret Adeoye was shocked to see Campbell-Brown suddenly appear in front of her. Campbell-Brown, the 2011 world champion in the event, didn't stop to talk after her mistake, saying she was, “having a headache.” The presence of Campbell-Brown nearly gave Adeoye a migraine, thinking she may have messed up. — Agencies
