Athletics

Coleman wins world indoor 60m, Crouser excels in shot put

March 2, 2024 12:16 pm

Canada's Sarah Mitton [Source: Reuters]

Christian Coleman raced to his second global 60 metres title at the world indoor championships on Friday, exploding out of the blocks with his reliably fast start to edge American team mate Noah Lyles by three-hundredths of a second.

The 27-year-old Coleman clocked 6.41 seconds, the world’s fastest time this season.

Lyles, triple gold medallist at last summer’s outdoor worlds in Budapest, crossed in 6.44 in what he calls his weakest event.

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Lyles paused a live television interview during of “O Canada,” the national anthem playing for Canadian Sarah Mitten’s shot put gold medal ceremony, explaining afterward he was being respectful.

Ackeem Blake of Jamaica took the bronze in 6.46.

American Ryan Crouser, a two-time world outdoor and two-time Olympic champion, easily won the men’s shot put with a championship record heave of 22.77 metres.

New Zealand’s Tom Walsh was second best with 22.07.

Noor Vidts of Belgium successfully defended her 2022 world indoor pentathlon title, climbing from the silver medal position into gold with a solid 800m, the pentathlon’s final event. Vidts scored 4,773, while Finland’s Saga Vanninen won silver with 4,677 and Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands was third (4,571).

Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers of Australia cleared 1.99 metres on her final attempt to win the women’s high jump, ahead of the reigning outdoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine (1.97) and Lia Apostolovski of Slovenia (1.95).

Mitton added a world gold to her collection by winning the women’s shot put earlier on Friday in the first final of the meet.

The 27-year-old silver medallist at last year’s world outdoor event stepped into the circle for her sixth and final throw with victory already locked up thanks to her heave of 20.20 metres with her fourth attempt.

Mitton bettered that with a national indoor record of 20.22 on her final throw in a celebratory finish.

Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany threw 20.19 for silver, while American Chase Jackson, the 2022 world outdoor champion, won bronze with 19.67.

Maria Vicente of Spain, the under-23 champion in the heptathlon, ruptured her Achilles tendon in the pentathlon high jump, which could shelve her Paris Olympics dreams.