The ongoing 2023 World Athletics Championships holding in Budapest, Hungary, in Saturday witnessed a fierce competition between athletes from around the world.
Noah Lyles, the reigning 200m world champion, put up a great show and won heat 2 with an impressive timing of 9.95 seconds, beating Ferdinand Omanyala from Kenya.
When asked about his performance, Lyles said that he was not sure what happened in the first 30 meters, but he felt confident and on top of his game during the rest of the race.
Meanwhile, last year’s 100m world gold medalist Fred Kerley also secured his place in the semi-finals after finishing second in heat 5 with a timing of 9.99, just behind Jamaica’s Oblique Seville, who equaled his personal best with a timing of 9.86.
In the same vein, Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs qualified for the semi-finals after finishing third in the penultimate heat with a timing of 10.15, which was his best performance of the season.
However, he will have to put up a better show if he wants to win a medal at the Championships.
Zharnel Hughes, the British 100m and 200m record holder, eased to victory in his heat with a timing of 10.00, and he is considered one of the top contenders for the gold medal.
Another athlete who qualified for the next round is Letsile Tebogo from Botswana, who won his heat with a timing of 10.11. Tebogo expressed his happiness at being considered a medal contender, but he said that his main goal was to make it to the final.
On the other hand, Cravont Charleston from the USA, who surprised everyone by winning his country’s national trials in July, failed to advance to the semi-finals after finishing fifth in his first-ever race at a World Championships.
The competition is getting tougher, and the athletes will have to put up their best performances if they want to win a medal.
Results from the 2023 World Athletics Championships
Day 1 – 19 August 2023
Men’s 20km race walk
Top 8 finishers:
- Álvaro Martín (ESP) 1:17:32 WL
- Perseus Karlström (SWE) 1:17:39 NR
- Caio Bonfim (BRA) 1:17:47 NR
- Evan Dunfee (CAN) 1:18:03 NR
- Christopher Linke (GER) 1:18:12 NR
- Veli-Matti Partanen (FIN) 1:18:22 NR
- Brian Daniel Pintado (ECU) 1:18:26 PB
- Declan Tingay (AUS) 1:18:30 PB
