DOHA, Qatar — The Latest on the track and field world championships (all times local):
6:00 p.m.
The men’s 800 meters has been thrown wide open after Nijel Amos of Botswana, the fastest in the world this year, withdrew unexpectedly.
In July, Amos ran the fastest time of anyone since 2012, but he then struggled with injury problems before returning to action last month. The Botswanan said on Instagram he had a tight Achilles tendon.
In his absence, Kenya’s Emmanuel Kipkurui Korir was fastest in 1 minute 45.16, while Diamond League winner Donovan Brazier of the United States won his heat in 1:46.04.
“I know messing around has gotten me into trouble in the past, so I was like, ‘If you get first you’re in the next round no matter what event it is,’” Brazier said.
Defending champion Karsten Warholm of Norway was fastest in the 400 hurdles semifinals. U.S. champion Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos won the other two semifinals. Two-time Diamond League champion Kyron McMaster was disqualified after breaking a hurdle.
In the men’s discus, 2017 silver medalist Daniel Stahl of Sweden was streets ahead in qualifying with a 67.88-meter throw. Mason Finley of the U.S. won bronze two years ago but failed to reach the final Saturday.
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5:45 p.m.
This will not be a walk in the park. The IAAF says the 50k race walks will go on as scheduled.
The races will take place Saturday night on the same course as the women’s marathon, which kicked off the night before at midnight in humidity that made it feel like 105 degrees (40 Celsius).
Twenty-eight of the 68 women dropped out. The IAAF pointed out that the completion rate was similar to those at world championships in Tokyo (1991) and Moscow (2013). Next year’s Olympic marathons in Tokyo are scheduled to start at 6 a.m., and runners can expect to face similar intense heat.
The IAAF said 30 runners visited the medical center as a precaution. A small number were kept under observation and one was sent to a hospital before being released.
Winner Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya crossed the finish line at 2:34 a.m.
Both the men’s and women’s race walks are scheduled for 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The women’s race should last around 4 hours, 30 minutes.
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5:10 p.m.
Two-time Olympic champion Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica qualified fastest in the heats for the women’s 100 meters, with her rivals close behind.
Fraser-Pryce, with golden hair that matched her jersey, ran 10.80 seconds, just a tenth of a second off her personal best and faster than any woman at the 2017 world championships.
The Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, a double silver medalist in 2017, was closest to Fraser-Pryce after matching her personal best of 10.85. Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith ran 10.96 as only three women went under 11 seconds.
Defending champion Tori Bowie of the U.S. qualified third in her heat, far off her personal best with 11.30, and two-time world 200 champion Dafne Schippers ran 11.17.
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5:00 p.m.
The fastest athletes of all take center stage with the final of the men’s 100 meters at the world track championships Saturday.
Christian Coleman of the United States was the fastest qualifier from Friday’s heats as he raced for the first time since a technicality helped him escape a ban for missed drug tests. Reigning champion Justin Gatlin is his main rival after NCAA champion Divine Oduduru of Nigeria withdrew.
The women’s 100 gets underway Saturday with heats, and there are finals in the women’s 10,000, the men’s long jump and the women’s hammer. On the streets of Doha, men and women will contend with the sweltering heat in the 50-kilometer walk, the longest race of the championships.
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