Another golden day for USA and a strange steeplechase

The USA have been dominant in London so far but expectations weren't high in the 3000m  steeplechase on Friday - a race that proved to be both eventful and somewhat bizarre. Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs gave the States yet another 1-2 while holder Hvin Jepkemoi of Kenya having to settle for bronze.

But the real drama came further back in the field. Beatrice Chepkoech, another Kenyan who eventually finished fourth, somehow managed to run past the water jump placed inside the track earlier on, which forced her to turn around and take the jump properly.

 
Less than a lap later three runners fell, including German 2015 bronze medalist Gesa Krause who failed to recover and finished ninth.

Reese makes it four

There was a familiar face atop the podium and more gold for the USA in the women's long jump, as Brittney Reese (pictured, top) picked up her fourth World Championship gold to add to her gold from the London Olympics in 2012.

But it was a close run thing. Reese's jump of 7.02 was only 2 centimeters longer than silver medalist Darya Klishina, who was the competing under a neutral flag and was the only Russian track and field athlete allowed to compete in Olympics in Rio last year.

Olympic champion and title holder Tianna Bartoletta of the US snatched bronze from Serbia's Ivana Spanovic by one centimeter after Spanovic's label number clipped the sand, meaning first and fourth were separated by just six centimeters.

Schippers does it again

Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands hung on to her lead coming out of the bend to claim back-to-back 200-meter world titles.

Schippers clocked 22.05 seconds, beating Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast, who got silver as in the 100m and  bronze went to Shaunae Miller-Uibu of Bahamas in 22.15, two days after she lost what seemed a certain 400m gold when she lost her footing shortly before the finish line and faded to fourth. 
 

Poland seal hammer gold

Poland's Pawel Fajdek defended his world hammer throw gold in a thrilling competition. Fajdek threw a best of 79.81 meters while Russian Valeriy Pronkin, competing as a neutral as his country's athletics federation remain banned by the IAAF, claimed silver with 78.16m on his final throw.

Another Pole, Wojciech Nowicki, took bronze (78.03) to add to previous bronzes in the 2015 worlds and 2016 Olympics.

mp (Reuters/DPA)