NANJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Pole vault superstar Mondo Duplantis clinched his seventh senior global title, while USA's Grant Holloway won his third consecutive world indoor 60m hurdles victory at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships here on Saturday.

As the competition reached its thrilling halfway point, Nanjing's Cube, the venue for the championships, saw the intensity of the contests heat up with nine titles up for grabs on the day.

Sweden's Duplantis secured the pole vault gold with a height of 6.15 meters, but the victory was far from a walk in the park. Greece's Emmanouil Karalis proved a formidable challenger, matching Duplantis' every move up to the 6.05-meter mark.

The duel was on, with both men clearing 6.05 meters without a hitch. It was only when the bar was raised to 6.10 meters that the Swede began to assert his dominance, clearing the height on his second attempt, while Karalis failed. Duplantis then proceeded to clear 6.15 meters, while the USA's Sam Kendricks claimed the bronze with 5.90 meters.

Holloway, the reigning 60m hurdles champion, demonstrated his class as he clinched his third straight title, stopping the clock in 7.42 seconds and extending his remarkable 11-year winning streak. The American hurdler was in a league of his own in the final, finishing 0.12 seconds ahead of France's Wilhem Belocian.

China's Liu Junxi narrowly missed out on silver, securing bronze in 7.55 seconds, just 0.01 seconds behind Belocian. "I never expected to stand on the podium. My goal was just to make the final. I feel like I haven't fully expressed my potential yet," the 21-year-old Liu said.

Swiss sprinter Mujinga Kambundji delivered a scintillating performance in the women's 60m, bagging the gold in 7.04 seconds, narrowly edging Italy's Zaynab Dosso by a mere 0.02 seconds. In a historic moment for Luxembourg, Patrizia van der Weken earned her nation's first-ever world indoor medal, taking bronze in 7.07 seconds.

The United States also made history in the men's 400m, securing an unprecedented 1-2-3 finish. Chris Bailey maintained a commanding lead from start to finish, crossing the line in 45.08 seconds. Brian Faust, grimacing in his final strides, matched his personal best of 45.47 seconds for silver, while Jacory Patterson took bronze in 45.54 seconds.

Britain's Amber Anning, just two weeks after being disqualified in tears at the European Indoor Championships, found redemption in Nanjing, claiming the women's 400m gold. In a tense final lap, Anning surged ahead in the final straight to edge out USA's Alexis Holmes by just 0.03 seconds, clocking a winning time of 50.60 seconds. European indoor champion Henriette Jaeger took bronze in 50.92 seconds.

In the women's triple jump, Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez clinched the gold with a world-leading jump of 14.93 meters, her only valid leap of the competition. Her compatriot Liadagmis Povea took silver with 14.57 meters, while Spain's Ana Peleteiro-Compaore secured bronze with 14.29 meters.

Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen secured his first world indoor title in the men's 3,000m, narrowly defeating Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi. The 24-year-old held back in the early stages, allowing Aregawi to set the pace in the closing laps. On the final lap, Ingebrigtsen made his move, surging to victory in 7:46.09, with Aregawi claiming silver and Australia's Ky Robinson finishing in third.

In the women's 3,000m, Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu captured her second world indoor title with a time of 8:37.21, edging out the USA's Shelby Houlihan and Australia's Jessica Hull for gold.

France's Marie-Julie Bonnin rose to prominence, setting a national record in the women's pole vault by clearing 4.75 meters to secure her first global gold. Slovenia's Tina Sutej and Switzerland's Angelica Moser took silver and bronze, respectively, both clearing 4.70 meters. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)