There was heartbreak for Cian McPhillips in the men's 800m at the World Championships in Tokyo on Saturday, the Longford 23-year-old finishing fourth despite producing a massive national record of 1:42.15. It took three Olympic medallists to beat him, with 2024 champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi setting a championship record of 1:41.86, edging Algeria's Djamel Sedjati (1:41.90) and Canada's Marco Arop (1:41.95).
Noah Lyles pulled ahead of Kenny Bednarek heading into the straightaway then held him off down the stretch to capture his fourth title in a much-awaited 200 meters at world championships Friday night. Lyles finished in 19.52 seconds for a .06-second margin over Bednarek, who led the final at the halfway point, fell behind by a few steps but was closing the gap over the final footsteps.
At the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on Wednesday, Portugal's Isaac Nader produced the biggest upset of the World Championships, kicking to victory in 3:34.10 ahead of Britain's Jake Wightman (3:34.12), with bronze going to Kenya's Reynold Cheruiyot (3:34.25). Coscoran, following a race where he struggled to land a blow against the world's best, hit the line in 3:35.87, knowing it could have been much more, hoping and believing that one day it would be.
"I'm absolutely delighted. It's a great honour to be putting my name alongside the other girls and men and women who have achieved this for Ireland as well," she told RTÉ afterwards.
I don't have full confidence in my body, the 28-year-old says, two weeks out from an unprecedented challenge in her esteemed career. But that's OK, because I have learned that there are a hundred ways to get the same outcome, and we're just going a different route to normal. Much has changed for the hyper-competitive Kennedy since the Paris Games 13 months ago. Physically, her left hamstring has been surgically repaired.
Right now, her best is the 3:57.15 she ran to finish runner-up in Paris last month, one of four top-three finishes she secured across the Diamond League season. But at the final in Zurich on Thursday, she would love to add a fifth and to edge closer to Ciara Mageean's Irish record of 3:55.87. Conditions are unlikely to comply, with cool weather and heavy rain forecast, but Healy comes into it after a lifetime best over 800m in London last weekend, clocking 2:00.19.
Lotte Kopecky has scheduled a mix of track and road racing, starting with the Prague Summer Track event, followed by the Tour de l'Ardèche.
Sha'Carri Richardson was arrested for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while she maintains her status as the reigning 100m world champion.
Penny Oleksiak had just completed a successful national swimming trials, winning both the 50- and 100-metre freestyle events and being named to Canada's team for this month's world championships in Singapore.
