Latest news with #800metres
Khaleej Times
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Tunisia's Jaouadi savours first world title after depression battle
Ahmed Jaouadi said he spent months battling depression following a disappointing end to 2024 but the Tunisian was all smiles on Wednesday after winning the 800 metres freestyle title in the third-fastest time ever at the world championships in Singapore. Jaouadi had finished third in the event at the Budapest short course world championships last December and the 20-year-old was so disheartened by the result he did not return to training until March. However, his performance at the Singapore Sports Hub proved he had no reason to doubt himself. Jaouadi reached the wall in seven minutes, 36.88 seconds, a time that sits behind only China's Zhang Lin (7:32.12) and fellow Tunisian Ous Mellouli (7:35.27) in the all-time list. Both Zhang and Mellouli achieved their marks in 2009 wearing high-tech "supersuits", which are now banned. "Actually it means a lot. It's the third-best time ever," said Jaouadi. "It feels great. Especially this season. I didn't go back to training until March. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for this. After Budapest, I got into some kind of depression and I wasn't ready to go back to training at some point. "It makes me really happy. During the last days of training, I was expecting this, and I knew that I'll go fast. But at some point, I didn't have a lot of confidence going through. "My team, my staff, the people around me knew how to control things and helped me through this." Jaouadi made his move after the halfway mark to beat the German pair of Sven Schwarz and Lukas Martens in the final and win his first major title. "I just pushed my head down. I saw that as soon as I started to push down on my arms, I started to go faster than the others, I started to pull away," he added. Jaouadi dedicated his gold medal to compatriot and Tokyo Olympics 400 freestyle champion Ahmed Hafnaoui, who was given a 21-month suspension in April by the Aquatic Sports Integrity Unit for three whereabouts failures. "This one was for Hafnaoui," Jaouadi added. "He's having some hard times now and I'd like to offer it for him." Meanwhile, Olympic champion Leon Marchand said his decision to opt for a reduced schedule at the world championships in Singapore had paid off handsomely after the Frenchman smashed the 200 metres individual medley world record on Wednesday. Marchand won four individual gold medals at the Paris Olympics in 2024 but his efforts at his home Games left him exhausted and needing time to rest. He returned to action in Florida in May and arrived in Singapore with only the 200 and 400 medleys on his programme for individual events. The 23-year-old has slipped back into competition mode with ease and produced a stunning 1:52.69 in his 200 medley semifinal to shave nearly one-and-a-half seconds off Ryan Lochte's mark (1:54.00) set at the world championships in Shanghai in 2011. The Toulouse native shook his fist and punched the water in celebration, and later said the decision to come in with a lighter workload had been vindicated. "It was probably the right decision," Marchand said. "I'm grateful for my coaches, all the staff behind me. It's been a pretty hard season for me, but I'm so happy to be here." Marchand, who also holds the 400 IM world record, said he needed a moment to process his achievement on Wednesday before finally finding the words to describe his feelings. "It's just an explosion of joy," he added. "I feel all the choices I made this year were the right ones and I want to thank everyone who's been supporting me. Since the Games, I've had this goal in mind. I didn't expect things to come together again so quickly. "Right now, I'm trying to get some good sleep — which isn't easy - but tomorrow's the final, and it's going to be great."
Reuters
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Tunisia's Jaouadi savours first world title after depression battle
July 30 (Reuters) - Ahmed Jaouadi said he spent months battling depression following a disappointing end to 2024 but the Tunisian was all smiles on Wednesday after winning the 800 metres freestyle title in the third-fastest time ever at the world championships in Singapore. Jaouadi had finished third in the event at the Budapest short course world championships last December and the 20-year-old was so disheartened by the result he did not return to training until March. However, his performance at the Singapore Sports Hub proved he had no reason to doubt himself. Jaouadi reached the wall in seven minutes, 36.88 seconds, a time that sits behind only China's Zhang Lin (7:32.12) and fellow Tunisian Ous Mellouli (7:35.27) in the all-time list. Both Zhang and Mellouli achieved their marks in 2009 wearing high-tech "supersuits", which are now banned. "Actually it means a lot. It's the third-best time ever," said Jaouadi. "It feels great. Especially this season. I didn't go back to training until March. I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for this. After Budapest, I got into some kind of depression and I wasn't ready to go back to training at some point. "It makes me really happy. During the last days of training, I was expecting this, and I knew that I'll go fast. But at some point, I didn't have a lot of confidence going through. "My team, my staff, the people around me knew how to control things and helped me through this." Jaouadi made his move after the halfway mark to beat the German pair of Sven Schwarz and Lukas Martens in the final and win his first major title. "I just pushed my head down. I saw that as soon as I started to push down on my arms, I started to go faster than the others, I started to pull away," he added. Jaouadi dedicated his gold medal to compatriot and Tokyo Olympics 400 freestyle champion Ahmed Hafnaoui, who was given a 21-month suspension in April by the Aquatic Sports Integrity Unit for three whereabouts failures. "This one was for Hafnaoui," Jaouadi added. "He's having some hard times now and I'd like to offer it for him."
The Independent
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Keely Hodgkinson set to make return at Lausanne Diamond League meet in August
Olympic 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson will race in her signature event at the Lausanne Diamond League meet on August 20. It is the first competition the 23-year-old has entered since pulling out of two planned starts to her season, June's Stockholm Diamond League meet and the London Athletics Meet earlier this month. Hodgkinson was ruled out of her own inaugural 'Keely Klassic' in February with a hamstring issue, then suffered a setback before Stockholm. Her team has said she plans to arrive at September's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 'peak form', aiming for her first world title after finishing second at the last two world championships. The 800 metres in Lausanne will also feature fellow Briton Jemma Reekie, a four-time Diamond League winner, and Hodgkinson's M11 Track Club training partner Georgia Hunter-Bell. Hunter-Bell collected 1500 metres bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and won the 800 metres at the 2025 London Diamond League in a season's-best one minute 56.74 seconds. The 31-year-old shared after her London triumph that she is mulling over the idea of competing in both middle-distances in Tokyo, and may take advice from Dame Kelly Holmes, who famously won both events at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
The Independent
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Georgia Hunter Bell may turn to Kelly Holmes for World Championships advice
Georgia Hunter Bell will consult with Kelly Holmes before deciding whether to attempt to double up in the 800 and 1500 metres at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. The British athlete registered a second Diamond League win at the shorter distance at the Novuna London Athletics Meet, running a season's best of one minute 56.74 seconds after outsprinting her rivals up the straight. Holmes famously won both events at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and Hunter Bell, who took bronze in the 1500m in Paris last summer, could be tempted to tackle both distances – pending consultation with the athletics great. Hunter Bell said: 'I think in May, Trevor (Painter) and Jen (Meadows, coaches) just noticed that I was responding a lot better to the 800m training, so it's something that we're paying attention to. 'You've obviously got to just look strategically at the events. The 1500 has got even faster than last year – I didn't think that was possible – but it has again, whereas the 800 at the moment is not as fast as it was last year. If you're trying to get a medal, what is actually the best thing to do? 'It is technically an option because the schedule is actually quite generous for it. There's proper days off, one event completes before the second starts, it's not like switching in between the two. But I just think it's been really hard and you might stuff your chances at both. 'I might reach out to Kelly Holmes and see what she thinks because a lot of people can have their opinion, there's very few that have actually done it and done well in both and I'd like to see what she has to say about it. 'I think I can decide after the champs (next month's UK Athletics Championships). But I would need to do the 800 metres at the British champs to earn my spot.' Reigning 1500m world champion Josh Kerr vowed the title will stay in Britain despite suffering defeat at the hands of Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech, clocking a season's best of three mins 29.37 secs but ultimately falling short. He said: 'In general I really liked how I felt in the whole race. I felt like I made a solid move at 250, I just did not have my head on straight with 200 to go, and I let them go a little bit. 'The power was not quite there but it is not far away. But we have not ran a race like that for a while. To be running 3.29 at this point of the season is encouraging. 'I can make a big jump in the next couple of months, we've not got a bunch of time but we're in a solid spot. The title lives here and it will continue to live here for the next year.' Kerr confirmed he will race the 5000m at the national championships as he is already qualified for the 1500m in Tokyo. Roger Black, Iwan Thomas, Jamie Baulch, Mark Richardson and Mark Hylton were presented with their upgraded gold medals for the 4x400m relay at the Athens World Championships in 1997 in front of the London Stadium crowd. The title was originally won by the USA, who were disqualified following an anti-doping violation by Antonio Pettigrew. Morgan Lake in the women's high jump and Charlie Dobson in the men's 400m were other home winners in Diamond League events, while Ben Sandilands triumphed in the men's 1500m para final. The women's 100m para contest went to Sophie Hahn and the men's equivalent saw Zak Skinner shade Thomas Young in a photo finish.
CBC
18-07-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Marco Arop, Noah Lyles headline Diamond League's London event
Canada's Marco Arop will look for another season's best when he competes at the Diamond League track and field meet in London this weekend. Arop, the Paris Olympics silver medallist in the men's 800-metres, is coming off a season's-best result at the Diamond League stop in Monaco last week. The Edmonton native finished in one minute, 42.73 seconds to claim a fifth-place result. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, will also be in London for the event after winning that Monaco racewith a world-leading time of 1:41.44. CBC Gem and will carry all the live action from the Novuna London Athletics Meet, beginning on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET. This weekend's men's 800m race is just one of several key events on Saturday — including Round 2 of Noah Lyles vs. Letsile Tebogo. Chris Chavez, the founder of Citius Mag, joined Trackside hosts Perdita Felicien and Aaron Brown to preview the biggest storylines and races to watch at Diamond League London. 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles, Canadian Marco Arop headline London Diamond League 20 hours ago Hosts Perdita Felicien and Aaron Brown are joined by Chris Chavez to break down the biggest storylines heading into one of the most anticipated athletics meets ahead of worlds.
