With a commanding win in the women’s 4 x 100m relay and a close one in the men’s 5000m, the Swiss came away with two gold, while Japan swept the Half Marathons

 

NAPOLI, 13 July – As team relays capped off a week of brilliant athletics action here at the San Paolo stadium, the first gold medal of the evening went to the Swiss quartet of Salomé Kora, Sarah Atcho, Ajla Del Ponte and Samantha Dagry. Swiss women were the defending champions although only Kora and Del Ponte were returning athletes from Taipei 2017.

 

Kora gave them an excellent start in Lane 6, even as Abbie Taddeo of Australia and Olivia Eaton of New Zealand kept pace. Olympian Sarah Atcho, the current poster girl of Swiss sprinting, then powered ahead in the second leg, handing over the baton to Del Ponte in a position that put them firmly in the hunt for gold. Dagry rounded off a perfect finish, fending off a late charge from Australia’s Celeste Mucci and clocking43.73 for gold. Australia finished a close second with 43.97 and New Zealand registered a personal best for the team, with 44.24.

“We came here to win this race,” a smiling Kora said to FISU after the win. “We had a goal to go home with this gold medal.”

 

“We got kind of scared after the first exchange,” Atcho added, looking at Kora with a chuckle. “But we knew we had to push ourselves.”

 

“I was watching the last leg nervously,” Kora said. “But then it looked like it could happen. We knew the gold was close.”

 

The action had only just begun with that electric race, as nine more finals were lined up for the rest of the night.

 

Another commanding performance was from Australian Matthew Denny, who led the men’s discus throw from beginning to end. The accomplished discus and hammer thrower, who has competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games, went straight into the lead with 63.89 on his first attempt. He followed it up with consistent throws and steady improvement, getting to 63.90 and then 65.27 in his fifth round that sealed gold. His first throw in fact, had been good enough for gold, with Alin-Alexandru Firfirica of Romania winning silver with 63.74 and Henning Prufer of Germany taking bronze with 63.52.

“I’m really happy because I missed out on 2017, I had to pull out due to bad form,” said Denny, who was the silver medallist in Gwangju 2015. “So, to come back out and rebuild from 2017, I’m so happy. I’ve had a really consistent season, that’s my third 65 now!”

 

“I still think there is more in the tank. I definitely wanted over 65, but in my head I was thinking 66-plus. There are a couple of things I could do better. I’ve pulled the plug on hammer for the moment,” said the athlete who won a silver medal in hammer throw at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. “Just to focus on discuss for the next couple of years, going into the World Championships and Tokyo 2020.”

 

“I’ve had a lot of fun here, I’m really happy to win a major championship under pressure. It was a great event, I just loved it.”

 

One of the most engaging races of the evening was the men’s 5000m, in which all 15 runners kept their cards close to their chests until there were just two laps to go. The fancied Belgian Robin Hendrix was in the lead at that stage, but Frenchman Yann Schrub was doing a great job of bringing the gap down. In an astounding last lap, Switzerland’s Jonas Raess charged ahead and got into a duel for gold with Schrub. In the end it was Raess with gold, 14 hundredths of a second faster than Schrub with silver. Hendrix took bronze in a sprint finish to a five kilometre race.  

 

The men’s 4 x 100 relay was surprisingly dominated by Asia, with Japan, China and Korea winning gold, silver and bronze. Brazil’s Paulo Andre Camilo, the individual double sprint champion from earlier in the week pulled a hamstring in the last leg, ending Brazil’s hopes. But full credit to the Japanese, as they were already in the lead by the third leg thanks to perfect handovers and an absolutely blistering third leg run from Jun Yamashita.

 

There were golds in store for the Americas though, as Mexico pulled off a stunner in the men’s 4 x 400 relay, a race that rounded off track action at Napoli 2019. With South Africa leading at the start and Poland and Japan coming into the mix by the second leg, it was left to Valente Mendoza Falcon, the individual 400m champion, to lead Mexico’s charge to the finish line. South Africa finished with silver and Poland beat Japan to bronze.

 

Earlier in the morning, Japan had swept all the medals on offer in the men’s and women’s half marathons. Athletics action concluded on Saturday night, with only water polo remaining tomorrow to close out the sporting action at the 30^thSummer Universiade.

 

Results

Women’s High Jump

Gold: CHUMACHENKO Yuliia (UKR) 1.94

Silver: GERASHCHENKO Iryna (UKR) 1.91

Bronze: ONNEN Imke (GER) 1.91

 

Women’s 4 x 100 Relay

Gold: SWITZERLAND 43.72

Silver: AUSTRALIA 43.97

Bronze: NEW ZEALAND 44.24

 

Men’s Discuss

Gold: DENNY Matthew (AUS) 65.27

Silver: FIRFIRICA Alin-Alexandru (ROU) 63.74

Bronze: PRUFER Henning (GER) 63.52

 

Men’s 800m

Gold: BELBACHIR Mohamed (ALG) 1:47.02

Silver: ZAHAFI Moad (MAR) 1:47.64

Bronze: HODBOD Lukas (CZE) 1:47.97

 

Men’s 4 x 100 Relay

Gold: JAPAN 38.92

Silver: CHINA 39.01

Bronze: SOUTH KOREA 39.31

 

Women 1500m

Gold: GRANZ Caterina (GER) 4:09.14

Silver: GRIFFITH Georgia (AUS) 4:09.89

Bronze: HUFSMITH Courtney (CAN) 4:11.81

 

Men’s Long Jump

Gold: HASHIOKA Yuki (JPN) 8.01

Silver: RANDRIANASOLO Yann (FRA) 7.95

Bronze: ROPER Darcy (AUS) 7.90

 

Women’s 4 x 400 Relay

Gold: UKRAINE 3:30.82

Silver: MEXICO 3:32.63

Bronze: AUSTRALIA 3:34.01

 

Men’s 5000m

Gold: RAESS Jonas (SUI) 14:03.10

Silver: SCHRUB Yann (FRA) 14:03.24

Bronze: HENDRIX Robin (BEL)14:04.06  

 

Men’s 4 x 400 Relay

Gold: MEXICO

Silver: SOUTH AFRICA

Bronze: POLAND

 

Women’s Half Marathon

Gold: SUZUKI Yuka (JPN) 1:14:10

Silver: KASEDA Rika (JPN) 1:14:32

Bronze: TAGAWA Yuki (JPN) 1:14:36

 

Men’s Half Marathon

Gold: AIZAWA Akira (JPN) 1:05:15

Silver: NAKAMURA Taisei (JPN) 1:05:27

Bronze: ITO Tatsuhiko (JPN) 1:05:48

 

12 July 

NAPOLI, Italy - The penultimate day of Athletics produced several stunning performances at Stadio San Paolo, with Ukraine’s Iryna Klymets and Olha Korsun winning gold in the women’s hammer throw and triple jump respectively.

 

The 13.90 jumped by Korsun saw her take the gold medal along with a personal best, while her national teammate Klymets came out on top of her event after a lengthy battle with Poland’s Malwina Kopron and Katarzyna Furmanek, who clinched silver and bronze respectively.

Triple Jump champion Korsun told FISU what the achievement meant to her.

 

“There are so many emotions right now,” she said. “It’s a good feeling.”

 

“I believed I could win, but right now I am so full of emotions.”

 

And on how she will celebrate the gold, Korsun only had one thing to say: “Party!”

 

There was also a gold medal for Great Britain in the women’s 5000m, where Jessica Judd eased home to victory. She spoke to FISU after securing gold with a time of 15:45.

“I’m so happy,” said Judd. “I’ve done so many championships and I’ve never won, so I really wanted to win.

 

“I’m just over the moon,” she added. “It was the most difficult race I’ve been in; I can’t believe I won.

 

“I keep joking that I’m a lone wolf and I do my own thing, but this week the team have been really nice, and they’ve taken me in.

 

“It’s so great, that meant a lot.”

 

The men’s events meanwhile witnessed a blistering gold medal for Brazil’s Gabriel Constantino, who finished just 0.01 seconds off the Universiade Record in the men’s 110m hurdles, with Morocco’s Mounaime Sassioui clinching gold in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

 

And in the men’s pole vault it was Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines who triumphed.

Men's Pole Vault medallistsThis morning also saw the 20km walk finals, where Australia’s Katie Hayward won the women’s competition, with her teammate Jemima Montag taking silver and Czech’ Anezka Drahotova claiming bronze.

 

In a remarkable Men’s 20km final, it was Japan who clinched all three medals, with Koki Ikeda securing gold, while Masatora Kawano and Yuta Koga finished with silver and bronze respectively.

 

On Friday, Stadio San Paolo played host to a fifth successive day of athletics finals. Having started on Monday morning, the event comes to a close tomorrow, with plenty of finals once again on show – including the men’s long jump and 800m, and the women’s high jump and 1500m.

 

Results

Men’s Pole Vault

Gold: Ernest John Obiena (PHI)

Silver: Torben Blech (GER)

Bronze: Ben Joren Broeders (BEL)

 

Women’s Hammer Throw

Gold: Iryna Klymets (UKR)

Silver: Malwina Kopron (POL)

Bronze: Katarzyna Furmanek (POL)

 

Women’s Triple Jump

Gold: Olha Korsun (UKR)

Silver: Evelise Tavares Da Veiga (POR)

Bronze: Neja Filipic (SLO)​

​​​​

Men’s 3000m Steeplechase

Gold: Mounaime Sassioui (MAR)

Silver: Rantso Mokopane (RSA)

Bronze: Ashley Smith (RSA)

 

Men’s 110m Hurdles

Gold: Gabriel Constantino (BRA)

Silver: Wilhem Belocian (FRA)

Bronze: Shunsuke Izumiya (JPN)

 

Women’s 5000m

Gold: Jessica Judd (GBR)

Silver: Nicole Hutchinson (CAN)

Bronze: Julia Van Velthoven (NED)

 

Men’s and Women’s 20km Walk

(Details below)

 

Men's and Women's 20km Walk

NAPOLI, 12 July – The women’s and men’s 20km walk started early morning on the penultimate day of athletics at Napoli 2019. On the Largo Sermoneta, along the picturesque coast, three Japanese athletes swept up gold, silver and bronze in the men’s race. Katie Hayward of Australia won the women’s 20km walk.

Men’s gold medallist Ikeda Koki was closely followed by compatriots Masatora Kawano and Yuta Koga.

 

“I’m so glad to win,” a very satisfied Koki said later. “I am not used to this weather, which is too hot, so I hadn’t given myself such a great chance.

 

Koki, who studies economics added, “Maybe I will take part in the next Summer Universiade too.”

 

Silver medallist Masatora Kawano was also happy with this result. “My first goal for today was to walk well. And I am so happy cause I did that. I am satisfied with this result,” he said.

 

In the women’s walk, Katie Hayward’s winning time of 1:33:30, was closely followed by her teammate Jemima Montag who finished in 1:33:57, to make it one-two for Australia. Drahotova Anezka of the Czech Republic won bronze.

 

“This is my first at the Summer Universiade,” said Hayward. “I am very satisfied with my result. I was confident going into the competition and I tried my best to pull away from the rest of the field.” The 19-year-old also added that she would like to participate in the next three Summer Universiade, Chengdu 2021.

 

Results:

Women 20km Walk:

Gold: HAYWARD Katie (AUS) 1:33:30

Silver: MONTAG Jemima (AUS) 1:33:57

Bronze: DRAHOTOVA Anezka (CZE) 1:35:44

 

Men 20km Walk:

Gold: IKEDA Koki (JPN) 1:22:49

Silver: KAWANO Masatora (JPN) 1:23:20

Bronze: KOGA Yuta (JPN) 1:23:35

 

11 July

NAPOLI, Italy – All eyes were on the Stadio San Paolo on Thursday night as eight finals in track and field lit up the programme at Napoli 2019. Italy were big winners in the women’s pole vault and 100m hurdles, while Brazil also came away with two gold from the track.

Even as the women’s pole vault was under way, the first set of medals to be awarded tonight were in the men’s 400m hurdles. The line-up included fastest qualifier IAAF World U20 champion Sokwakhana Zazini of South Africa, second-fastest qualifier Patrick Dovak of Poland and Alison Santos of Brazil, who had won bronze in the IAAF World U20 championships last year.

 

At the 200m mark, Zazini was powering ahead and in the lead, although Santos was nipping at his heels. As they came into the straight, it was clear that the fight for gold was between South Africa and Brazil. As the two youngest men in the field blitzed past the finish line, it was the man who was beaten by Zazini in the U20 championships who clinched gold in 48.57 seconds. Zazini took silver in 48.73 with Poland's Dobek claiming bronze in 48.99.

 

“It is a great feeling,” Santos said to FISU after the race. “I felt really good competing here. It was really amazing to win such a big event like the Universiade. I am happy with the race, with my result, with the level of competition. I just made a new national record in my category, so I am really happy.”

 

“This is my personal best,” he added. “I’ve been training and focusing on this competition so thank God it all worked out.”

 

In the women’s pole vault final, there were two Italians in the fray – Roberta Bruni and Sonia Malavisi – who were both being eagerly cheered on by the spectators. Although Bruni’s first attempt at 4.21 was disappointing for the home crowd, on the second she cleared it nicely and threw her hat in the ring for a medal. Sonia Malavisi did not clear her second attempt either but eventually did manage the third.

 

After six vaulters’ attempts, no one had cleared 4.31 until Rachel Baxter of USA did. That set the challenge for the others and Bruni (right) was up for it, clearing on her second attempt. Bruni was the first to attempt 4.41 and finally won gold with 4.46 much to the delight of the fans. Rachel Baxter won silver with 4.41 and her compatriot Bridget Antionette Guy won bronze.

 

It was double delight for the Germans in the much anticipated women’s 200m final. Jessica Wessolly ran in 23.05 seconds for silver while her countrywoman Lisa Kwayie won bronze in 23.11. It was however, Belarussian Krystsina Tsimanouskaya who became Universiade champion, as she came from behind at the 100m mark to power through in 22.99 seconds.

 

India’s Dutee Chand, who had made national history with her gold in the 100m finished out of the medals, but had only words of joy when FISU spoke to her after the race.

 

“The 100m gold was my first at world level, it’s my career highlight so far,” she smiled.

 

“I want to thank everyone who has congratulated me. I am amazed that such important people are wishing me!” she added, referring to the Indian Prime Minister’s tweet that sparked off a flurry of congratulatory messages from the Indian political establishment.  

 

The men’s 200m brought up a second gold for Brazil as Paulo Andre Camilo won with a personal best of 20.28 seconds. Silver medallist Chederick van Wyk of South Africa also set a personal best with 20.44. Ireland's Marcus Lawler won bronze.

 

It was also a second athletics gold of the night for Italy as Luminosa Bogliolo won the women’s 100m hurdles. The Italian had won her semifinal earlier in the day by more than three metres, which over a sprint distance automatically made her the favourite to become Universiade champion. Finland's Reetta Hurske finished behind her for silver, followed by France's Coralie Comte in third.

 

Athletics action continues early Friday morning, with the men’s and women’s 20km walk, while the evening session will see the finals of the men’s 100m hurdles, women’s 5000m and the men’s 4 x 400 relay, among many others.

 

Results

Women’s Pole Vault Final

Gold: BRUNI Roberta (ITA) 4.46

Silver:BAXTER Rachel Marie (USA) 4.41

Bronze:GUY Bridget Antionette (USA) 4.31

 

Men’s Javelin Final

Gold: MARDARE Andrian (MDA) 82.40

Silver: MATUSEVICIUS Edis 80.07

Bronze: MA Qun (CHN) 79.62

 

Men’s 400, Hurdles Final

Gold: SANTOS Alison (BRA) 48.57

Silver: ZAZINI Sokwakhana (RSA) 48.73

Bronze: DOBEK Patryk (POL) 48.99

 

Women’s 200m Final

Gold: TSIMANOUSKAYA Krystsina (BLR) 23.00

Silver: WESSOLLY Jessica-Bianca (GER) 23.05

Bronze: KWAYIE Lisa (GER) 23.11

 

Men’s 200m Final

Gold: CAMILO Paulo Andre (BRA) 20.28

Silver: VAN WYK Chederick M (RSA) 20.44

Bronze: LAWLER Marcus (IRL) 20.55

 

Women’s Shot Put Final

Gold: MITTON Sarah (CAN) 18.31

Silver: WARREN Portious (TTO) 17.82

Bronze: KARDASZ Klaudia (POL) 17.65

 

Women’s 100m Hurdles Final

Gold: BOGLIOLO Luminosa (ITA) 12.79

Silver: HURSKE Reetta (FIN) 13.02

Bronze: COMTE Coralie (FRA) 13.09

 

Women’s 3000m Steeplechase

Gold: KONIECZEK Alicja (POL) 9:41.46

Silver: CASETTA Belen (ARG) 9:43.05

Bronze: DAGNAW Meswat Asmare (ETH) 9:45.48

   

 

10 July

NAPOLI, Italy - On Wednesday morning, the area around the San Paolo Stadium was echoing with the sounds of athletes going through qualification rounds in track and field. After a week of unrelenting heat, the clouds and cooler weather was a welcome respite for the athletes. Right before the afternoon session, however, it started to rain and the track was soaked. It took another fifteen minutes before the sun came back out and the athletes started to compete.

Medallists in nine different athletics events were determined this night.In the women’s 400m hurdles, 22-year-old Ayomide Folorunso from Italy was clearly in the lead from the start and had built up a significant advantage halfway through.

 

After winning gold, she said “It was interesting. It was a good level of competition. In the first two hundred metres I was not too fast because I knew the most important and difficult part would be the second two hundred. I tried to come out of the first part stronger and not lose all my power.”

 

In the men’s 400m flat race finals, fastest qualifier Valente Mendoza Falcon from Mexico proved once more that he was the strongest and quickest. Mikhail Litvin from Kazakhstan came second.

 

“It is the first medal that I was able to win at three Universiades,” remarked Mikhail, happy about winning a silver medal for his country. “I plan to take part in the next Universiade too, that hopefully will give me a chance to improve my result even more.”

 

Bronze medallist in the 400m, Edward Isaacs Gardeo from South Africa told FISU “It was very difficult even though there were fewer competitors. It was one of the best results for me though. I ran faster in the past, but I hope I can run even faster in the future.”

 

In the women’s 800m race there were many spectacular moments. German Christina Hering led for a while, but fell back at the end, allowing Australian Catriona Bisset to cross the finish line first.

 

For Bisset, it was her goal for the year to participate in the Universiade. She said, “I cannot believe it. It happened so quickly. At the start I felt confident even though I had doubts as well. It is amazing to win gold.”

 

Hering commented on her second place finish saying, “For sure, it was my aim to get a medal. Catriona was very strong and I knew it would be difficult to fight against her.”

 

The gold medal winner in the women’s 400m, Paola Moran Errejon from Mexico, shared her emotions with FISU.

 

“I feel very happy and proud to represent Mexico and win the gold medal. The rain did not affect my performance today. Before the competition I did a good warm up under the roof.”

 

The men’s high jump finals were also slated for this evening and three athletes managed to reach the height of 2.27m. As the bar was raised to 2.30m, it was Tihomir Ivanov from Bulgaria who was successful with his very first attempt. No one else cleared and he won gold.

 

Silver medalist in the men’s 1,500m race Jan Fris from the Czech Republic told FISU that this was the highlight of his season. “Before the race I said to myself that I could fight for a medal and simply had to do my best,” he added. “I worked hard, and it paid off. The weather during the race was perfect for me. The sun came back and I felt nice in that atmosphere.”

 

The grueling decathlon also concluded, as the last four events were contested, with javelin and the 1500m race slated for the evening session. Both were decisive in the final rankings. Aaron James Booth from New Zealand won the event that took place over three days.

 

Thursday evening has a long lineup of finals including the women's pole vault, shot put, 100m hurdles, steeplechase and the 200m sprint. Men will fight for medals in the javelin throw, 100m hurdles and also the 200m finals. The last day of athletics action will be on 13 July when in addition to individual events, the best teams will contest the relays.

 

Results

Women's 400 m Hurdles 

Gold: FOLORUNSO Ayomide(ITA)

Silver: VAN DER WALT Zeney (RSA)

Bronze: IUEL Amalie (NOR)

 

Men's High Jump

Gold: IVANOV Tihomir (BUL)

Silver: ACET Alperen (TUR)

Bronze: GLEBAUSKAS Adrijus (LTU)

 

Men's 1500 m

Gold: ROZMYS Michal (POL)

Silver: FRIS Jan (CZE)

Bronze: RINNE Joonas (FIN)

 

Men's Triple Jump

Gold: BABAYEV Nazim (AZE)

Silver: SA Mateus (BRA)

Bronze: MELO Alexsandro (BRA)

 

Women's 400 m

Gold: MORAN ERREJON Paola (MEX)

Silver: SHIDA Leni (UGA)

Bronze: BROSSIER Amandine (FRA)

 

Women's 800 m

Gold: BISSET Catriona (AUS)

Silver: HERING Christina (GER)

Bronze: AJOK Docus (UGA)

 

Men's 400 m

Gold: MENDOZA FALCON Valente(MEX)

Silver: LITVIN Mikhail (KAZ)

Bronze: ISAACS Gardeo Edward(RSA)

 

Women's Javelin Throw

Gold: JASIUNAITE Liveta (LTU)

Silver: KITAGUCHI Haruka (TUR)

Bronze: TUGSUZ Eda (JPN)

 

Decathlon

Gold: BOOTH Aaron James (NZL)

Silver: DIAMOND Alexander (AUS)

Bronze: SINGKHON Suttisak (THA)

 

 

9 July

NAPOLI, Italy – Indian sprinter Dutee Chand made the headlines as she won the women’s 100m dash at Napoli 2019, not only locally but back in her home country too. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, took to twitter to congratulate Chand, a testament to the fact that Indian sports fans are often starved for success on the athletics track.

 

Only the third Indian woman ever to qualify for 100m at the Olympic Games (Rio 2016), Chand is of the pedigree that brings success. With the win on Tuesday night, the Indian national record holder became the first Indian female track and field athlete to clinch a gold medal at the Universiade.

 

The 23-year-old student from the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology clocked 11.32 seconds to win gold as her astonishing start had her leading all the way to the finish line. Ajla Del Ponte of Switzerland won silver, with Lisa KwaYie of Germany taking the bronze.

 

Already an international hero for being India’s first openly gay athlete, Dutee had a message for her critics as she tweeted after the race: “Pull me down, I will come back stronger!”

 

On a busy night of athletics action, the men’s hammer final was won by Ozkan Baltaci of Turkey, whose 75.89 in thefirst throwwas good enough for gold right till the end. Taylor Campbell of Great Britain also cemented silver with his very first throw of 73.86.

 

After the first three rounds, the top eight started round 4 in reverse order, with Baltaci throwing last. Having made the cut, many of the top eight ended up with no-throws in that round. Baltaci was the most consistent of the lot, with a 73.08 in the fourth round. But that did not change the standings. Dudarev of Belarus was in the bronze medal position for some time, but the last throw of 74.27 from Serhii Reheda of Ukraine took him straight to silver and knocked Dudarev off the podium, as Campbell took bronze.

 

Athletics action continues on Wednesday night, with seven finals lined up.

 

Results

Men’s Hammer Throw

Gold : Ozkan Baltaci (TUR)

Silver : Serhii Reheda (UKR)

Bronze : Taylor Campbell (GBR)

 

Women’s Long Jump

Gold : Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk (UKR)

Silver : Evelise Tavares (POR)

Bronze : Florentina Iusco (ROU)

 

Women’s 100m

Gold : Dutee Chand (IND)

Silver : Ajla Del Ponte (SUI)

Bronze : Lisa Kwayie (GER)

 

Men’s 100m

Gold : Andre Paulo (BRA)

Silver : Chederick Van Wyk (RSA)

Bronze : R Pereira Nascimento (BRA)

 

Konrad Bukowiecki continues Polish tradition with Shot Put record

 

NAPOLI, 8 July – If Konrad Bukowiecki’s effort in the fifth round of the men’s shot-put competition is any indication, athletics action at the Napoli 2019 Summer Universiade will be a cracker. At the imposing Stadio San Paolo, Bukowiecki broke the Universiade record set almost twenty ago. In a hotly contested event, four other personal bests and season’s bests were set.

 

The 22-year-old former World Junior champion did not have the best of starts. After three throws – two of which were fouls – Bukowiecki went over the 20 metre line and looked relieved. It turned out to be 21.00 and brought a big smile on his face.

With USA’s Andrew Liskowitz close on his heels, Bukowiecki then went on to launching his best effort into the fifth throw. The Taipei 2017 silver medalist let out a roar as it was evident that he had virtually sealed it – and he had, with a whopping 21.54.

 

Andrew Liskowitz won silver with a personal best of 20.49 metres and Mexican Uziel Munoz Galarza won bronze with 20.45 metres.

 

The other final of the evening was the women’s 10,000 metre race, always arduous and often very interesting. It got off to a false start though, and after a few minutes of confusion the 15 women in the fray were off.

 

For the first third of the race, no one really took the initiative to set the pace. Uganda’s Knight Aciru tried briefly but fell back just as quickly. It was only when there were 19 laps to go that the two Japanese women – Rino Goshima and the slightly more fancied Natsuki Sekiya – accelerated and went into the lead. Half way through the race, China’s Zhang Deshun pushed the pace and took the lead.

 

It stayed that way right through until the end, with the only other challenge coming from Canada’s Branna Macdougall. Despite a spirited fight from Goshima in the last 400 metres, it was Deshun who won gold, followed by the two Japanese women.

 

“I did go in thinking I could do my best. I am so glad that I won,” Zhang Deshun said later, to FISU.

 

She added that her stamina was dropping rapidly at the end. “I really started to work in the last two laps. In the final lap, I saw the Japanese athletes were coming at me and I tried my best to hold onto my first place.”

 

Referring to the beautiful pendant she wears around her neck, she said “It can give me more energy and luck in every competition.” Perhaps her lucky pendant will help her to win the Half Marathon too, on 13 July.

 

Her coach Tian Xin also joined the conversation and said, “It is difficult to have a great race in humid and hot weather. But we got the medal.”

 

“We haven’t had a chance to taste Italian pizza yet since we arrived,” he added. “So, we plan to try Italian food tonight, to celebrate Zhang Deshun’s win.”

 

Athletics action continues tomorrow, with the men’s decathlon, hammer, women’s long jump and discuss, as well as the marquee events – the men’s and women’s 100m finals.

 

Results:

Women’s 10000m

Gold: Zhang Deshun CHN

Silver: Rino Goshima JPN

Bronze: Natsuki Sekiya JPN

 

Men’s shot putt

Gold: Konrad Bukowiecki POL

Silver: Andrew Liskowitz USA

Bronze: Uziel Munoz Gal MEX