2019 IAAF World Championships

Hassan Wins 10k With Last Mile Masterpiece: Day Two Grades

Hassan Wins 10k With Last Mile Masterpiece: Day Two Grades

Sifan Hassan and Christian Coleman earned top marks on Saturday in Doha.

Sep 28, 2019 by Lincoln Shryack
Hassan Wins 10k With Last Mile Masterpiece: Day Two Grades
Day two at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha will be remembered fondly for the jaw-dropping last mile produced by Sifan Hassan in the women’s 10,000m and the dominant 100m win by Christian Coleman.

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Day two at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha will be remembered fondly for the jaw-dropping last mile produced by Sifan Hassan in the women’s 10,000m and the dominant 100m win by Christian Coleman.

Here are the day two grades:

Sifan Hassan: A+

If Sifan Hassan has taught us anything over the course of her iconic 2019 season, it’s that her finishing speed knows no bounds. In Monaco back in July, Hassan closed the final 800m of her 4:12.33 mile world record in a preposterous 2:02. In her most recent triumph before the 2019 World Championships, the Dutch star crushed the Brussels 5,000m field with another sub-2:03 last two laps. It turns out those performances were just precursors to the masterpiece that the 26-year-old unleashed on the women’s 10,000m field on Saturday night in Doha.

In winning her first outdoor global title in 30:17.62, Hassan launched a sizzling last four laps that only she could produce: a 4:17.15 last 1600m which included an unfathomable 3:59.09 1500m close. Both times, by themselves, are top 10 in the world this year. Hassan did that after running over five miles under five minute per mile pace.

The race marked just her second career 10,000m, but a resume that included that mile record and a 65-minute half marathon personal best made her the pre-race favorite. Hassan wisely let her Kenyan and Ethiopian challengers do a majority of the leading throughout the race while never letting them gap her. When Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey made the first real move of the race with just under four laps to go, Hassan calmly covered it gradually over the next few laps. 

With two to go she had moved into second, past Kenyans Agnes Tirop and the struggling Hellen Obiri. At 600m left it was clear that Hassan was going to catch Gidey, it was just a matter of when. Gidey gave a peek around her shoulder at 550m to go and learned what the rest of us already knew: there was no stopping Sifan Hassan.

The 21-year-old Gidey, who came in with the fastest time this season of 30:37, tried to mount a rally in the last lap to no avail. Hassan had a 61-second closer that wrecked any chance at a Gidey comeback. She took second in 30:21.23.

Tirop earned the bronze in 30:25.20.

The top finishers all ran personal bests in a race that produced the five fastest times of the year. The American women were never in contention, but Marielle Hall (eighth, 31:05.71), Molly Huddle (ninth, 31:07.24) and Emily Sisson (10th, 31:12:56) each notched top 10 finishes.

Christian Coleman: A+

Saturday night provided confirmation of what was known even before the 2019 season: Christian Coleman is the best 100m sprinter in the world. The 23-year-old blasted out of the blocks and was never challenged by silver medalist Justin Gatlin as he won in 9.76, the third-fastest time ever by an American and the fastest winning time at the world championships since Usain Bolt’s 9.58 world record in 2009.

Christian Coleman Dominates 100m Final


Of course, Coleman’s drive to Doha gold was threatened last month when a whereabouts controversy erupted surrounding his drug testing history. The case against him by USADA was dropped, although the speculation was not. On Saturday Coleman called the negative reaction he received “disheartening,” but said that all the attention did not bother him. 

That’s tough to buy entirely after Coleman released a 22-minute video denouncing the unfavorable headlines and USADA’s bungled case, but his resounding victory will provide a fresh narrative about the embattled young star. He’s the fastest man in the world right now and that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.

U.S. Women’s 800m: A

For the first time since 2013, the Americans will have three women in the 800m final as Ajee’ Wilson, Raevyn Rogers and Ce’Aira Brown all advanced to Monday’s main event from the semis. Rogers took her heat in 1:59.57, with the Diamond League champ Wilson winning the next one in 2:00.31. Brown placed third in a chaotic third heat in 2:00.12 to qualify for the World Championships final despite missing the U.S. version.

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The 25-year-old Wilson looks untouchable right now, and of course she hasn’t lost to a single finalist this season. She’ll try to become the first American woman to win an 800m world title on Monday, with Rogers and Brown looking to join her on the podium. No country has ever swept all three medals in this event at worlds but this trio has an outside shot to do it.

Ugandan Women’s 800m: D-

The Ugandan women qualified two to the 800m final, but it was their sloppy and borderline dirty tactics in Saturday’s semi-finals that earned them some derision from their fellow competitors. 

In the first semi, Winnie Nanyando came up aggressively to the side of Raevyn Rogers and made contact with the American’s leg. The worst of it came in the third and final semi-final as Halimah Nakaayi repeatedly hand-checked Kenya’s Eunice Sum with around 250 meters to go before pushing Jamaica’s Natoya Goule in the final 100m with a two-arm shove.

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Goule said afterwards that she felt impeded by Nakaayi, although Goule did ultimately make the final anyway. With Nakaayi not receiving a disqualification, a precedent has been set for the final that unnecessary contact will be tolerated. Expect a wild race on Monday.

Men’s 400m Hurdles: A

Rai Benjamin’s Air Pod Game: F

The stage is set for the greatest men’s 400m hurdles race in history on Monday as all three sub-47 second athletes in the field— Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Abderrahman Samba— qualified to the final. As expected, Warholm and Benjamin looked the best in winning their respective heats in 48.28 and 48.52, while the Qatari Samba struggled to keep pace with Benjamin in heat three. Samba did not race a 400m hurdles between May 18 and the start of these championships due to injury.

As the reigning champion and 2019 Diamond League winner, Warholm will enter as the favorite. His 46.92 last month is the closest anyone has come to Kevin Young’s 46.78 world record, and the current trio meeting for the first time ever in two days could finally see someone eclipse the mark.

Aside from the action at Khalifa International Stadium, the U.S. champion Benjamin gets low marks for an entirely different matter— losing his Air Pods. And for the 22-year-old, this isn’t a new thing. He said after the race that this is his third lost pair. That’s not cheap.

U.S. Men’s 800m: A

All four of Donavan Brazier, Clayton Murphy, Bryce Hoppel and Brannon Kidder moved on to Sunday’s semi-finals in the men’s 800m. Brazier, the 2019 Diamond League champion and second-fastest American ever (1:42.70), won his heat in 1:46.04. Murphy and Hoppel finished second in their respective heats to also earn automatic qualification, while Kidder-- who is only in Doha because Brazier earned a Diamond League bye-- had to rely on a time qualifier to get through.

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Based on their experience and personal bests, Brazier and Murphy should make the final with ease on Sunday. Anything more than that would be a pleasant bonus for the Americans.

Deanna Price: A+

History was made on Saturday for U.S. women’s throwing as 26-year-old Deanna Price won gold in the hammer throw to become the first American to ever medal in the event at a global championship. Price heaved her winning 77.54m throw on her third attempt, outpacing Poland’s Joanna Fiodorow by over a meter.

Price, whose best prior finish at a global championship was eighth at the 2016 Olympics, was overcome with emotion as she dropped to her knees and buried her hands in her face after the final throw. Her win marked the first gold medal for the Americans at the 2019 World Championships.

The stars aligned perfectly for Price in 2019 as she not only improved her own American record to 78.24m, but saw the greatest hammer thrower ever, Poland’s Anita Włodarczyk, go down with a season-ending injury in the summer. Włodarczyk had won six of the last seven global titles before this year.