Africa-Press – South-Africa. Former Olympic champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden won the last gold medal of the 2025 World Athletics Championships on Sunday with the penultimate throw of a men’s discus final delayed for more than two hours by rain.
World record holder Mykolas Alekna managed the only legal throw before the heavens opened at the National Stadium and the athletes were removed from the arena for safety reasons.
They returned after all the other events and the official closing ceremony had been completed, an army of volunteers wiping down the throwing circle with towels between attempts as the rain persisted.
Lithuanian Alekna laid down a marker with a throw of 67.84m on his second attempt which it led until Stahl took to the circle for his last shot at the title.
Revving up the remaining crowd at the arena where he won the Olympic title in 2021, the 33-year-old sent the disc soaring in to the sky and past the 70-metre line for his season’s best throw of 70.47m and a second world title.
Alekna, 22, fouled his last attempt and finished second to add to his bronze at the last world championships and silver in 2022 but remained without a title to match the two his father Virgilijus won in discus in 2003 and 2005.
Alex Rose took bronze with a throw of 66.96m on his fifth attempt to knock Australia’s Matt Denny out of third place and give Samoa a first world championship medal.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers, twice an Olympic silver medallist, won the women’s world high jump gold on Sunday, but only after a nervous wait during a long rain suspension.
Olyslagers, the world indoor champion for the last two years, was faultless through to 2.00 metres, with Poland’s Maria Zodzik the only other athlete to clear it — at the third attempt — for a lifetime best.
Ukraine’s Olympic champion and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh failed once — before torrential rain forced a suspension of the action.
After around an hour trying to keep warm, the remaining three athletes returned to the fray, though with little success.
Mahuchikh passed at two metres but failed twice at 2.02 to share the bronze on 1.97 with Serbia’s Angelina Topic.
Neither Zodzik or Olyslagers could get over 2.02 and so it was all over with a flash, with silver for Poland and gold for Australia — their first of the championships.
Also, the US finished the world championships in style as Noah Lyles and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden completed memorable individual weeks by helping their country to emphatic golds in both 4×100 metre relays in driving rain on Sunday.
Jefferson-Wooden became the second woman to sweep all three sprint titles at one World Athletics Championships.
The 24-year-old, who won the 100-200m double in Tokyo, helped the US to a lead at the last exchange and Sha’Carri Richardson brought the baton home in 41.75 seconds.
“I did what I wanted to do individually, and then came back together with my girls, my training partners, and we were all able to walk away with the gold,” said Jefferson-Gooden.
“It’s crazy to be going home with three gold medals. I added my name to the history books once again. I am right where I want to be.”
Jamaica finished second in 41.79 to send sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, whose 2013 sweep Jefferson-Wooden emulated, into retirement with a 17th world championship medal.
Germany came third in 41.87 for bronze on the back of a blistering final leg from Gina Lueckenkemper to see off Britain, who finished fourth in 42.07.
In the men’s race, the final track event of what has been a fantastic nine days of action, the US were slick in their handovers despite the testing conditions.
Kenny Bednarek got a gold to cheer him up after yet another silver in the 200m, but it was Lyles taking the spotlight again as he brought them home in 37.29 for his second gold after he won a fourth successive 200 following his bronze in the 100.
Fast-finishing Canada took silver in 37.55, with the Netherlands delighted to take bronze in a national record 37.81.
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