World Athletics day three: Mixed fortunes for Fraser-Pryce & Lavillenie

Like Usain Bolt before her, Jamaica’s female counterpart Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce mounted a successful defence of her 100m title at the World Athletics Championships on day three of Beijing.

Pushed close by Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers, whose conversion from the Heptathlon has been hugely impressive and is now odds-on at 1/2 to be 200m champion, Fraser-Pryce ran 10.76 seconds to secure a sixth world Gold medal. Tori Bowie of the USA built on her own improvement to bag Bronze.

Kenya did a long-distance double, as Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot beat women’s 10,000m favourite Gelete Burka of Ethiopia and Ezekiel Kemboi led three of his compatriots home for a fourth world men’s 3000m Steeplechase crown.

Pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie, meanwhile, saw his World Athletics Championships curse continue, as he failed to clear 5m 90cm – a height way down on his best.

The Frenchman bottling it on this stage once again saw him have to settle for Bronze, and allowed up-and-coming Canadian vaulter Shawn Barber to surprisingly take top honours. Defending champion Raphael Holzdeppe scooped Silver.

Ladies’ triple jump chance Ekaterina Koneva of Russia could not replicate her 15m form when it mattered most and finished seventh, as Caterine Ibarguen defended her title with a best effort of 14m 90cm. Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko, jumping for Israel, was 11cm down on the Colombian, while Olympic champion Olga Rypakova took Bronze.

Also in the field, Olympic and Commonwealth men’s long jump champion Greg Rutherford made the world final, going out to 8m 25cm in qualifying. He’s 7/4 to complete his Gold medal collection, but the USA’s world leader Jeff Henderson jumped further and remains odds-on 1/2 favourite for top honours.