Relays rule on final day in Birmingham, with Eaton, Kendricks, Reese and Wilson all securing silver medals for U.S.

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

One American 4x400-meter relay quartet came into the IAAF World Indoor Championships with aspirations of breaking the world record.

Another got beat by one Sunday at Arena Birmingham.

After the U.S. women ran a championship record and the second-fastest time in history at 3 minutes, 23.85 seconds, it was Poland who grabbed the spotlight in the men’s 4x400, with anchor Jakub Krzewina surging past American Vernon Norwood in the final 50 meters to set a world record by clocking 3:01.77.

It marked the first World Indoor title for Poland since 2001 and ended the U.S. reign of six consecutive championships. The Americans, who ran the third-fastest time in history at 3:01.97, also had their streak of six straight World Outdoor 4x400 gold medals snapped by Trinidad and Tobago in August in London.

Fred Kerley opened for the Americans in 44.84, the fastest leadoff split ever recorded indoors, with Michael Cherry and Aldrich Bailey maintaining the lead entering the anchor leg. But Karol Zalewski, Rafal Omelko and Lukasz Krawczuk kept Poland within striking distance, allowing Krzewina to make history in the final stretch, closing in 45.01 to prevail over the U.S. and third-place Belgium (3:02.51).

Despite a stumble on the second leg by Georganne Moline, the U.S. women were in control throughout, cruising to a fourth World Indoor 4x400 gold medal, including the third in a row.

Quanera Hayes opened in 51.56, with Moline overcoming a turned ankle to split 50.87, before Shakima Wimbley produced a 51.27 split to put individual 400 champion Courtney Okolo in position to challenge the world record.

Okolo closed in 50.15, moving the Americans ahead of Russia’s 2004 championship record of 3:23.88, but just behind the all-time mark of 3:23.37, also set by Russia, in 2006.

Hayes and Okolo were both members of the U.S. team that captured World Indoor gold in 2016 in Portland, Ore. Hayes and Wimbley were part of the American quartet that secured World Outdoor gold in London and Hayes was also part of the victorious U.S. lineup at the IAAF World Relays last year in the Bahamas, with Moline earning her first global medal.

After Jamaica was disqualified, silver went to Poland (3:26.09) and bronze to Great Britain (3:29.38).

Sam Kendricks capped the competition with the 18th medal for the U.S., earning silver in the men’s pole vault by clearing 19-2.50 (5.85m), as France’s Renaud Lavillenie repeated as champion and captured his third World Indoor gold overall with a 19-4.25 (5.90m) clearance.

Kendricks, the defending World Outdoor champion, took one attempt at 19-6.25 (5.95m), but was unsuccessful. Lavillenie took three attempts at 19-8.25 (6.00m) after he and Kendricks shared the world lead entering the meet at 19-5.50 (5.93m).

Poland’s Piotr Lisek also cleared 19-2.50 for bronze, with Kendricks prevailing on fewer attempts, as the order of medals was the exact same as 2016. Lafayette LA senior Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, competing for Sweden, tied for seventh with a 18-8.25 (5.70m) clearance and U.S. indoor champion Scott Houston placed 13th, clearing 18-4.50 (5.60m).

It was an emotional women’s long jump competition, with Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic finally capturing her first global gold medal after a world-leading leap of 22-10 (6.96m) in the fourth round.

Spanovic had captured a silver and four bronze medals, before finally prevailing over three-time World Indoor champion and 10-time global medalist for the U.S. Brittney Reese, who briefly took the lead in the fourth round with a jump of 22-7.25 (6.89m).

Spanovic, who secured bronze in 2014 and silver in 2016 behind Reese, became the third female athlete to have all three World Indoor medals. Germany’s Sosthene Moguenara-Taroum earned bronze with a mark of 22-5.75 (6.85m) and American Quanesha Burks placed fourth with a personal-best 22-4.25 (6.81m) on her opening jump.

Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba repeated as women’s 800-meter champion in 1:58.31, with Ajee’ Wilson earning her second straight World Indoor silver medal in 1:58.99.

Niyonsaba became the first back-to-back 800 gold medalist since Mozambique’s Maria Mutola won four in a row from 2001-06, with Wilson running the fastest time by an American at World Indoors, moving ahead of Meredith Valmon, who clocked 1:59.11 in 1999. Wilson also became only the second U.S. female with multiple medals in the World Indoor 800, joining Joetta Clark Diggs.

Great Britain’s Shelayna Oskan-Clarke ran 1:59.81 for bronze, with Raevyn Rogers placing fifth for the Americans in 2:01.44.

Andrew Pozzi became the first male athlete from the host country to win gold, edging American Jarret Eaton in the 60 hurdles by a 7.46 to 7.47 margin, with France’s Aurel Manga earning bronze in 7.54.

Pozzi became the first British hurdler since Colin Jackson in 1999 to capture gold, with Eaton securing his first global medal after placing fourth in 2016. Aries Merritt, the 2012 World Indoor champion, placed fourth for the U.S. in 7.56.

Just like Genzebe Dibaba in the women’s 1,500 and 3,000, Ethiopians swept the men’s distance races as well, with the Americans missing out on medals in both events.

Nike Oregon Project athlete Yomif Kejelcha repeated in the 3,000, becoming the first male athlete to achieve the feat since American Bernard Lagat in 2010 and 2012, despite running the slowest winning time in World Indoor history at 8:14.41. Ethiopia nearly became the first country to sweep the medals in any World Indoor event, with Selemon Barega capturing silver in 8:15.59 and Hagos Gebrhiwet taking fourth in 8:15.76.

Kenya’s Bethwell Birgen broke up the potential sweep by grabbing bronze in 8:15.70, with American Shadrack Kipchirchir getting disqualified for lane infringement.

It marked the fourth time Ethiopia swept the men’s and women’s 3,000 gold medals, but the first time the country had gone 1-2 in the men’s final, joining Ireland in 1987 as the only nation to achieve the feat.

Samuel Tefera, 18, became the youngest to win the men’s 1,500 and the second-youngest male athlete to capture any World Indoor gold medal, trailing only fellow countryman Mohammed Aman in the 800 in 2012.

Tefera clocked 3:58.19 to become the first Ethiopian to win the title since 2010, giving the country its first sweep of the men’s and women’s 1,500 since 2008.

Marcin Lewandowski secured Poland’s first 1,500 medal by taking silver in 3:58.39, with Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider capturing his fourth career World Indoor medal in the event by earning bronze in 3:58.43. Americans Ben Blankenship (3:58.89) and Craig Engels (3:58.92) finished fifth and seventh.