World Athletics Championships 2025 recap – Matt Hudson-Smith misses out in 400m semi-finals, Faith Kipyegon takes 1500m gold

Coverage of day four at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Kenyan middle-distance star Faith Kipyegon was the headline act in the women's 1500m final. Gold medals were also won in the men's 110m hurdles (Cordell Tinch), high jump (Hamish Kerr) and hammer (Ethan Katzberg), while Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone shone in the women’s 400m semi-finals. Coverage is live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

'Look at this!' – McLaughlin-Levrone dazzles in stunning 400m semi-final

Video credit: TNT Sports

15:00 – Another stunning night in Tokyo

What a superb evening session of athletics that has been on day four of the World Championships in Tokyo.

Ethan Katzberg broke the championship record to take gold in the men’s hammer, while Faith Kipyegon delivered a masterclass to win her fourth world title in the women’s 1500m to cement her reputation as an all-time great.

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Cordell Tinch was brilliant in the men’s 110m hurdles, taking gold and going sub-13 seconds, and Hamish Kerr brought the evening to a close as he sealed gold in the men’s high jump.

There was disappointment for Great Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith, who missed out on a spot in the final of the men’s 400m, but Amber Anning will go for gold in the women’s 400m after qualifying with the second-fastest time in the semi-finals.

She’ll have her work cut out in the final though, which is definitely one to watch on day six this Thursday. It’ll be the American Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone who starts that final as the favourite after her stunning run in the semis – a personal best of 48.29, the seventh-fastest time in history. She will be eying gold and potentially even a world record on the flat to go with her 400m hurdles record.

Remember that you can watch all of the action at the World Athletics Championships live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

14:50 – It’s gold for Hamish Kerr

The Olympic champion takes world gold as Hamish Kerr runs away to celebrate. Sangyeok Woo pushed him hard and takes silver after failing in his attempt at 2.38, and the South Korean is a popular medalist after providing plenty of energy on the night. Jan Stefela picks up bronze.

Bronze medallist Czech Republic's athlete Jan Stefela, Gold medallist New Zealand's athlete Hamish Kerr and silver medallist South Korea's Sanghyeok Woo celebrate after the men's high jump final during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 16, 2025.

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14:45 – Hamish Kerr makes his first attempt

That is simply outstanding from Hamish Kerr, who soars through the Tokyo sky and clears 2.36 at the first time of asking.

Woo passes on that height, having already failed once, and will now go for 2.38. He will need a personal best to take gold.

14:40 – Woo goes wild but Kerr responds

South Korea’s Sangyeok Woo is a beaming presence in the men’s high jump, and his positive energy cranks up a notch as he clears 2.34 to move closer to gold.

Moments later Kerr makes the same height to move into a gold-medal face-off at 2.36.

Doroshchuk puts his head in his hands on the mat as he fails to clear with his third attempt at 2.34 and that means Jan Stefela will take bronze, with the Czech athlete also failing with his third attempt. He buries his head in his hands, initially devastated to miss out on attempt to go for gold before celebrating his bronze medal, which is placed on him immediately to give him the chance to celebrate.

The battle for gold continues.

14:35 – All eyes on the high jump

Day four is almost at a close, but the men’s high jump competition continues.

Four athletes are still in the mix – Sangyeok Woo, Jan Stefela, Hamish Kerr and Oleh Doroshchuk.

14:30 – Cordell Tinch takes 110m hurdles gold

It’s sensational from the American Cordell Tinch, as he goes sub-13 seconds to lead from gun to tape and take gold in dominant fashion. He roars across the line, celebrating in the final metres, knowing his victory is already wrapped up. An extraordinary run by a brilliant athlete.

Two Jamaicans make up the podium, with Orlando Bennett taking silver and Tyler Mason the bronze, both running personal bests.

The clock shows 12.99 for Tinch – one of the fastest times ever seen at a world champs, but not quite enough to better Colin Jackson’s record time from 1993.

Cordell Tinch celebrates winning gold in the Men's 110 Metres Hurdles on day four of the World Athletics Championships.

Image credit: Getty Images

14:23 – Time for the men’s 110m hurdles final

It’s the last event on the track today as the starters line up for the men’s 110m hurdles final.

14:20 – Katzberg takes hammer gold with championship record

Ethan Katzberg has dominated the men’s hammer, throwing the three biggest distances of the night to take gold with the longest ever effort seen at a World Championship. His winning effort of 84.70 is the fifth-best ever.

His competitors gather to congratulate him as he wraps up gold.

Gold medalist Ethan Katzberg of Team Canada poses for a photo beside a screen displaying his championship record of 84.70 Metres in the Men's Hammer Throw final.

Image credit: Getty Images

14:18 – High jump and hammer coming to a close

We are into the final moments of two more finals, with the gold medals in the men’s hammer and high jump soon to be secured.

14:15 – Kipyegon wins 1500m gold

Wow. Faith Kipyegon has just delivered a dominant display in the final of the women’s 1500m, blowing the field away with an incredible run, finishing 20m clear of the rest with a time of 3:52.15.

It’s not enough to beat her own world record, but the gold medal is hers. It is the fourth time she has taken world gold over this distance.

Dorcus Ewoi of Kenya delivers a personal best to take silver, while Australia’s Jessica Hull, who was second for much of the last lap, did exceptionally well not to blow up as Kipyegon ran away from her and takes the bronze.

Gold medalist Faith Kipyegon of Team Kenya celebrates following the Women's 1500 Metres final.

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14:05 – The line-up for the 400m final

So that’s the men’s 400m semi-finals done, and this is the line-up for the final, listed in qualification order and with the fastest qualifiers indicated by a q.

Busang Collen Kebinatshipi (Botswana)
Rusheen McDonald (Jamaica)
Jereem Richards (Trinidad and Tobago) q
Jacory Patterson (USA) q
Zakithi Nene (South Africa)
Bayapo Ndori (Botswana)
Lee Bhekempilo Eppie (Botswana)
Yuki Jospeh Nakajima (Japan)

14:00 – Hudson-Smith misses out

It’s not to be for Great Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith, who sets off hard from the tricky inside line, but is overhauled along with the legendary Kirani James and Jamaica’s Delano Kennedy in the home straight. It’s Ndori of Botswana who wins it with a season’s best of 44.21, and the home crowd erupts as Japan’s Nakajima finishes superbly to take second spot and qualify automatically.

Hudson-Smith takes an age to lift himself from the track after missing out on the final. He had hoped to go for gold here in Tokyo, so to not reach the final will be a huge disappointment for him.

13:50 – World-leading run

The second semi-final in the men’s 400m sees the fastest time in the world this year from Botswana’s Kebinatshipi and there’s a big shock behind him as Jacory Patterson of the USA misses out on qualification, with Jereem Richards from Trinidad & Tobago finishing ahead of him and hoping to qualify as one of the additional fastest two. The American would have been one of the medal favourites coming into this championships.

It’s a disappointing run too for Charles Dobson of Great Britain.

13:48 – A reminder that you can watch this live

We’re heading towards the business end of tonight’s session with plenty of medals up for grabs. You can watch it all on TNT Sports 3 and discovery+.

13:45 – Time for the men’s 400m semis

After that show from the women, it’s time for the men’s semi-finals in the 400m. The first race is held for a very long time due to a faulty start, but when it finally gets underway it’s South Africa’s Zakithi Nene who cruises to victory, with Botswana’s Eppie in second spot.

Great Britain’s Samuel Reardon wasn’t really in the mix there unfortunately, but we do have more British involvement in the other semi-finals.

13:35 – The line-up for the 400m final

So that’s the women’s 400m semi-finals done, and these are the eight athletes who are through to the final, listed by qualification time… so that means that Anning and Pryce, who were miles back in the third semi, still finished faster than any other athlete seen today, even the dominant Naser in semi-final two.

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone (USA)
Amber Anning (Great Britain)
Nickisha Pryce (Jamaica) q
Salwa Eid Naser (Bahrain)
Natalia Bukowiecka (Poland)
Roxana Gomez (Cuba)
Marileidy Paulino (Dominican Republic)
Henriette Jaeger (Norway) q

'Look at this!' – McLaughlin-Levrone dazzles in stunning 400m semi-final

Video credit: TNT Sports

13:30 – Astonishing running from an all-time great

Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone wouldn’t even call herself a 400m specialist, but she puts in an astonishing run in the third semi-final to cross miles clear in 48.29. It’s a lifetime best for the American and the seventh fastest time over this distance in history. What on earth could she do in the final?!

Mclaughlin-Levrone already has three World gold medals to her name, two in the 4x400m relay (in 2022 and 2019) and one in her specialist event of the 400m hurdles, where she is of course the world-record holder. But could she be on the verge of breaking the 400m flat record too? She had plenty in the tank crossing the line there.

A superb run from Great Britain’s Amber Anning sees her pip Jamaica’s Pryce on the line to finish second and qualify for the final, where she will be hopeful of bagging a medal.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of USA after winning her women's 400m semi-final during day four of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025.

Image credit: Getty Images

13:23 – Have we just seen the gold medal throw?

Canada’s Ethan Katzberg has unleashed a monster throw in the men’s hammer. His 84.70 is a championship record and could well be enough to earn him a gold medal. We’ll see.

Ethan Katzberg of Canada in the men's hammer final at the World Athletics Championships.

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13:20 – A statement run from Naser

There is a very long hold in the second 400m semi-final and a green card is brandished, meaning that any false start was due to the excessive hold rather than athlete error.

Salw Eid Naser of Bahrain gets off to an outrageous start when the race does get underway and she finishes well clear to qualify in first with 49.47, quicker than the first semi with a real statement run. She cruised through the line and has more in the tank for sure.

Gomez from Cuba takes second with a season’s best and there are a lot of shaking heads as some high-level athletes are in serious danger of missing out on those fastest qualification spots. Lieke Klaver and Stacey Ann Williams are among those who won’t be in the final, with Isabella Whittaker and Henriette Jaeger currently in the two fastest additional qualifying spots.

13:12 – On to the next track event

The hurdles have been cleared away and we’re ready for the three semi-finals in the women’s 400m.

Some hugely impressive athletes are in the first semi and the quality is a bit too high for Great Britain’s Yemi Mary John, who is a young runner with a big future. The Olympic silver medalist Marileidy Paulino from the Dominican Republic looked in complete control of the race, but eased up ahead of the line as was beaten by Bukowiecka from Poland and very nearly missed out on qualification, with Jaeger from Norway dipping on the line and finishing just five hundredths of a second behind Paulino in a photo finish.

You’d have thought people would have learned after this finish line heartbreak:

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13:05 – Field finals continue

The men’s high jump is into its second jump, while elsewhere the men’s hammer final has just got underway. Big opening throws from Canada’s Ethan Katzberg and Hungary’s Bence Halasz get the competition off to a strong start.

13:05 – The line-up for the 110m hurdles final

So the semi-finals are completed and we now know that the final of the men’s 110m hurdles will be between these athletes:

Tyler Mason (Jamaica)
Cordell Tinch (USA)
Rachid Muratake (Japan)
Jason Joseph (Switzerland)
Orlando Bennett (Jamaica)
Enrique Llopis (Spain)
Ja’Kobe Tharp (USA)
Just Kwaou-Mathey (France)

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13:00 – Huge name misses out

The third and final men’s 110m hurdles sees a brilliant run from home favourite Muratake earn him second spot behind Jamaica’s Tyler Mason, whose 13.12 is the fastest run of the day.

The shock news is that Grant Holloway from America runs a shocker to finish sixth and crash out. He’s one of the fastest runners in history but this will not be his championship.

There’s a three-way tie for the second fastest qualifying spot and it goes down to thousands of a second to see who progresses, with France’s Kwaou-Mathey the runner to get it.

Rachid Muratake of Team Japan celebrates during the men's 110m hurdles semi-finals.

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12:50 – A faster 110m hurdles semi

The second semi-final of the men’s 110m hurdles is quicker than the first and that’s bad news for Japan’s Nomoto and USA’s Beard, who are both knocked out of the fastest qualifier spots.

Cordell Tinch wins the semi impressively, with Switzerland’s Jason Joseph in second. It’s the Jamaican Prince and Italy’s Simonelli who take those two fastest qualifier spots with one semi-final to come.

12:45 – 110m Hurdles semi-finals start

The action is coming thick and fast now in Tokyo and it’s time for the three semi-finals in the men’s 110m hurdles.

The shock in the first semi is that American Dylan Beard is run out of it, finishing fourth having had a nose in front for much of the race. Orlando Bennett from Jamaica wins the heat ahead of Spain’s Enrique Llopis – those are the two automatic qualifiers.

12:40 – Men’s high jump final gets going

The first final of the night is underway, with 2.20 the starting height in the men’s high jump. Sanghyeok Woo of South Korea and Hamish Kerr of New Zealand both breeze over the bar as the first two jumpers of the night.

12:38 – Third attempts in women’s triple jump

The jumpers are going through their third attempts in the women’s triple jump and we’re starting to see the disappointment of athletes who haven’t executed on the night and miss out on their spot in the final. It’s always a hard one to watch.

12:34 – The 800m heats come to a close

The seventh and final men’s 800m heat is a quick one as the runners eye those three fastest qualifier spots. Kebenei from Kenya finishes in fourth and knocks the big-name Australian Bol out of the competition as one of the qualifiers.

There will be two British runners in the semi-finals in Max Burgin and Ben Pattison, and Ireland have two qualifiers too in Cian McPhillips and Mark English.

12:27 – Another British qualifier

A second British athlete qualifies for the men’s 800m semi-finals, with Max Burgin winning the sixth heat with the quickest run of the day, finishing ahead of Botswana’s Masalela and another impressive Jamaican in Anderson.

He’s just 23 years old is Burgin, but he’s a massive talent and comes into these championships in good shape after some injury setbacks early in his career.

Max Burgin of Team Great Britain competes in the heats of the Men's 800m during day four of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025.

Image credit: Getty Images

12:25 – Finals on the horizon

It’s been a steady start to this evening session, but we’ve got some big finals coming up.

The first one to get underway will be the men’s high jump, which starts in a little over ten minutes. Remember that you can watch today’s coverage live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

12:16 – Španović struggling to qualify

The experienced Serbian triple jumper Ivana Španović is struggling to make the distance after her second jump in qualifying and won’t be progressing as things stand. The 2023 World Champion is one of the bigger names in this field and it would be a shock if she were to miss out on the final.

12:08 – Excellent run from Ireland’s McPhillips

McPhillips from Ireland produces an excellent finish to win his heat in the men’s 800m. Bol from Australia will have a nervy wait to see if he makes it through after finishing fourth, with America’s Hoppel and Jamaica’s Taylor joining Cian McPhillips in the top three.

Ireland's athlete Cian McPhillips reacts after the men's 800m heats during the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 16, 2025.

Image credit: Getty Images

12:00 – Triple jump continues

We’re still working our way through the first jumps in the women’s triple jump qualification competition. It seems to be a very fast track and quite a few jumpers are struggling to get their takeoff position right, with a lot of conservative first jumps on the board. We could see some big distances in the final on this evidence though.

Leyanis Perez Hernandez of Cuba competes at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Image credit: Getty Images

11:55 – Ben Pattison through in the 800m

The men’s 800m heats continue. A reminder that the top three in each of the seven heats will progress, along with the three next fastest runners across the heats.

Great Britain do have a qualifier, with Ben Pattison running an excellent race in the third heat to qualify in second place behind Wyderka and ahead of Tual, with a lot of big names missing out in another tactical race that finished with a big kick. American rising star Lutkenhaus, who is just 16 years old, is one of those to fail to qualify.

11:49 – Disappointment for Crorken

Great Britain’s representative in the second heat of the men’s 800m gets run out of it in a very tight finish, ending fifth and he will not be making the final. He looked to come around the outside and kick on in the home straight, but the fast finish proved a bit too much for him to overhaul.

Men's 800m heats during day four of the World Athletics Championships

Image credit: Getty Images

11:45 – Triple Jump qualifying is ongoing

While the 800m heats continue, the women’s triple jump qualification stages are ongoing. There are some excellent jumpers in this field and Perez Hernandez from Cuba makes the qualifying distance look an absolute breeze. She won’t be the last to make it through that’s for sure.

Rojas, the holder of the world record, is back from injury here in Tokyo and she gets the qualification distance first up and celebrates with a dance for the crowd. We’ll bring you big updates from that qualification event as it unfolds.

11:38 – First event of the night

We kick off with the first of seven heats in the men’s 800m. Djamel Sedjati is the form runner in the race and he bides his time before kicking on the home straight, finishing second in three-man bunch. That wasn’t the quickest of runs at all, quite a tactical race with Roban leading for essentially 750m but missing out in the sprint. It’s unlikely given the time of that race that you’ll get a fourth-placed qualifier, but we’ll wait and see. Barroso from Spain and Haingura of Botswana are the other qualifiers along with Sedjati.

Heat 2 has British interest in the shape of Tiarnan Crorken.

11:30 – Coverage is live on TNT Sports and discovery+

The broadcast of today’s session is underway and, if you are a discovery+ subscriber, you can watch it live right now at the link below. The show is also live on TNT Sports 3.

11:25 - What is coming up today?

It’s an action-packed schedule in Tokyo today. Here’s what’s coming up:

11:35 - Men's 800m heats
11:40 - Women's Triple Jump qualification
12:36 - Men's High Jump final
12:40 - Men's 110m Hurdles semi-final
13:01 - Men's Hammer Throw final
13:07 - Women's 400m semi-final
13:35 - Men's 400m semi-final
14:05 - Women's 1500m final
14:20 - Men's 110m Hurdles final

11:20 - World still reeling from Duplantis magic

Yesterday’s headline performance was the majestic world-record jump by Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, beating his own world record once more to set a new all-time standard for the 14th time in his career.

Duplantis spoke to reporters, having hugged his mentor Renaud Lavillenie following his astonishing triumph, and this is what he had to say:

"I'm really at a loss for words, I'm just so happy. To be able to give you guys this world record is just amazing."

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Video credit: TNT Sports

11:15 - Hello and welcome

Welcome to our live coverage of the evening session on day four of the World Athletics Championships. Stay tuned for live text commentary of all the action in Tokyo and you can also watch the World Athletics Championships live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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Thoughts?