World Athletics Championships 2023: Britain's Ben Pattison claims shock 800m bronze
- Published
GB's Ben Pattison wins bronze in the men's 800m final
Ben Pattison claimed a shock 800m bronze medal with a sensational run on his World Championships debut as Great Britain's women made the 4x100m podium.
Pattison looked in disbelief after crossing the line in one minute 44.83 seconds to earn his first global medal.
The 21-year-old is the first British man to win a world 800m medal since Peter Elliott in Rome in 1987.
GB's Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Daryll Neita took 4x100m bronze.
In the absence of Dina Asher-Smith - missing following disappointing performances in the 100m and 200m - the quartet clocked 41.97 seconds, coming behind the USA and Jamaica.
That was Britain's seventh medal of the championships - equalling the team's 2022 performance with one day remaining.
The men's 4x100m team fell 0.04secs short of a medal as Noah Lyles brought the USA home to complete his haul of three gold medals in Budapest.
Lyles, who defended his 200m title on Friday to add to his surprise 100m triumph, crossed the line in 37.38secs as Italy and Jamaica completed the podium.
Pattison inspired by song to seize moment in spotlight
'My friend wrote a song about me winning a medal' - Pattinson's delight at bronze
Pattison held his hands on his head as he walked around the track after seeing confirmation of his unexpected medal.
The Briton was as shocked as anyone as the magnitude of his achievement sunk in, having lined up as one of just two athletes in the eight-man final not to have run under 44 seconds over the distance.
But, with a trademark quick finish, the inexperienced Pattison found space on the inside and pressed on to seal a memorable success.
And while it appeared clear that he had crossed the line in third, Pattison waited for absolute confirmation to appear on the scoreboard before collecting a British flag and running away with a beaming smile on his face.
"I don't know why you're interviewing me... I can't think of anything to say!" Pattison joked.
"I feel like I'm going to wake up in a minute. All day, I've had people telling me I'm going to medal. Halfway through the day, I started to believe it.
"My mate Tommy wrote a song for me - 'Ben Pattison's coming home with a medal round his neck'. He was right!"
Pattison won Commonwealth bronze at his first major championships last summer before finishing sixth at the European Championships.
He ran a personal best 1:44.02 at the London Diamond League to make the world standard one month ago.
That time saw him enter the World Championships ranked 13th in the world - and the third fastest among British athletes.
"Going into the race, I thought 'I don't want to leave with any regrets'," said Pattison.
"It was a slow first lap, which suits me and, in the last 100m, I said to myself, 'I've got a medal here'. I just kept pushing.
"To the line, it was a battle of who wants it more - and I came out on top. I don't really know what's going on right now."
GB win relay bronze but men's quartet fall short
GB takes home bronze while USA wins gold
The British women's team saw their medal hopes ended by an unfortunate injury to Asher-Smith last year, but they achieved their target in Budapest.
Asher-Smith, who was left confused by her underperformance at these championships, was present at the warm-up track as her team-mates Philip, Lansiquot, Williams and Neita prepared for their final.
As teams from the Netherlands and Ivory Coast faltered, Neita, fifth with a personal best in the 200m a day earlier, confirmed a podium finish.
Lansiquot said: "This is honestly the most inspiring era of British female sprinting. I can't portray that enough. Being around these girls, warming up together, it just inspires me with so much belief."
After the USA men's team had earned gold, 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson sealed victory for the women's quartet.
The 23-year-old, who also won 200m bronze, sprinted towards triple gold winner Lyles and the rest of the team in celebration after the USA completed near-total domination of the sprint events.
Lyles takes third gold as USA win 4x100m relay
In the 4x400m relay heats, the British men's team, consisting of Lewis Davey, Charlie Dobson, Rio Mitcham and Alex Haydock-Wilson, qualified automatically for Sunday's final.
In finishing third behind the USA and India in 2:59.42, they qualified third fastest overall, with men's 400m silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith set to compete in the final.
The women's quartet featuring Laviai Nielsen, Amber Anning, Nicole Yeargin and Yemi Mary John won their heat in 3:23.33.
In that event, the USA - among the favourites - suffered disqualification for exchanging the baton outside the changeover area.
Kipyegon and Duplantis star on day eight
World record holder Kipyegon wins 5,000m gold
Faith Kipyegon become the first athlete to win a 1500m and 5,000m double at a World Championships after triumphing over the longer distance on Saturday.
The Kenyan, one of the standout athletes of 2023 having broken the 5,000m mark among three world records, clocked 14:53.88 to beat Dutch 1500m bronze medallist Sifan Hassan (14:54.11).
Swedish pole vault star Armand Duplantis was unable to break his own world record after successfully defending his title in front of a captivated audience.
The 23-year-old, who has reset the record six times since first breaking it in 2020, was the only athlete to clear 6.05m.
He then also comfortably went over 6.10m before three failed attempts at 6.23m.
Elsewhere, American Chase Ealey won women's shot put gold with a best throw measuring 20.43m, while Canada's Pierce LePage took the men's decathlon title after two todays of competition.