GB's Caudery 'so ready' for world title bid

Molly Caudery won her first global gold at last year's World Indoor Championships in Glasgow

Molly Caudery says she is "so ready" for a world title bid after finishing second in the pole vault at the Brussels Diamond League.

Britain's Caudery, 25, impressed with five consecutive first-time clearances to 4.80m but was unable to equal her season's best as she had three failures at 4.85m.

American two-time world champion Katie Moon, one of Caudery's main rivals for gold at next month's World Championships in Tokyo, went clear at that height with her final attempt to claim victory.

"It has been a bit of a rocky season, I've had a few ups and downs, so to be coming into my form now is good," Caudery told the Diamond League.

Asked if she feels ready to go for world gold, she said: "I'm so ready and that's why I actually feel quite frustrated today - but I don't think that's a bad emotion to be feeling.

"I know that I have got more and I just need to express that and that's a good place to be."

Caudery, who was crowned world indoor champion in a breakout 2024 season but failed to make the Olympic final last summer, added: "Last year I learned so much. Going into the Worlds I have a different perspective to when I went to the Olympics, and I think that is probably for the best."

Brussels was the penultimate stop of this season's Diamond League before next week's two-day winner-takes-all finals in Zurich, featuring the athletes who have accumulated the most points across 14 regular meetings.

The finals will be broadcast on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app from 16:30-18:30 BST on Wednesday, 27 August, and 19:00-21:00 on Thursday.

Can anyone stop Jefferson-Wooden in 100m?

On the Brussels track, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden demonstrated once again why she is the woman to beat in the 100m.

With just three weeks until the World Championships, the American - the fastest woman this year - dominated a high-quality line-up and crossed the line in 10.76 seconds.

The Olympic bronze medallist finished well clear of reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson (11.08), Britain's Daryll Neita (11.15) and Jamaican great Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (11.17).

Jefferson-Wooden has also backed up her world-leading time with excellent consistency, posting five of the six best performances in 2025.

That dominance has been punctuated only by Olympic champion Julien Alfred's season's best of 10.75secs, which is equal to Jefferson-Wooden's fourth-fastest mark.

Muir 'in a good spot' after injury disruptions

Also in Brussels, Britain's Charlie Dobson was third in the men's 400m in 44.81secs, behind Americans Jacory Patterson (44.05) and Vernon Norwood (44.62).

Like Caudery, British team-mate Laura Muir also spoke optimistically of her World Championship ambitions after placing fourth in the women's 1500m.

After enduring an injury-disrupted start to her season, Olympic and world medallist Muir posted a significant season's best of three minutes 57.63 seconds in a race won by American Nikki Hiltz in 3:55.94.

"I'm in a good spot. Considering it's the first time I've ran in a race of that calibre for over a year, to come out and run [that time] is great," said Muir, 32.

"With a little bit more training, I'm excited to see what I can do. I think there was another second or two in the legs today... and running that time you're not too far away [from the medals]."

In the men's 1500m, Britain's 2022 world champion Jake Wightman was ninth in 3:32.95, one place ahead of Neil Gourley (3:33.21), as Dutchman Niels Laros won in 3:30.58.

Rising star Innes FitzGerald, 19, was 15th in 14:48.84 in a women's 5,000m which featured Kenya's Agnes Jebet Ngetich chasing the world record but ultimately fading to win in 14:24.99.