Canada’s Lucia Stafford places 11th in 1,500m as indoor worlds come to a close – MASHAHER

Canada’s Lucia Stafford finished 11th in the women’s 1,500-metre final as the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow came to a close on Sunday.

The London, Ont., native clocked in at four minutes 8.9 seconds in the 12-woman final, which was won by Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu in 4:01.46.

Hailu, along with teammates Diribe Welteji (fifth) and Birke Haylom (ninth), held the top three spots in the first half of the race before American Emily Mackay bolted into the lead at the three-minute mark.

Hailu was ultimately able to catch the 25-year-old on the final lap, as Mackay also fell behind her teammate Nikki Hiltz.

The pair of Americans took silver and bronze, respectively, in times of 4:02.32 and 4:02.69 — both personal bests.

“That race had everything, Stafford told CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux. “It went out really fast, then it slowed right down, and it was super bunched-up. [It was] a hard race to run, but honestly, that was fitness. I couldn’t match the moves that were being made in the last 400m. And that sucks, and stings, but that just means I have to get to work…

“This time last year, I had a really good indoor season, but it’s tough year-after-year to put your heart on the track. And I did a lot of work, and this time I feel more motivated than ever.”

WATCH l Stafford reflects on her performance:

Lucia Stafford reflects on the World Athletics Indoor Championships

The Canadian ran in the 1500 metre final in Glasgow and failed to podium.

Stafford’s own personal best indoor result stands at 4:04.29, set in New York in February 2023.

The 2020 Olympian also placed 13th in the 1,500m in Tokyo, and will have her sights set on Paris later this year.

Also racing in the 1,500m on Sunday was Vancouver’s Kieran Lumb, who finished 13th in the men’s final with a time of 3:41.37 — 4.56 seconds back of the personal-best indoor time he set in Boston in February 2023.

New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish put forth a furious last-second dash to climb from fifth to first around the final bend, overtaking two Americans on the podium to win gold in 3:36.54.

Cole Hocker (3:36.69) and Hobbs Kessler (3:36.72) collected silver and bronze, respectively.

Lumb was in the top three early on in the race, but fell back of the pace as the race went on.

“I probably could have played it a little bit smarter strategically, Lumb said. “I think I had a great plan going in but things happen pretty quickly. Maybe 500m in I should have been a little bit braver and went to the front even though it wasn’t super fast. It probably would have been a smoother ride.”

Canada wrapped the event with one medal across the three-day competition, with Sarah Mitton of Brooklyn, N.S., winning gold in the women’s shot put on Friday.

The most medals won at a single competition for Canada was six in Paris at the World Indoor Games in 1985, the first-ever iteration of the event.

The biennial event was renamed the World Indoor Championships in 1987.

WATCH | Day 3 evening session: 

World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow: Day 3 evening session

Watch final day action of the World Athletics Indoor Championships from Glasgow, Scotland.

Canada’s Abdul-Rashid sets personal best

Mariam Abdul-Rashid of Oshawa, Ont., matched a personal-best time of 7.99 seconds in the women’s 60m hurdles to finish fourth in her semifinal heat, one spot back of qualifying for the final.

Despite being one of 10 women across three semifinal heats to clock in at under eight seconds, she finished just 0.04 seconds back of qualifying for the eight-woman final.

Earlier in the day, Abdul-Rashid set her personal best time of 7.99 in her heat to qualify for the semifinals.

“I really wanted in that final, but that’s just me being maximum greedy,” Abdul-Rashid told Heroux. “Besides the final, I wanted to move on from the first to the second [heat], and run a [personal best], and I ran two, technically, or one, twice.”

The 26-year-old’s previous best mark in the event before this weekend was 8.01 seconds, which she achieved at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational last month in South Carolina.

In an extremely fast women’s final, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas lowered her world record with a time of 7.65 seconds to take gold. She took 0.02 off the record she set in New York on Feb. 11, which was matched by American runner Tia Jones five days later in New Mexico.

Cyréna Samba-Mayela of France won silver in 7.74 and Pia Skrzyszowska of Poland claimed bronze with a time of 7.79.

WATCH | Charlton reacts to her world record: 

Devynne Charlton reacts to setting world record in 60m hurdles

The Bahamian hurdler won gold with a time of 7.65 seconds at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

Belgium edges U.S. for 4x400m gold

Noah Lyles helped the U.S. team to a silver medal in the 4×400-metre relay — a distance he rarely runs — on Sunday, a preview perhaps of his Paris Olympic intentions.

Running the third leg, the 100 and 200m specialist received the baton in first place and handed off without giving up any ground in a 45.68-second split, the third fastest of his team.

Alexander Doom, the gold medallist in the 400 a night earlier, pipped American anchor Christopher Bailey at the finish line to give Belgium gold in three minutes 2.54 seconds. The U.S. crossed in 3:02.60.

Lyles, who led the U.S. team out during introductions with a loud “Woo!,” raced to silver in the 60m on Friday in his world indoor debut.

Lyles won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m at last year’s world championships in Budapest, becoming the first man since Usain Bolt in 2015 to complete the sprint treble.

He hinted recently he is considering going for four golds at this year’s Paris Olympics, adding the 4×400 to his schedule.

“I’ve never had somebody tell me something that has thrown my out-of-the-box thinking to inside-the-box, but that was like: okay, I’m not going to say no to that,” Lyles told L’Equipe recently.

Lyles is no stranger to the one-lap race. He famously ran a 45-second split as a high schooler at the Penn Relays, making up huge ground to take his team from second last to second.

Other results

• Dominica’s Thea LaFond put forth a dominant effort to win gold in the women’s triple jump, with a world-leading jump this year of 15.01 metres. The 29-year-old became her country’s first world champion in athletics with the jump.
• A day after setting the world record to win gold in the women’s 400m, Femke Bol of the Netherlands combined with Lieke Klaver, Cathelijn Peeters and Lisanne de Witte to win gold in the 4x400m relay in a world-leading time of 3:25.07.
• Sweden’s Armand Duplantis defended his gold medal in the men’s pole vault with a jump of 6.05 metres.

WATCH | LaFond makes history: 

Thea Lafond reacts to making history in the triple jump

At the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Scotland, the triple jumper became Dominica’s first world champion in athletics with a jump of 15.01m.