Olympic champion wins his first-ever world high jump title, while Ethan Katzberg breaks championship record in men's hammer throw.

Hamish Kerr secured his first gold medal in the men’s high jump final at the World Athletics Championships on September 16, clearing a world-leading 2.36m in a closely contested competition that came down to fine margins.

With 2021 Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi failing to make it out of qualifying, one podium spot opened up - but the competition remained strong, with several athletes in contention for the medals.

By the time the bar reached 2.34m, just four athletes remained: Kerr, South Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo, Jan Stefela of the Czech Republic, and Ukraine’s Oleh Doroshchuk.

At that stage, none had managed a first-time clearance, and it appeared Woo could take the title based on a cleaner card if no one managed to go higher. But on his third attempt, Woo got over 2.34m to keep himself in the running.

Kerr matched him moments later, also clearing on his final attempt to stay in contention for gold. Stefela exited the competition at 2.34m and secured bronze, while Doroshchuk placed fourth on countback.

When the bar moved to 2.36m, Kerr was the only athlete to go clear - doing so on his first attempt and setting a new world lead in the process. Woo was unable to respond, confirming Kerr as the new world champion.

The result marked a significant milestone in Kerr’s career, having never previously made a world championship final. It also added to a successful few days for New Zealand, following Geordie Beamish’s historic 3000m steeplechase title the night before.

Ethan Katzberg successfully defended his world hammer throw title in Tokyo with a dominant series of throws, highlighted by a championship record and personal best of 84.70m.

The Canadian took control of the competition from the start, opening with 82.66m to move straight into the lead. He went on to throw over 80m in all six rounds, with clear consistent form throughout.

With no one able to get close to him, Katzberg improved his lead in the fourth round with his best-ever throw of 84.70m.

He said: "I can't ask for much more. The whole field was gunning for it and these were incredible results with four guys over 80 metres. That really pushed me to get the result that I had today.

"I am two metres away from the world record but I am getting closer. I will continue to push myself and push the limits of what I can do. It took a lot of hard training for this personal best. After 84.70m, I was really trying to go for it. There was no point I thought of doing any less.

"Camryn Rogers put the pressure on me to perform tonight. I watched her win the women's (hammer) final. It was an incredible performance from her, so for Canada to win the men's hammer tonight as well is amazing."

Germany’s Merlin Hummel threw a personal best of 82.77m to take silver, a strong performance for the 23-year-old in his first senior global final. Hungary’s Bence Halász claimed bronze with 82.69m but appeared disappointed at the end, having taken silver at the Paris Olympics earlier this year.

Ukraine’s Mykhaylo Kokhan produced a personal best of 82.08m for fourth, just missing out on the podium. American record-holder Rudy Winkler had a difficult competition, recording four fouls and finishing fifth with a best of 78.52m.

Yulimar Rojas made a successful return to competition in the women’s triple jump qualification round, easing through to the final in her first appearance since March.

The Venezuelan, a four-time world champion, has been absent for over a year with an Achilles injury and had not competed since the 2024 indoor season. But she made an immediate impact in Tokyo, jumping 14.49m on her first attempt comfortably beyond the automatic qualifying mark of 14.35m.

Joining her in the final will be Cuba’s Leyanis Pérez Hernández, the world bronze medallist, who recorded the longest jump of the day with 14.66m. Paris Olympic champion Thea LaFond of Dominica also advanced, landing 14.40m in her best effort.

LaFond said: "Qualification went exactly as planned. I didn't want to spend too much energy here. One and done. I love that. I have a tendency to foul my first jumps so now I'm definitely happy. I'm just keeping it simple, trying to execute the pieces to the best of my ability. If I do that really well, the medal's going to come.

"I'm not trying to fixate on the medal, just on the what I can control. Of course, I want another 15m jump. But I'm not chasing marks, I'm just chasing big hop steps. Huge hop steps in the final."