Poland finish second; GB & NI claim third
Monday 16 July 2018 08:50, UK
The USA confirmed their position at the head of track and field by winning the Athletics World Cup as two days of competition - featuring 34 events and eight nations - reached their conclusion at London Stadium on Sunday.
Despite a squad without some of its star names, the Americans showcased their remarkable depth as they ran away with the competition at London's Olympic Stadium.
Having started Sunday with a 24-point lead over France, USA's Sunday superstars put on a show with Sam Hendricks starring in the pole vault while Vashti Cunningham took the spoils in a high-class women's high jump competition.
It all added up to the States ending the two days 57 points clear of Poland, while the French fell away and were unable to match the World Cup feats of their football team earlier in the day.
Hendricks set the tone early on, returning to the same venue where he won his maiden pole vault world title last year to beat out Raphael Holzdeppe and Axel Chapelle in a strong field - he didn't need to go as far as his 5.95m winning vault 12 months ago this time - a 5.83m clearance was enough to get the job done.
Hendricks' win was followed moments later by Paul Dedewo who ran a lifetime best to claim the 400m in 44.48secs, a full second clear of the field
One of the major match-ups was between USA's Vashti Cunningham and Morgan Lake and the pair found themselves clear of the field early on. In the end, the American edged it with a jump of 1.96m leaving Lake to look on.
Moments earlier, the GB women's 4x100m squad stormed to a brilliant first place - the hosts' only victory.
As ever at a major athletics competition all eyes are drawn to the 100m and in the absence of the world-leading Noah Lyles, it was a rare event where USA fell short as Tyquendo Tracey of Jamaica put a stop to their Sunday dominance, winning in a time of 10.03secs from Kendal Williams. Britain's Ojie Edoburun came in fourth.
After the women carried British hopes on day one, home success in Stratford came in the shape of the women's sprint relay team who won the penultimate track race of the event with a barnstorming performance to huge cheers, beating Jamaica and China who took a surprise third.
The American quartet pulled up mid-race but whether they would have matched Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Shannon Hylton is questionable - the GB squad building on a brilliant silver at the World Championships in the same stadium last year.
Dai Greene returned to the big stage last week with victory in the British Championships and he followed up with another strong showing as he works his way back to the top after a string of injury setbacks.
Clocking 49.48secs, he came a creditable third in the 400m hurdles, with American Kenny Selmon winning another maximum eight-point haul for the Americans.
Beth Dobbin's rapid education continued with a hugely impressive third place in the 200m at her first ever major career meeting - she trailed in behind Jamaica's Shericka Jackson in first and America's Jenna Prandini, while Adelle Tracey came second after a creditable run in the women's 800m.
The timing of the event, just a couple of weeks before the European Championship, meant that athletes carrying injuries, bumps, bruises and niggles were never going to risk themselves.
However, healthy crowds, the one-race nature of each event and international head-to-head competition suggest a format that captured the imagination.
A year that features no World Championship or Olympic Games represents a natural break in the cycle for the cream of the sport. China and Germany sent inexperienced squads while Great Britain and Northern Ireland were without a few of their top names.
Not too much was known about Team USA as James Ellington noted: "We find out more about them when they travel to compete and wear the vest. Their showing in London hinted at a couple of stars of the future, perhaps even the present and no sign of their athletics prowess diminishing."
