World Indoor Championships: Records Fall as USA Tops Medal Table

Devynne Charlton matched her own world record in the 60m hurdles, while the United States topped the medal table with a championship record in the 4x400m relay, highlighting the final day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Toruń on Sunday.

Charlton, representing the Bahamas, equaled her world record time of 7.65 seconds to secure her third consecutive world indoor title in the 60m hurdles. The Netherlands’ Nadine Visser finished second in 7.73, and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska claimed bronze with the same time, setting a latest Polish national record. Charlton had signaled her intent in the semi-finals, clocking 7.74 seconds despite easing up before the finish line.

Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain delivered a dominant performance in the 800m, winning her first world title and shattering the championship record with a time of 1:55.30. This performance places her as the second-fastest indoor performer in history, trailing only her own world record of 1:54.87, set last month. Audrey Werro of Switzerland finished second in 1:56.64, and Addison Wiley of the United States took bronze with a personal best of 1:58.36.

The United States men’s 4x400m team secured victory with a championship record time of 3:01.52, anchored by Khaleb McRae. The team’s performance came a day after a competitor missed out on the individual 400m title, where the championship record had also fallen. Belgium finished second in 3:03.29, and Jamaica claimed bronze in 3:05.99.

Seventeen-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus of the USA made history by becoming the youngest individual world indoor medallist, winning the 800m in 1:44.24. Belgium’s Eliott Crestan secured silver in 1:44.38, and Spain’s Mohamed Attaoui took bronze in 1:44.66, while Australia’s Peter Bol set an Oceanian short track record of 1:45.14.

Mariano Garcia of Spain added a 1500m gold medal to his 800m title from four years ago, controlling the pace throughout the race and finishing in 3:39.63. Portugal’s Isaac Nader secured silver in 3:40.06, and Australia’s Adam Spencer claimed bronze in 3:40.26.

Great Britain enjoyed a successful evening, with Georgia Hunter Bell winning the 1500m in a world-leading time of 3:58.53. Jessica Hull of Australia secured silver with an Oceanian indoor record of 3:59.45, and Nikki Hiltz of the USA took bronze in an indoor personal best of 3:59.68.

Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands won the pentathlon with a world-leading personal best score of 4888, surpassing defending champions Anna Hall of the USA (4860) and Kate O’Connor of Ireland (4839). Dokter established her lead with strong performances in the 60m hurdles and long jump.

Molly Caudery of Great Britain regained the world indoor pole vault title, clearing 4.85m. Slovenia’s Tina Šutej took silver at 4.80m, while Switzerland’s Angelica Moser, Czechia’s Amálie Švábíková, and New Zealand’s Imogen Ayris shared bronze at 4.70m.

Gerson Baldé of Portugal surprised the field to win the long jump with a world-leading personal best of 8.46m, ahead of Italy’s world champion Mattia Furlani (8.39m) and Bulgaria’s Bozhidar Sarâboyukov (8.31m).

The United States concluded the championships with a victory in the women’s 4x400m relay, finishing in 3:25.81. The Netherlands secured silver in 3:26.00, and Spain took bronze in 3:26.04, narrowly defeating the host nation, Poland.