Tom Walsh has to settle for fourth as Ryan Crouser claims another shot put world title

Kiwi hopeful Tom Walsh has been shut out of the medals in a men’s shot put final once again dominated by American world record-holder Ryan Crouser on the opening night of the world athletics championships in Budapest.

The 31-year-old Cantabrian had to settle for fourth for a second consecutive world championships as he could only manage a best throw of 22.05 metres in the fifth round at the National Athletics Stadium.

Crouser, shrugging off a pair of blood clots in his lower left leg that put his participation in doubt, stormed to a second straight world title, to go with his pair of Olympic golds, with a dramatic final throw of 23.51m, which was just 5cm shy of his world record set earlier this year in Los Angeles.

Italian Leonardo Fabbri was the surprise silver medallist with a PB of 22.34m in the third round, while American Joe Kovacs claimed the bronze with his penultimate throw of 22.12m. It was Kovacs’ fifth consecutive medal at the world championship level.

Walsh’s fellow Kiwi Jack Gill finished sixth with a best toss of 21.76m in the third round.

Meanwhile, earlier in the evening session on the opening day of the championships Sam Tanner progressed safely to Monday’s semifinals of the 1500 metres when he came home fourth in comfortably the slowest of the four heats.

The Tauranga athlete found the kick when it mattered to stroll home in 3 minutes 46.93 seconds in a blanket finish that saw the six qualifiers separated by just 0.32sec. The heat was won by Spain’s Mario Garcia in 3:46.77.

The other three 1500m heats were all somewhat quicker, with 22-year-old Norwegian Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen winning the opening qualifier in 3:33.94 – the fastest time of the day as he was the only athlete to dip under the 3:34 mark.

Kiwi sprinter Tiaan Whelpton bowed out of the men’s 100 metres in disappointing fashion, finishing sixth in the opening heat in just 10.26sec – well of his PB of 10.14. Only the top three in each qualifier progressed automatically.

Heavyweights Americans Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles all progressed comfortably with sub-10sec efforts, though the fastest time of the heats went to Jamaica’s Oblique Seville who sizzled to victory in an equal-PB of 9.86sec in the fifth of the qualifiers.

In the opening session Kiwi Geordie Beamish continued his stellar debut season in the 3000m steeplechase when he cruised into Wednesday’s final with a poised performance to place second in heat two in a slick 8min 16.36sec.

In his first year of senior steeplechasing, the 26-year-old smashed the 39-year-old national record in Monaco last month – clocking 8:13.26 – and he continued that impressive form inside the Budapest stadium.

Running the first 2km conservatively, he cruised through the field to easily secure his spot in the final, behind world record-holder Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, who took the heat win and topped the qualifiers in 8:15.89.