4 Takeaways After Day 2 of 2023 World Athletics Championships

It has been two days since the 2023 World Athletics Championships began in Budapest, Hungary, and we've already witnessed plenty of dramatic and entertaining moments.

Noah Lyles won the men's 100-metre final after reigning champion, Fred Kerley, was knocked out. Ryan Crouser won the shot put world title after competing with blood clots in his legs, while it was a forgettable day for the Netherlands women.

Day 1 started out slowly due to mother nature, but things picked up as the day went on, while day 2 brought us some memorable moments of the nine-day championships so far.

The Americans are top of the medal table with three golds, two silvers, and a bronze medal. Here are the major takeaways from the first two days.

4 key takeaways from WAC day 2

Noah Lyles lays down a marker

The American stunned 100m specialists to win his first medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. He clocked 9.83 seconds to narrowly win the race that was without defending champion, Kerley, who was knocked out in the semi-final. Lyles is the reigning 200m champion and will also look to bag that one.

Botswana’s 20-year-old Letsile Tebogo took silver, while Britain’s Zharnel Hughes took bronze. Four-thousandths of a second separated second from fourth, with Tebogo, Hughes, and Oblique Seville all clocking 9.88 seconds. It was literally a race of fine margins.

Lyles promised to run 9.65 seconds, but he didn't do that. He delivered the gold, though.

Joshua Cheptegei records hat-trick

Uganda's hero, Joshua Cheptegei, won his third straight world title in the 10,000m. He clocked 27:51.42, beating a trio of Ethiopians and Kenyans. Kenya's Daniel Ebenyo won silver, while Ethiopia's Selemon Barega took bronze.

Cheptegei overtook Berihu Aregawi with 600 meters left, and once he took the left, no one came close. He is the fourth man to win a hat-trick of world 10,000m titles after Ethiopian icons, Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele - who both won four - and Britain’s Mo Farah.

Kenya has not won a world title in the 10,000m since Charles Kimathi won in 2001 in Edmonton, Canada.

The Netherlands women stumble

The Netherlands' Sifan Hassan and Femke Bol were close to winning gold medals or at least a silver when they fell down meters from the finish line.

Hassan was looking to win three medals in Budapest and was on track to start with a gold medal before things went south. She and Ethiopia's Gudaf Tsegay were fighting for the gold medal as they entered the home straight. The Dutch star was flying in the final 100m, but Tsefay - the world 5000m champion - wasn't that far off. Tsegay's compatriots, defending champions Letesenbet Gidey and Ejgayehu Taye, were following closely.

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Athletics

Things deteriorated quickly for Hassan as she lost balance and fell on the track. Tsegay completed an Ethiopian 1-2-3 with a time of 31:27.18.

Bol, just like Hassan, fell in the final meters in the 4x400m final. Running the anchor leg, Bol was comfortably in the lead before things went south. She stumbled metres from the finish line, allowing Holmes to win the race for the USA. The Americans clocked a world record of 3:08.80.

Ryan Crouser overcomes the odds

Days after revealing he had two blood clots in his legs, the American had no problem securing another world title. He defended his shot put title and set a championship record in the process, per USATF.

He threw a spectacular 23.51m in the final, just five centimetres shy of the world record he set in Los Angeles in May. Italy's Leonardo Fabbri won silver, while the USA's Joe Kovacs took bronze.

Letsile Tebogo makes history

Sports Brief also reported on Botswana's Letsile Tebogo making history after finishing second in the men's 100m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

He became the first man in Africa to win a medal in the 100m at the world championships. Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala finished seventh in the final.