Athletics-Kenyan Odira storms to shock 800m gold


World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Women's 800m Final - Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 21, 2025 Kenya's Lilian Odira celebrates winning the gold medal REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

TOKYO (Reuters) -Kenya's Lilian Odira produced a storming finish to win an astonishing women’s 800 metres world gold on Sunday, smashing her personal best by almost two seconds and erasing the 42-year-old championship record.

Odira looked out of it with 30 metres to go but surged past two Britons leading the race to win in one minute, 54.62 seconds, beating the mark set by Czech Jarmila Kratochvilova at the first world championships in 1983.

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