World Championships Day 5 - 9

Day 6 of the Track and Field World Championships in Daegu, South Korea started well for the Americas. Team USA won three gold medals that night. The three gold medal day started with Jesse Williams. Williams became the first U.S. high jumper to win a world championship since 1991. He cleared 7 feet, 8 1/2 inches. Aleksey Dmitrik of Russia also cleared the same height, but Williams won the gold because of fewer misses.

The second gold of the day went to Jennifer Barringer Simpson in the women's 1500m. Like Williams, Barringer Simpson was the first American to win a world championship since Mary Decker Slaney in 1983. On the final lap, Barringer Simpson was in seventh place. With 200m to go, Barringer Simpson started working her way to the front. Running down the homestretch, Barringer Simpson passed everyone on the the outside from lane 2. She ended up winning in 4:05.40 and she finished ahead of Great Britain's Hannah England by two-tenths of a second.

The final gold medal of the day went to Lashinda Demus in the women's 400m Hurdles. Besides winning the gold, Demus also set an American record with her time of 52.47. Her time beat Kim Batten's previous AR time of 52.61.

Day 7 at the championships was another great day for the Americans. Dwight Philips won his fourth World Championship in the long jump. He won with his best jump of the season at 27 feet, 8 1/2 inches. The men's 4x400m relay that consisted of Greg Nixon, Bershawn Jackson, Angelo Taylor and LaShawn Merritt won gold in 2:59.31. In the women's 200m, Carmeliat Jeter and Allyson Felix won silver and bronze behind Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown. Campbell-Brown won with a time of 22.22. Jeter was second in 22.37 and Felix in third with a time of 22.42.

More medals were won by Team USA on Day 8. The women's 4x400m relay team of Sanya Richards-Ross, Allyson Felix, Jessica Beard and Francena McCorory defeated Jamaica with a time of 3:18.09 to win gold. In the women's 100m Hurdles, Danielle Carruthers and Dawn Harper placed second and third to Australila's Sally Pearson. Pearson won in a time of 12.28. Carruthers and Harper both finished with a time of 12.47. Carruthers out leaned Harper at the finish line to claim silver. Walter Dix finished behind Jamaica's Usain Bolt to win silver in the men's 200m. Bolt defended his 200m title with a time of 19.40. Dix ran a season's best time of 19.70. In the men's 1500m, Matt Centrowitz won the bronze medal in 3:36.08. Centrowitz finished behind Kenya's Asbel Kiprop and Silas Kiplagat.

On the ninth and final day of competition, the USA won more medals. In the men's triple jump, the US won gold and bronze. With a leap of 58 feet, 11 1/4 inches Christian Taylor won gold and Will Claye won bronze with a jump of 57 feet, 4 inches. Bernard Lagat finished second behind Great Britain's Mohammed Farah in the men's 5000m to win a silver medal with a time of 13:23.64. The US women won gold in the 4x100m relay. The team of Bianca Knight, Allyson Felix, Marshevet Myers and Carmelita Jeter beat Jamaica to win in 41.56. With that victory Felix won four medals at the World Championships (2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze).

The United States won the most medals during the championships with 25. They won 12 gold, 8 silver and 5 bronze. I would say it was a successful World Championships for the USA.

Photo Credit for Felix & Jeter: Adrian Dennis/Getty Images
Photo Credit Barringer Simpson : Photo Run