With excitement mounting for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, we shift focus to some of the rivalries that have left their mark on past editions of the prestigious global event.
This four-part series concludes with a look at some of the most memorable battles that have defined women’s field events through the years.
Women’s javelin: Lillak vs Whitbread
Riding the momentum of 14 straight victories and a world record of 74.76m, Tiina Lillak entered the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 as the overwhelming favourite in the women’s javelin. Competing on home soil only added to the expectation.
But Britain’s Fatima Whitbread had other ideas. The national champion announced her intent immediately, seizing the lead with a powerful opening throw of 69.14m. Lillak responded with 67.34m but struggled for consistency, managing 59.04m and 63.24m from her next two attempts. Whitbread, meanwhile, fouled her second throw and reached 64.48m on her third.
Tiina Lillak at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki (© Getty Images)
By the fifth round, Lillak was beginning to build momentum, improving to 67.46m, while Whitbread fouled again on her fourth and could only manage 61.78m in the fifth round. That set the stage for a dramatic finale. In the final round, Lillak unleashed a stunning throw of 70.82m to overtake her rival and clinch gold in front of an ecstatic home crowd. Whitbread, with a third foul, was left to settle for silver, while Greece’s Anna Verouli claimed bronze with 65.72m.
The women’s javelin final in Helsinki remains one of the defining moments of the 1983 World Championships.
Heptathlon: Kluft vs Barber
The heptathlon at the 2003 World Championships in Paris was billed as a clash between the old guard and the rising star. France’s Eunice Barber, the 1999 champion returning from injury, sought redemption on home soil, while Sweden’s Carolina Kluft – the two-time world U20 champion – was quickly emerging as the event’s next big force.
Barber opened strongly, taking the early lead with victory in the 100m hurdles in 13.05, while Kluft followed with a personal best of 13.18 in the same heat. The French athlete’s advantage, however, didn’t last long. Kluft struck back in the high jump, clearing a lifetime best of 1.94m – 3cm higher than Barber – to move ahead in the standings.
Eunice Barber and Carolina Kluft in action in Paris in 2003 (© AFP / Getty Images)
Neither athlete excelled in the shot put, but Kluft held the edge with 14.19m for sixth overall, while Barber placed 14th. The day closed with the 200m, where the pair lined up in the same heat. Kluft stormed to another PB of 22.98, ahead of Barber’s own lifetime best of 23.92. By the end of day one, the Swede had built a commanding 204-point lead over the home favourite.
The long jump, Barber’s strongest event, seemed to swing in her favour when Kluft fouled her first two attempts, leaving her under pressure. But the Swede delivered when it mattered, leaping 6.68m on her final try to edge Barber’s 6.61m. From there, Kluft built momentum, throwing 49.90m in the javelin for third place and another lifetime best in the 800m for second. She sealed her first world title with a stunning 7001 points – 246 clear of Barber, who claimed silver, while Belarus’ Natallia Sazanovich took bronze with 6524.
It marked the start of Kluft’s era of dominance, as she went on to collect three straight world titles and Olympic gold in 2004. Barber, however, found redemption a few days later, thrilling the Paris crowd by winning long jump gold with a season’s best of 6.99m.
Women’s triple jump: Rojas vs Ibarguen
From 2013 to 2016, Colombian great Caterine Ibarguen reigned supreme in the women’s triple jump, but the rise of Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas in 2016 transformed the event, sparking a South American rivalry that quickly made the discipline one of the most eagerly anticipated on the global stage.
Armed with back-to-back world titles in 2013 and 2015 and the Olympic crown in 2016, Ibarguen arrived at the 2017 World Championships as the woman to beat. Yet Rojas had already announced herself on the big stage with her world indoor gold in 2016, Olympic silver in Rio, and the world-leading mark of 14.96m that season. Just weeks earlier, at the Herculis Diamond League, Ibarguen had edged Rojas by a slim 3cm, setting the stage for another showdown in London.
In the final, Olympic bronze medallist Olga Rypakova opened with 14.45m before Rojas immediately surpassed her at 14.55m. Ibarguen soon stamped her authority with 14.67m. The second round saw Rojas push into the lead with 14.82m, while Ibarguen inched up to 14.69m. Round three brought more drama – Rypakova leapt 14.77m, only for Ibarguen to respond with 14.89m, reclaiming the lead.
The climax came when Rojas answered back with 14.91m, snatching victory by just 2cm to claim Venezuela’s first-ever World Championships gold. Ibarguen had to settle for silver, with Rypakova taking bronze.
Yulimar Rojas celebrates her triple jump victory at the World Championships London 2017 (© Getty Images)
Rojas successfully defended her world indoor crown in 2018 but missed the rest of the outdoor season through injury. In 2019, she returned with a vengeance, soaring 15.41m – the second-best mark in history – just a month before the World Championships in Doha.
In Doha, Diamond League champion Shanieka Ricketts opened with 14.81m, but Rojas seized control at 14.87m. Ibarguen, meanwhile, struggled, managing only 14.16m on her first attempt. Rojas then unleashed 15.37m on her second attempt, effectively sealing the title. Ricketts improved to 14.92m in the third round for silver, while Ibarguen dug deep in the fifth round to reach 14.73m, just enough to edge Jamaica’s Kimberly Williams for bronze.
Yemi Galadima for World Athletics