Raucous crowd and sprint stars give World Athletics Championships explosive start

Beatrice Chebet roared on to 10,000m gold in Tokyo

Kishane Thompson and Julien Alfred shine in 100m

There was a moment on the opening night of these World Athletics Championships when the bottled up frustration of missing out on a full-fat Tokyo Olympics – with crowds and fun and unbridled joy – suddenly seemed to be unleashed. It came at the end of a thrilling women’s 10,000m, a roar that could have been heard on Mount Fuji, and a vast outpouring of appreciation and pride.

At the front of the pack, four contenders were whittled down to two before the Olympic and world champion Beatrice Chebet took off with the Italian Nadia Battocletti in pursuit. It was like watching Wile E. Coyote chasing Roadrunner.