Goul-Toppin navigates qualification from the front

September 18, 2025
Jamaica's Natoya Goule-Toppin leads her 800-metre qualification heat at the World Athletics Championships inside the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo earlier today.
Jamaica's Natoya Goule-Toppin leads her 800-metre qualification heat at the World Athletics Championships inside the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo earlier today.

Natoya Goule-Toppin made light work of the heats of the 800 metres, winning the seventh and last one, but neither Kelly-Ann Beckford nor Adelle Tracey made it through to Friday's semi-finals.

Goule-Toppin led for almost all of the two laps and comfortably qualified with a strong run down the home straight to record a time of 1:59.66.

Beckford finished fourth in a slow third heat and was forced to pay the price as her time of 2:02.63 was always going to be too slow to stay among the three next fastest finishers outside of the automatic qualifiers from each of the seven races.

Tracey, glad to be competing after hurting her foot in a pre-championships accident at the airport, was rarely in contention and faded to seventh in heat two in a time of 2:01.70.

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