TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The beauty of sport is its ability to surprise and Isaac Nader produced one of the biggest ever in international 1500 meters finals as he won the world title on Wednesday while Katie Moon was a more predictable winner of a third successive pole vault crown.

Portugal had never had a medalist in the 1500m run, but Nader’s storming run in the home straight was enough for the 24-year-old to deny Jake Wightman of Great Britain a second title.

“Some people criticized me and said I would never achieve this, but here I am — world champion and the first Portuguese athlete to win a global gold in the 1500m,” a beaming Nader said.

While Wightman celebrated his silver after an injury-plagued three years since he won the title in 2022, there was misery for reigning champion Josh Kerr after the Briton was left hopping along midway through the race, apparently with an injury.

Even at 34, Moon is pretty much unbeatable in an event that has failed to match the heights of the men’s event in which Armand “Mondo” Duplantis broke the world record for the 14th time in Tokyo.

Moon triumphed with a best vault of 4.90 meters, a considerable 16-centimeter shy of the world record set by Yelena Isinbayeva 16 years ago.

“It feels fun watching girls getting in shape in real life,” Moon said.

“I am 34 now and I have seen several athletes come in young and blossom. All my medals are special but this one is the one. The older you get, the harder it gets.”

The men’s long jump went to Italian Mattia Furlani, 20, who confirmed his Olympic bronze last year was no fluke with a winning effort of 8.39m.

Defending champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece was totally out of sorts and finished 11th.

One lesson to be learned is to beware of Kenyan women distance athletes called Faith.

Faith Kipyegon romped to the 1500m title on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, it was the turn of Faith Cherotich to triumph in the 3000m steeplechase.

Femke Bol has had the misfortune to compete in the 400m hurdles at a time when the phenomenon that is Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been around.

McLaughlin-Levrone, though, has turned her attention to the 400m flat and is favorite to add that world title to her tally on Thursday.

Bol, three times a minor medalist behind the American, can take advantage of her absence to retain her world crown, just as she did in the 2023 championships.

Bol had far too much pace in her semifinal for former Olympic and world champion Dalilah Muhammad, who at 35 is 10 years older than the Dutchwoman.

The climax to the men’s event is a rematch of the three medalists from the 2021 Olympic final in Tokyo.

Karsten Warholm, who set a memorable world record on that scorching day, takes on runner-up Rai Benjamin, who avenged that defeat in winning Olympic gold in Paris last year, with bronze medalist, 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos, completing the trio.

The stage is set for perhaps the most keenly awaited clash in the field events, the men’s javelin final on Thursday, between Olympic gold medalist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan and the man he deposed in Paris last year India’s Neeraj Chopra.

However, the script came close to being torn up by Nadeem until he saved face in qualifying with his third and final throw.