U.S. Wins Medal Count at World Championships—by a Mile – runnersworld.com

• At the 2019 IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar, the United States won a total of 29 medals, with 14 being gold.
• Jamaica was second in the medal count with 12, and Kenya had 11.
• The U.S. won 30 total medals at the 2017 championships in London, but only 10 were gold.

The U.S. took home 29 total medals at the world championships in Doha, Qatar—14 gold, 11 silver, and four bronze—in a team performance that bodes well for the summer Olympics next year in Tokyo.

The Americans far outpaced Jamaica with 12 and Kenya with 11.

U.S. has traditionally dominated the sprints and hurdles, and this year’s world meet was no exception. Four of those 29 medals came from two races: the women’s 400-meter hurdles, won by Dalilah Muhammad in a world record, followed closely by Sydney McLaughlin. And on the final day of competition, Nia Ali won gold in the 100-meter hurdles, with Kendra Harrison taking silver.

But in the distance events—the 800, 1500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and the marathon—the U.S. held its own. American runners won four medals in those events, fewer than the seven they won at the 2017 world championships in London and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

They came close, however, in several events that saw Americans on the podium in 2017: Shelby Houlihan finished fourth in the 1500 meters, setting an American record of 3:54.99. (Jenny Simpson, who won silver in 2017, was eighth.) Roberta Groner was sixth in the sweltering marathon, where Amy Cragg snagged bronze in 2017. And Paul Chelimo was seventh in the 5,000 meters, a race in which he earned bronze two years ago.

And with the exception of the marathons, the distance races were fast. Seven of the 12 women in the 1500 final set PRs. Emma Coburn ran her lifetime best en route to steeplechase silver. Lopez Lomong smashed his PR in the 10,000 meters and ran a negative split with his seventh-place finish in 27:04. He’s now the third-fastest American ever at the distance.

An important sign for the future: U.S. runners stacked the finals of the distance races. They put three women in the eight-woman final of the 800 meters and took home two medals (Raevyn Rogers, silver; Ajee’ Wilson, bronze). They put two in the finals of the men’s 800, which Donavan Brazier won in an American record. Down the line it went: Three women, two men in the 1500 final, two apiece in the 5,000 final, two in the women’s steeple and three in the men’s. They fielded full squads in the 10,000 and marathon.

[From training tips, to fueling strategies, to improving the mind-body connection, the Runner’s World 2020 Calendar will help you run your best all year long.]

As the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it. And that’s the hope as the focus turns to the Olympic games in 2020.

Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005.