Bahamas' Kendrick Thompson competes in the decathlon long jump at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on September 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
By BRENT STUBBS
Chief Sports Editor
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
TOKYO, Japan: Kendrick Thompson closed out day one in the men's decathlon on Saturday with seventh place with a total of 4,255 points at the 20th World Championships.
Thompson, 28, came into the final two events in the ten-event competition for the men's decathlon sitting in 12th place with 2,520 points.
He moved up to seventh place after posting personal best performance in the high jump and solid effort in the 400m to improve from 12th place after the first three events earlier in the day.
As the only member of the Bahamas' 15-member team left to compete in the championship that concludes on Sunday at the Japan National Stadium, Thompson said he felt good about his chances to excel.
In the final two events during the evening session on Saturday, Thompson soared his lifetime best of 6-7 1/2 (2.02m) to snatch the top post in Group B in the high jump for 822 pts. He had a clean slate until he attempted 6-8 3/4 (2.05m), but missed all three tries.
And in the final event of the night, he ran 47.98 seconds in the 400m for fifth place in his heat to earn 913 pts.
During the morning session of day eight of the championships, Thompson accumulated 935 pts for fifth place in the 100m in 10.67. He got 945 pts for sixth place in the long jump with (7.54m) and 640 pts for 23rd in the shot put with (12.56m).
On Sunday's final day of competition, Thompson will complete the final five events with the 110m hurdles, discus and pole vault in the morning and the javelin and the 1,500m in the evening.
While Thompson's multi event competition was a straight final, the Bahamas had two competitors who advanced to the final in Devynne Charlton in the women's 100m hurdles and Anthonique Strachan in the women's 200m.
Thompson, who has a personal best of 8,182 pts that he achieved on May 28, 2023 before he had two water incidents that left him injured last year, stands the last chance of the Bahamas winning a medal at these championships.
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