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Anning survives US bumps to seize World gold after Caudery disappointment

Amber Anning became the first British woman to win an indoor 400m world title after a messy final in Nanjing after pole vault favourite Molly Caudery came an agonising fourth

16:27, 22 Mar 2025Updated 16:27, 22 Mar 2025

Amber Anning celebrates her World Indoor gold medal in Nanjing.

Amber Anning went the long way round before charging to 400m glory and declared: “That was a bit messy.” But after surviving some bumps, the double Olympic relay medalist finished like a train to become the first British woman to win an indoor world title over two laps and deliver a second gold for a slimmed-down team in Nanjing.

That triumph briefly left Britain top of the medal table – only for the United States to later overtake them thanks to Grant Holloway’s latest 60m hurdles win – and brought smiles back to the squad’s faces after pole vault hope Molly Caudery earlier came an agonising fourth in the pole vault.

Starting in the outside lane, Anning ran a controlled opening lap and briefly led at the bell. But American Alexis Holmes forcefully nudged Anning off the rails and looked primed for the win coming through the final bend.

Except Anning, fuelled by the disappointment of false starting at the Europeans a fortnight ago, found an additional boost down the straight to win by 0.03secs.

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And having glanced at the arena’s big screen to confirm she would not be disqualified again, Anning said: “It feels amazing.

“Obviously it felt way harder than (the heats), all battling to get the break, it wasn’t the cleanest race and I probably could have done a better job with that. But the goal was just to win and get my first individual title. I’m so grateful.

“I just dipped at the end to get the edge and win. I wasn’t sure (I won), I thought I’d just got there. I saw my name on the screen and there was a sigh of relief.”

There was no such joy for Caudery, who battled through a pole vault competition beset by technical difficulties to finish one spot off the podium.

Amber Anning edged Alexis Holmes after the American got physical when battling for an inside place.

The equipment that raises the bar had a fault requiring lengthy repairs and when the competition restarted Caudery, who has been battling minor injuries all winter, could only get over 4.7m as France’s Marie-Julie Bonnin claimed gold in 4.75m.

“It was definitely not what I wanted,” Caudery said. “I am disappointed to say the least. It was a really, really, tough competition and there were a lot of technical issues, but I don’t want to put any excuses out.”

Mondo Duplantis, unbeaten for two years, was forced to briefly sweat in the men’s event by Greece ’s Emmanouil Karalis but eventually prevailed by jumping 6.15m.

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March 22, 2025
Molly Caudery reflects on Olympic heartbreak ahead of world title tilt

Molly Caudery is the favourite to retain her World Indoor pole vault title this weekend having experienced the lowest of lows during last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris

Moly Caudery is aiming to retain her world indoor gold this weekend.

From heartbreak in Paris to fire in Nanjing, Molly Caudery insists she is ready to prove her Olympic nightmare will not be career defining. The reigning world indoor champion is the favourite to retain her pole vault title in China in the early hours of Saturday morning.

And her Olympics shock, when she failed to register a clean effort in qualifying despite being favourite for gold, is serving as a big motivation. Caudery said the days after were “like a grieving period” but she took herself home to Cornwall, spent time healing in the sea, and worked closely with a psychologist.

Understanding exactly what went wrong has been hard to put a finger on. “It was just a bad day to have a bad day,” she says. But the outcome has been channelling it into her future efforts.

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“One thing I did get from Paris was an extra fire and extra desire for this year,” she adds. “And if that’s what I can take from it, that’s great.

“I took that into the winter and I’ve trained so hard and I’ve come out this year and there is that extra want in me and I think that’s a positive thing.

“I don’t think it really was down to anything. Probably on average, I may no height once a year or most athletes may no height once a year, or once every two years.

“And mine just happened to be on the biggest competition of my life. Not ideal, but what can I do now? I think all I can do is learn from it and not let it happen again.”

Molly Caudery reacts after failing to register a successful jump at the Olympics

The winter has been interrupted by a couple of hamstring and calf injuries but a leap of 4.85m in Madrid late last month has filled her with confidence. “It’s not been ideal,” she admits.

“It’s very minor but I’ve not been able to jump fully healthy. “That’s almost even more exciting because I’m still jumping well, off shorter approaches than I ever have.

“Jumping 4.85m in Madrid was probably among the best jumps I’ve ever done so that in itself is very exciting, knowing I’ve been doing that with slight injury. Now I’m fully healthy, that’s great.”

The entire Paris podium is absent in Nanjing to leave Caudery, once again, as the big favourite to triumph. Switzerland’s Angelique Moser looks the biggest threat, beyond another injury, and Caudery adds: “There’s been quite a lot of talk around it because there’s a few girls that aren’t coming.

“But it’s still going to be a really great competition. I just know I need to jump the best I can. If I was to jump 5m and not win, I’m not going to be disappointed. But I think it’s just, go out there, trust in my abilities, trust that I’ve had a good winter’s training, and take each bar as it comes and see what I can do.”

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March 20, 2025
‘No one cares’ – Phil Jones’ last message in players’ chat was brutally ignored

Retiring from football is hard enough, but leaving a WhatsApp group, that’s a whole other level.

Phil Jones, who decided to call time on his playing career in August 2024, had a hard time saying goodbye to the game, but also his teammates.

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Jones said goodbye in difficult circumstancesCredit: Getty

Having spent 12 years at Manchester United after a heralded move from Blackburn in 2011, Jones left the team in 2023, but only officially stepped away from playing a year later.

Calling it quits at the age of 32 will have made things difficult as injuries dogged his later career, but it was leaving the team WhatsApp group where the true heartbreak began.

“Believe it or not, it was quite emotional,” he said, as per The Sun. “I’d been on the WhatsApp for years and banter and you’re sending people pictures and all sorts.

“I remember sitting in the bedroom going like, ‘Lads, it’s been a pleasure and blah blah blah. Some I’ve played with a lot, some I’ve only just met, but it’s been an absolute pleasure. I wish you all the best and I’ll be your biggest supporters.’ It was a tough moment actually.”

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However, the reality then set in.

“Do you know what I gave it a minute and there was no response,” he said. “I was like ‘gone, gone, gone, I’m gone!’ No-one cares. But that’s it. It’s football.

“Things move so quickly and people come in. I played with people for six years. I will never see them again. I’ll never speak to them again.”

Jones has since turned to punditry and is training for his UEFA coaching licence, but admitted that the transition wasn’t easy.

“I found myself getting really bitter towards the game and that’s not who I was,” he said.

“But I needed that time to reflect and come to terms with what happened and how it happened.

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Jones won the league under Ferguson, but didn’t see much action in his final few yearsCredit: Getty

“I look back now and I’m in a great place.”

The Preston-born defender made headlines with a £16.5million switch to Old Trafford in 2011, a hefty fee at the time for a young centre back.

His first season saw Premier League heartbreak as Manchester City won their first title on the final day, beating their neighbours thanks to the iconic Sergio Aguero goal against QPR.

However, United and Jones struck back the following season under Alex Ferguson, winning the title before the legendary Scot retired.

Jones would add an FA Cup, two Community Shields and a Europa League crown in the following seasons, but from the 2019/20 season onwards he failed to make more than ten appearances in a season.

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March 19, 2025
‘From King of Europe to changing nappies’ – new dad Azu has sights set on gold

Jeremiah Azu had little chance to celebrate his European title earlier this month having become a father a couple of days before but now he hopes new dad strength can propel him to world gold

Jeremiah Azu shows off his gold medal in Apeldoorn earlier this month.

Two hours after returning home with a European gold medal, Jeremiah Azu found himself dealing with his week-old son’s poonami. “Straight back to earth,” Wales’ fastest man says of the messy 1am clean-up job, and he would have it no other way.

Azu, 23, was not sold on the theory of new dad strength a month ago but after securing his first international championship win in Apeldoorn he is firmly buying into it. His sleep pattern remains all over the place because he is determined to ease the burden on his partner. And going from being “King of Europe to straight on the nappies” left him with the realisation that “life comes at you fast.”

But Azu has arrived in Nanjing for this weekend’s World Indoors as the fastest man this year over 60m and full of confidence. The absence of a host of big hitters, including reigning champion Christian Coleman and Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles, suggests another medal is within reach.

“I’m always going into everything thinking I can win,” he says. “I’m coming in with the fastest time, so I guess there’s a sense of pressure, but I kind of like that feeling. I think I’m definitely capable of doing something special, so I don’t see why I can’t walk away with the gold.”

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The shortest sprint is prone to an even greater unpredictability and Azu himself knows all about his sport’s ability to surprise following the disappointment of a false start at last summer’s Games.

Yet that experience has been firmly consigned to the past – “It’s gone, it’s never going to come back” – and he insists it offers no additional motivation to his current ambitions.

Instead it is all about living in the present. During the winter he moved home from Marco Airale’s renowned training group in Italy both for family planning and to be of greater assistance to his local church, where his father, Alex, is the pastor.

Azu sings in the church band and credits his faith for giving him the mental strength to overcome his Paris heartbreak. Singing from an early age continues to help him on the track too.

Jeremiah Azu, right, wins the European 60m title in Apeldoorn.

“It takes the pressure off when I’ve got all these people watching me,” he says. “Standing on stage as a kid is a lot more daunting. I’m a performer at the end of the day and I’ve come to love it, even now. Like in church, there’s so much passion that I put into it.”

He was confident, entertaining and on a different level to his rivals in the Netherlands two weeks ago. And his new reason to perform is undoubtedly helping.

“I’m doing this for my own child, I’m doing this for my partner, I’m doing this for a piece of us. But for some reason that has just made things easier. I’m not sure what it is. I can’t really explain it still.”

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March 19, 2025