Olympic champion Rai Benjamin, in his fourth attempt, finally has a world championship gold.

Twice a silver medallist and third place in Budapest two years ago, the American ran 46.52 seconds Friday in Tokyo, his fastest time in 2025, from Lane 7.

Benjamin was just six hundredths off defending and three-time world champion Karsten Warholm at halfway. The Norwegian had started fast from the blocks in characteristic fashion.

Benjamin showed his strength around the second bend, establishing a lead of half a second by 300m, and still won by over three tenths despite clattering the final hurdle -- he was, temporarily, disqualified because of this, as his fallen hurdle moved the 10th hurdle of Nigeria's Ezekiel Nathaniel in the lane inside him. Upon appeal, Benjamin was reinstated within 10 minutes.

He is the first American man to hold a 400m hurdles world title since Kerron Clement in 2009, and he is the third different world champion in as many editions.

Warholm finished fifth (47.58s) on the track where he set a world record four years ago, while 2022 world champion Alison dos Santos finished strongly to earn silver (46.84s). Qatar's Abderrahman Samba took bronze, while NCAA champion Ezekiel ran a Nigerian record of 47.11s for fourth place.

It was one in a string of strong results Friday for the Americans at the World Athletics Championships, as Noah Lyles won his fourth straight 200-meter world title and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden dominated the 200 to win the 100/200 double and cement her place as the new star of sprinting.

Here's a look at what else went down on Day 7 at the world championships.

Femke Bol successfully defended her world title -- the first woman to do so since Zuzana Hejnová in 2015 -- by running a world-leading 51.54s, the ninth-fastest performance ever.

The Dutch athlete won by over half a second from silver medallist Jasmine Jones, who clocked a 52.08s lifetime best. Slovakia's Emma Zapletalová produced a national record (53.00s) from Lane 3 for bronze, running down American Anna Cockrell in the home straight. Cockrell finished fourth.

Dalilah Muhammad, the 35-year-old American who is at her sixth world championships, finished seventh in 54.82s, 12 years on from her senior global debut.

There was sixth-round drama in the men's triple jump final, as Italian Andrea Dallavalle jumped a 17.64-meter personal best to go from fourth place to gold-medal position. Then, Pedro Pichardo, the 2022 world champion, reclaimed his crown in style immediately after.

The Cuban-born jumper, who has competed for Portugal since 2019, produced a world-leading 17.91m final effort -- he had been in bronze medal position before that. It is a fifth total and third global gold medal for Pichardo (indoors and outdoors), at the very stadium where he won the Olympic title four years prior.

While Italy have three times had Olympic triple jump bronze medallists (most recently Cuban-born Andy Diaz in 2024), Dallavalle brings their first medal at a world championships.

Lázaro Martínez of Cuba jumped 17.49m for bronze.

Anna Hall, the U.S. athlete and gold-medal favourite, leads the heptathlon at the end of Day 1, with four of seven events concluded.

The 24-year-old, who earlier this summer tied for second all-time with 7,032 points, produced the leading shot put (15.80m, a personal best) and the second-best high jump (1.89m) and 200m (23.50).

She leads Kate O'Connor (3,906) by 248 points. The Irish athlete had lifetime bests in 100m hurdles (13.44s), high jump (1.86m) and the 200m (24.07s).

Third place currently is defending world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson (3,893) of Great Britain, who is just three points clear of the Netherlands' Sofie Dokter in fourth, while three other women are over the 3,800-point mark -- including Belgium's Nafi Thiam, the Olympic champion last summer.

Saturday, in order, the long jump, javelin and 800m will conclude the heptathlon.

Defending world and Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen snuck his way into the final, finishing eighth in the last qualifying spot of the second heat.

"I gave my all. I am not myself. I had to do what I could today," he said. "I was not sure I would make the final, but here I am. I don't have any idea what I am going to do in the final."

Great Britain's George Mills is safely through, as are U.S. athletes Cole Hocker and Grant Fisher, the latter with the world-leading time in 2025. Nico Young's fourth place, one spot behind Hocker, ensures there will be three Americans in the final.

Jimmy Gressier, the Frenchman who shocked when he kicked to win 10,000m gold in a tactical race on Sunday evening, qualified with a second-place finish. France, too, will be fully represented, with Etienne Daguinos and Yann Schrub placing eight and seventh in their respective heats.

Niels Laros, the 20-year-old Dutchman who placed fifth in the 1,500m final, pulled up with an injury and did not finish. Likewise, Andreas Almgren, the Swede who is the second-fastest this year and ran a European record in June, placed ninth and therefore does not advance -- he will not add to his bronze medal from the 10,000m.

There was a huge shock ahead of Saturday's final. Haruka Kitaguchi, defending world champion from 2023 and the Olympic gold medallist last summer, only threw 60.38m. That placed her 14th overall -- outside the top 12 qualification spots.

The home favourite suffered elbow inflammation in June and threw well below her best at the Diamond League final last month. To miss out on the final entirely, though, is a real surprise.

"I was so happy with this crowd in the stadium, but I could not throw well today," she said. "I feel very sorry. I had a difficult season with injuries."

American Rai Benjamin, nearly DQed, wins first 400-meter hurdles world title