Athletics-Hall lands heptathlon gold, bronze shared after points tie

TOKYO, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Anna Hall won the heptathlon 800 metres in two minutes 06.08 seconds at the world championships on Saturday to secure her first global gold medal and bring the world title back to the United States for the first time since 1993.

Bronze medallist in Eugene in 2022 and second in Budapest in 2023, the 24-year-old took the final step up to the top of the podium with 6,888 points after leading the competition for much of the two days.

Ireland's Kate O'Connor finished second with a national record 6,714 points, while Britain's defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson and American Taliyah Brooks shared bronze after finishing with an identical tally of 6,581.

Belgium's triple Olympic and twice world champion Nafi Thiam, who had not been beaten in competition since 2019, withdrew on Saturday after an underwhelming long jump left her with almost no chance of a medal.