IAAF Athletics World Championships 2015: Results and Medal Table After Sunday

The 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing kicked into high gear on Sunday. There were a total of 16 events, including four finals, highlighted by the men's 100-meter run. 

The men's 100-meter final provided the matchup everyone wanted to see, as Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin breezed through their respective heats to set up a showdown in the final. The Jamaican star came out on top with a time of 9.79 seconds, one-10th of a second better than Gatlin.

Here's a full list of medal winners from Sunday, as well as an updated medal table after two days of competition. 

Sunday Medal Results

For complete results, visit the IAAF's official website

Medal Table

Day 2 Recap

Before Bolt secured his spot in the 100-meter final, there was a brief scare when it looked like a mistake would cost him. The former Olympic gold medalist stumbled out of the block in his semifinal heat, yet he still finished tied for first with a time of 9.96 seconds. 

As Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Sun pointed out, Bolt's moment of panic actually made his triumph even better:

Seeing Bolt breeze past the field every time, while impressive, doesn't tell us anything new. A moment like the one he had in the heat is more enlightening about what his natural talent can do when he has to battle adversity. 

Once Bolt made it into the final, the only thing left was to finish the job. He didn't disappoint by pulling off the upset. Gatlin entered the World Championships on a roll, running the 100 meters in 9.74 seconds during May's IAAF Diamond League Doha. 

The Telegraph tweeted out a picture of how close Bolt and Gatlin were upon crossing the finish line:

It's become a running story—no pun intended—that Bolt routinely gets off to slow starts and cranks up his performance with each subsequent round, something Gatlin told the Associated Press (via ESPN.com) after Saturday's qualifying heats. 

"He did the same thing in 2012," Gatlin said. "He kind of ran slow in the first round [10.09], picked it up in semis [9.87] and crushed it in finals [9.63]. We all just have to sit there and wait and see exactly what he's going to do."

Things were no different on Sunday, as he increased his time from the heat by .17 seconds, though the heat does come with an asterisk because of Bolt's stumble. 

Eventually, the 29-year-old Bolt will slow down but there are no signs he's losing a step just yet. That's very dangerous for the rest of the world with the Olympics looming next year. 

The United States got into the gold-medal circle on Sunday thanks to Joe Kovacs. The Pennsylvania native was tremendous in the shot put final, taking the lead on his fifth attempt with a throw of 21.93 meters.

Kovacs' throw was just enough to squeak by Germany's David Storl, who took home a silver medal with a throw of 21.74 meters. 

The 2016 Olympic hopeful has built himself into one of the world's best shot put athletes, with Nick Zaccardi of NBC Sports noting in a June profile about Kovacs that he was the only thrower in the world to break the 22-meter barrier last year:

Kovacs now ranks 12th in the world all time and will prove his coach a prophet if he can up his personal best by seven more inches to surpass John Brenner as Venegas’ farthest-throwing pupil.

Kovacs, an habitual Starbucks drinker, only needs to finish in the top three at the U.S. Championships on Sunday to secure a berth on his first World Championships team. If he does this, he will likely go to Beijing’s Bird’s Nest favored to win a medal, likely the gold, on Aug. 23.

It's been a long ascent for Kovacs up the world rankings, finally culminating in this gold-medal performance on Sunday. Based on his career trajectory, this is only the beginning of his dominance in the sport. 

Jessica Ennis-Hill, who won a 2012 Olympic gold in the heptathlon, seems on her way to repeating that feat next year in Rio. The English star cruised to a gold medal in the event on Sunday with 6,669 total points, 115 ahead of runner-up Brianne Theisen Eaton. 

Per B/R UK, Ennis-Hill's win in Beijing marks one of the best three-year stretches that an athlete can have on and off the track:

There is no rest for the weary this time of year. Coming off today's full slate of events, Monday kicks things up a notch with five medal events highlighted by the women's 100-meter final. The women's triple jump and 10,000-meter champions will also be crowned. 

On the men's side, the pole vault and 3,000-meter steeplechase will hand out medals. All of these events have a tough act to follow after the show Bolt and Gatlin put on.

The women's 100-meter final will feature reigning Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pyrce, who posted the best time in the heats at 10.88 seconds, and will be looking to join her fellow countryman Bolt in the winner's circle.

American star Tori Bowie figures to be the biggest challenge to Fraser-Pryce, as she also posted a qualifying time of 10.88 seconds. Another thrilling photo finish between Jamaica and the United States would make for great drama.