Stedman Claims Stunning World Title And Ramsden Sets National 1500m Record

Will Stedman executed a tactical masterclass to secure an exhilarating gold medal success in the final of the men’s 400m T36 on day three of the Para Athletics World Championships in Kobe, Japan.

The 24-year-old Christchurch-based athlete has four times mounted the 400m T36 podium at a global championship, but today he finally climbed on to the top step by producing the run of his life to overhaul defending champion James Turner of Australia to snag victory in a national record of 53.36.

Turner, the world record-holder and Paralympic champion, had to settle for silver on this occasion 0.16 further back. Fakhr Eddine Thelaidjia of Algeria claimed bronze in 54.53.

On a wet morning in Kobe and with Stedman drawn in lane four, the experienced Kiwi had the advantage of seeing most of his main rivals on his outside. However, it was Evgenii Shvetsov, a Neutral Para Athlete, who was prominent in the first half of the race tracked by Turner. Preferring a more conservative approach Stedman flashed by the 200m mark in fourth – a little over a second-and-a-half off the pace.

Nonetheless, as Shvetsov started to fade around the final bend, Stedman started to challenge and leading into the home straight he kicked clear of Thelaidjia and set off in pursuit of Turner.

Stride by stride he closed in on the Australia and timing his challenge to perfection metres he surged ahead in the final five metres - his lunge for the line leading to the Kiwi crashing to the wet track moments after passing the finish line.

It was an epic display by Stedman, who completed the full suite of medals in this event at the Para Athletics World Championships having previously snared bronze in 2019 and silver in 2023. He managed to trim 0.19 from his national record and also, significantly, defeated Turner, a dominant force in this event for so long.

Stedman will return to action inside the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium next Saturday when he competes in the men’s long jump T36 final.

Earlier today, Maia Ramsden scalped almost four seconds from her PB to set a New Zealand women’s 1500m record of 4:02.58 at the USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old Kiwi finished 11th in the race won by Ethiopian Diribe Welteji in 3:55.25 and just missed out on the Olympic entry standard by 0.08.

In a further measure of the quality of the performance, Ramsden, a Harvard University student, took more than two seconds from the former New Zealand record mark of 4:04.82 set by Nikki Hamblin in 2011.

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