Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson had to settle for silver as Mary Moraa triumphed in a thrilling 800m final at the World Championships in Budapest.

Kenyan Moraa won with a personal best 1:56.03 as defending champion Athing Mu claimed bronze in a thrilling battle.

Great Britain added bronze in the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays to match their best medal haul at the championships.

The men’s quartet of Alex Haydock-Wilson, Charlie Dobson, Lewis Davey and Rio Mitcham finished in 2:58.71, behind the United States (2:57.31) and France (2:58.45) .

Laviai Nielsen, Amber Anning, Ama Pipi and Nicole Yeargin clocked 3:21.04 to claim the final Championships podium, while Femke Bol completed a stunning personal story by leading the Netherlands to gold in 3 :20.72.

Bol, who suffered a dramatic fall in the final stages of the 4x400m mixed relay on day one, edged Jamaica (3:20.88) to deliver a sensational final.

Those third places earned Great Britain 10 medals, ensuring the team’s best performance for 30 years.

So there was almost a final day gold medal for the British team to celebrate.

Olympic silver medalist Hodgkinson, who missed the 800m world title last year to Athing Mu by an agonizing 0.08 seconds in Eugene, found space inside as she tried to catch Moraa, who finished quickly.

But as Moraa jumped for joy after turning her 2022 bronze into gold, Hodgkinson initially looked crestfallen before proudly celebrating her third world medal.

Mu won bronze in a thrilling battle between the top three contenders, while Jemma Reekie finished fifth (1:57.72) in her first world final.

It’s yet another outstanding performance from Hodgkinson, who will be aiming for gold again at the 2024 Paris Olympics after another year of significant progress early in his career.

“To be consistently on top with the best in the world is all I want in my career,” Hodgkinson said.

“Another podium. Another medal. So it’s definitely positive.”

She added: “I thought I was going to be fine inside, then the line came faster than I thought.

“I gave it my all, like I always do. I don’t really think I made a mistake.”

Money again for Hodgkinson in final chapter of ‘Big Three’

One of the most anticipated showdowns of the championships, the women’s 800m final pitted Hodgkinson against two athletes who between them had robbed the European champion of three more major golds in a sensational debut of his professional career.

American phenom Mu, also 21, repeated his Tokyo Olympics triumph over Hodgkinson by the tiniest margin in Eugene last year, before Moraa, 23, inflicted Commonwealth Games heartbreak on him .

But those experiences only made Hodgkinson more determined in her quest for fame.

In response to those setbacks, Hodgkinson won his first major outdoor gold medal at the European Championships last August and improved his British record to 1:55.77 this season – still the world’s fastest time this season. year.

Only Moraa, at the Lausanne Diamond League, had denied athlete Leigh victory in 12 800m races this year – the Kenyan’s unpredictable running style once again proved frustrating in otherwise flawless preparation .

And it was Moraa, renowned for her devastating closing speed, who took victory in Budapest as Hodgkinson passed the declining Mu but failed to topple the Kenyan.

“I was really looking forward to today. I was really into it. I really believed I was going to win,” Hodgkinson said.

“You have to believe in it, that’s half the battle. Who knows what the order will be next year.

“One of these days I’m going to get first place. Today is just not meant to be.

“I think [going into an] Olympic year, everyone brings even more of their A-game than usual. Nothing is left out this year. We’ll just go for gold again and see what happens. »

Bol plays final night as Britain reclaim relay prizes

Great Britain equaled their 2022 bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m – Yeargin clinched a place on the podium as Bol managed to chase down Jamaica.

It was the 400m Bowl champion who was firmly in the spotlight, adding her second gold medal and bringing the crowd to their feet.

The bronze represents significant progress for the British men’s quartet, who did not compete last year.

In the absence of 400m silver medalist Matthew Hudson-Smith, who suffered a foot injury this year, Mitcham held firm to keep the Jamaican quartet at bay.

Morgan Lake finished fourth in the women’s high jump final with a jump of 1.97m as Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh won her first outdoor world title after world silver medals in 2019 and 2022.

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen bounced back from his loss to Britain’s Josh Kerr in the 1500m final to defend his title in the men’s 5000m, winning in 13:11.30.

Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won India’s first-ever gold medal at the World Championships by winning the javelin title with a best throw of 88.17m.

Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Winfred Yavi claimed victory in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase as the last of 49 gold medals was decided on Sunday.