ATHLETICS:CUBAN HURDLER Dayron Robles was stripped of gold yesterday in a twist every bit as dramatic as Usain Bolt's disqualification from the 100 metres sprint the night before.
The world record holder was disqualified after a physical tussle in the 110m hurdles final with Chinas Liu Xiang.
Robles bumped Liu in an epic race between the three fastest hurdlers of all time – America’s David Oliver finished fifth – and crossed the line first ahead of Jason Richardson. The Chinese protested and Richardson was awarded gold by the referee, with Liu winning silver and Britain’s Andy Turner lifted to bronze.
“Robles hit me twice, at the ninth hurdle he pulled at me, but it wasn’t intentional,” Liu said. “If not for the incident I would be gold medallist.”
Allyson Felix’s dreams of an unprecedented women’s 200-400 metres double at a worlds disappeared when she was beaten in the 400m final by Botswana’s Amantle Montsho.
Carmelita Jeter put a smile back on the faces of Team USA, racing to gold in the women’s 100m. She finished in 10.90 seconds.
Oscar Pistorius – the first amputee athlete to compete at the World Championships – failed to reach the final of the 400 metres, finishing his semi-final last.
