Preview of Day 5: Given that it was only a preliminary round and Wayde van Niekerk would hate to be a rude guest, he slowed up just enough for a sprinter from Britain to finish even with him at the line. Almost worked. But there will be no slowing down now for the South African sprinter, who is going for the 200-400 double at the world championships this week. He made it through the first round of the 200 on Monday, easing up at the finish and sharing a smile with British runner Daniel Talbot, who lost to Van Niekerk by .001 seconds and shook hands after. [caption id=“attachment_2957780” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Wayde van Niekerk. Getty Images[/caption] It was all part of Van Niekerk’s plan to conserve energy. He has the 400 final on Tuesday. “That’s not easy,” Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake said of Van Niekerk’s double. “The 400 is no joke. You have to have a lot of guts. He’s my friend and I wish him my best.” The last time Van Niekerk was in a 400 final on this sort of stage, a record was shattered. He broke American sprinter Michael Johnson’s mark last August in Rio de Janeiro. Van Niekerk finished in 43.03 seconds that night — 0.15 seconds faster than Johnson ran on Aug. 26, 1999, in Seville, Spain. A repeat may be far-fetched. In Brazil, Van Niekerk wasn’t attempting this kind of double. He’s had a busy week chasing after two titles, running heats to advance in the 400 on Saturday and Sunday, along with the 200 prelim on Monday. He had a little fun even as he approached the finish line. Talbot closed the gap almost all the way as the sprinters shared a grin. “He’s a great guy, great athlete,” Talbot said. “It’s nice he’s doing so well and he wants me to do well. We’re competitors. I’ve got to try to beat him.” A look at Day 5 of the world championships: High note: The pole vault world-record holder from France isn’t the favourite in the final. Renaud Lavillenie started his season a little late because of an injury. That promotes Sam Kendricks of the United States to the role of vaulter to beat. He captured silver at the world indoors and an Olympic bronze in Brazil. “I want to complete the full set here,” Kendricks said. His biggest challenges will be defending world champion Shawn Barber of Canada and Swedish teenager Armand Duplantis, who has one of the world’s best marks this season. Don’t overlook Lavillenie, either. Power Czech: At 36, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic is still going strong in the women’s javelin. She’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, including a win at this stadium during the 2012 London Games. But there’s a new thrower in the ranks — 22-year-old Sara Kolak of Croatia. She won Olympic gold in Rio. Here’s the steeple: American steeplechaser Evan Jager looks to become the first runner not from Kenya to win the event since 2005. It won’t be easy with defending champion Ezekiel Kemboi in the field. Jager captured a surprise Olympic silver last year, when he lost by a second to Conseslus Kipruto of Kenya. Two Laps: With defending 800-meter champion David Rudisha of Kenya not in the field, the race is wide open. It could be just the opening for Nijel Amos of Botswana. He won three races on the Diamond League circuit last month. Return to the track: Tori Bowie’s scrapes are healing after her dive to win the 100 meters. In this case: No pain, no gold. Now, it’s time to turn the page. The American sprinter is listed on the entry sheet for the 200. Bowie has the top mark this season. The defending champion is Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. With inputs from AP.
Highlights, IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017, Results, Day 5 in London: Niekerk defends 400m gold, targets 200m next
Catch all the live updates and results from Day 5 of the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships as South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk eyes a double, while Tori Bowie hopes to shine again.
 "Highlights, IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017, Results, Day 5 in London: Niekerk defends 400m gold, targets 200m next")
And that brings us to the end of an entertaining Day 5, coupled with a handful of glorious performances. Wayde van Niekerk was definitely one of them as he seals yet another 400m gold at World Championships. There’s more to come, which means a chance to win the 200m and clinch the double at a global event. Meanwhile, Kendricks, Kipruto, Spotkova and Bosse were outstanding as they all claimed gold in their respective events.
Hope you enjoyed our live coverage as we will be back tomorrow to provide all the updates from the prestigious event. But, do check the medal tally before you leave. Good night!
Sam Kendricks bags first world pole vault title!
Brave effort from France’s Renaud Lavillenie but he couldn’t make 6.01m in his final attempt. Poland’s Piotr Lisek should be happy with silver. Sam Kendricks, the only man to have cleared 5.95, has a first global gold.
43.98 – @WaydeDreamer – a piece of art #IAAFworlds pic.twitter.com/wcARrqGzFT
— SPIKES (@spikesmag) August 8, 2017
Niekerk is now the third man after Michael Johnson & Jeremy Wariner to claim 400m gold at consecutive #IAAFWorldshttps://t.co/G4NQ9uxcf0 pic.twitter.com/4KR8CzdFEy
— Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) August 8, 2017
Wayde van Niekerk wins gold!
South Africa’s Niekerk defends his 400m title at the World Championships with another impressive run, clocking the distance in 43.98. The South African was dominant throughout. Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas, who clocks 44.41 takes silver, while Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar, who moves from sixth to third in the final 30 metres claim bronze in 44.48.
France’s Pierre-Ambroise Bosse bosses 800m; wins gold!
Now, this is what we call a dramatic race!
Bosse comes out from nowhere with a brilliant surge past Nijel Amos to take the lead. The Frenchman further speeds away and kept driving. His rivals, including Amos, had no answer whatsoever! He wins it in 1:44:67 ahead of Poland’s Adam Kszcot, who takes silver with 1:44:95.Surprisingly, it’s Kyle Langford and not Amos who takes the bronze medal.
Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto wins men’s 3000m gold!
Well, it wasn’t that easy for Kipruto as Soufiane Elbakkali was on his shoulders, but the Kenyan, the Olympic champion, holds on to continue his country’s dominance in the steeplechase event. Morocco’s Elbakkali bags silver, while USA’s Evan Jager settles for bronze.
Next final to commence at #IAAFworlds will be the men's 3000m steeplechase.
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 8, 2017
Follow it live: https://t.co/RfYm8ZQsWE pic.twitter.com/FqgYu7LeOv
Britain’s Eilidh Doyle manages to make it to the women’s 400m hurdles final as the crowd in London are loving it. Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad wins the heat in exactly 55 seconds.
Meanwhile, the men’s 3000m steeplechase final is about to begin.
Well, this is huge. Isaac Makwala is reportedly fit and ready to run in the 400m final. What’s happening?
The Isaac Makwala story has taken another turn.
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 8, 2017
Tune into @BBCTwo NOW to follow this remarkable tale.https://t.co/To5AHIcRa9 #London2017 pic.twitter.com/6H0JqD7bV5
Here’s why Tori Bowie did not participate in the 200m heat.
Her condition will continue to be evaluated to assess her readiness for the 4x100 relay. (2/2)
— USATF (@usatf) August 8, 2017
Spotkova wins gold!
The 36-year-old javelin thrower of the Czech Republic is the world champion again, ten years after her first title in Osaka. Chinese thrower Lingwei Li’s final effort of 64.88 was enough to clinch silver but not gold. Huihui Lyu wins bronze for China. Not a bad day for China. Celebrations all over as Spotkova and her husband enjoy the win.
Heat 7 results:
The final 200m heat missed the 100m champion Tori Bowie, who did not race. So, in her absence, Germany’s Rebekka Haase wins it in 22.99 seconds. Brazil’s Rosangela Santos comes second and Trinidad & Tobago’s Semoy Hackett looks happy with the third place
Meanwhile, you might want to just glance through the javelin event.
WR holder Barbora Spotakova leads at the half way stage of #IAAFworlds women's javelin final
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 8, 2017
Follow it live: https://t.co/RfYm8ZQsWE pic.twitter.com/VOfK42pwsd
Heat 6 results:
And Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou does not disappoint as she finishes first ahead of Switzerland’s Sarah Atchou and Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas.
Heat 5 results:
Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith wins the heat quite comfortably in 22.73 seconds. Canada’s Crystal Emmanuel, who started well, is second. Estelle Raffai of France finishes third and Janet Amponsah takes the fourth place.
And Heat 4 goes to the 400M Olympic Champion Miller-Uibo in 22.69.#IAAFWorlds
— Sundeep Misra (@MisraSundeep) August 8, 2017
Heat 4 results:
Shaunae Miller seals her semi-final spot despite a slow start as the Bahamas sprinter speeds at the right moment to finish first. Jamaica’s Simone Facey comes second, Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong is third.
Heat 3 results:
What a tight contest this was! The winner of the third women’s 200m heat is USA’s Deajah Stevens, second place goes to Bulgaria’s Ivet Lalova-Collio and Jamaica’s Sashalee Forbes finishes third.
The next final to begin at #IAAFworlds is the men's pole vault, which promises to be a hot contest
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 8, 2017
Follow it live: https://t.co/RfYm8ZQsWE pic.twitter.com/7MczcvY39y
Heat 2 results:
USA’s Kimberley Duncan, who breezes past Mujinga Kambundji, has won the race. Vitoria Rosa of Brazil finishes third. South Africa’s Justine Palframan is fourth in 23.35 seconds.
Meanwhile, Sara Kolak of Croatia takes lead in the javelin with a throw of 64.95m
Heat 1 results:
Defending champion and bronze medalist in 100m Dafne Schippers wins the race swiftly with 22.63. Is there anyone who can stop the Dutch ace?
Women’s 200 Heats are up: Heat 1. Dafne Schippers with a personal best of 21.63 in London.
And this is how the evening session looks like:
23:50 – Women’s javelin final
00:00 (9 August) – Women’s 200m first round
00:05 (9 August) – Men’s pole vault final
01:05 (9 August) – Women’s 400m hurdles semi-finals
01:10 (9 August) – Women’s shot put qualifying
01:40 (9 August) – Men’s 3,000m steeplechase final
02:05 (9 August) – Men’s 800m final
02:22 (9 August) – Men’s 400m final
Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s coverage of Day 5 of the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017.
It is time to watch out for South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk, an athlete who will inherit Bolt’s star-studded crown, as he will be in action in the men’s 400 metres final. The defending world and Olympic champion and world record holder faces a loaded field that is sure to test him to the limit.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 3,000 metres steeplechase, all eyes will be on USA’s Evan Jager to see if he can break the Kenyan domination. It wouldn’t be an easy endeavour with Kenya’s Conseslus Kipruto and Ezekiel Kemboi in the fray.
So, stick around and keep an eye on your favourite athletes.
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