IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017 medal tally: Wayde van Niekerk wins 400m gold; USA on top

London: Wayde van Niekerk retained his world 400 metres title in dominant fashion on Tuesday as he stormed to victory in 43.98 seconds. South African van Niekerk, the Olympic and defending champion and world record holder, ran a controlled race and was even able to ease down over the final strides as he secured the first half of what he hopes will be a 400/200 metres double. Steven Gardiner, 21, of the Bahamas was a clear second in 44.41 and 20-year-old world junior champion Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar blasted through at the end to snatch bronze in 44.48 seconds. [caption id=“attachment_3910335” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa reacts after winning the 400m final. REUTERS[/caption] Fred Kerley had scraped into the final as a fast loser but finished last as the United States failed to medal in the event for only the second time since the championships began in 1983. While American Sam Kendricks capped his memorable, unbeaten season by wining the pole vault final, the title once again eluded world record holder and former Olympic champion Renaud Lavillenie. Poland’s Piotr Lisek, joint bronze medallist in Beijing two years ago, and Frenchman Lavillenie, who also won silver in 2013, both cleared 5.89 but the Pole took silver on countback.  Titleholder Shawn Barber of Canada struggled all evening and never looked in contention. There was an emotional reunion in the women’s javelin throw final as Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic regained the javelin world title she first won 10 years ago at the World Championships. “At this stadium, I am unbeatable. There must be something in the air about London. I cannot explain it but when I enter this stadium, I always feel so calm and relaxed. I believed I could really win it today, I was so focussed and confident,” she said. China’s Li Lingwei, twice Asian champion, threw a personal best of 66.25 to clinch silver and her compatriot Lyu Huihui, who came second in Beijing two years ago, claimed bronze with her penultimate throw of 65.26. Here is the IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017 medal tally after Day 5

With inputs from Reuters