IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017: Wayde van Niekerk, Laura Muir, Neeraj Chopra in action on Day 7

21-year-old Norwegian Karsten Warholm won the the 400-metre hurdle finals ahead of two-time champion Kerron Clement on Day 6 of IAAF World Championships 2017. American Phyllis Francis shocked compatriot Allyson Felix and Olympic winner Shaunae Miller-Uibo in women’s 400m. The evening’s other gold went to Gong Lijiao of China in the women’s shot put. But gold medals were hardly the only cause for celebration on an evening full of surprises in track and field. After he was reportedly ill with stomach flu and barred from the Olympic stadium for 48 hours to lower the risk of infecting other runners, Botswana’s Isaac Makwala was called back on Wednesday to run two 200-metre sprints. The first was a time trial all alone on the track and the second was the semi-final which saw him qualify for the final. It turned out Makwala was so healthy that he even dropped to the ground and pumped out five push-ups near the finish line. [caption id=“attachment_3914179” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Wayde van Niekerk (L), Laura Muir (centre) and Neeraj Chopra (R). Agencies[/caption] Day 7 at IAAF World Championships 2017 promises to be equally thrilling. Wayde van Niekerk started off on the right foot by winning the 400m at the world championships. On Day 7, the South African standout goes for gold in the 200m — Usain Bolt’s signature race. Only, Bolt is sitting this one out, ending his string of four straight titles in the event. The fact that van Niekerk’s even trying the 200-400 double is impressive. After finishing fourth in 1500m, Great Britain’s Laura Muir gets another shot at a medal in 5,000m on Thursday evening. American triple jumper Christian Taylor will attempt to win his third world title in the event. He and teammate Will Claye have finished with the gold and silver, respectively, at the last two Olympics. With three in the final, the Americans will be hoping for a 1-2-3 finish in the final of the women’s 400-metre hurdles. Although, they will face stiff competition from Czech Republic’s defending world champion Zuzana Hejnova, who had the fastest time in the semifinals. At 38, Olympic high jump champion Ruth Beitia of Spain is still going strong. She will try to hold off the next generation of jumpers, including 19-year-old Vashti Cunningham in Thursday’s qualifying. Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop begins his quest for a fourth 1,500-metre title with a preliminary heat. Only world-record holder Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco has captured that many world titles in the event. Fresh off a bronze-medal performance in the 1,500, South African Caster Semenya returns to the track for a preliminary heat in her signature event, the 800 metres. Semenya is the defending Olympic champion. Day 7 also sees India’s Neeraj Chopra begin his World Championships campaign in men’s javelin throw qualifying, along with compatriot Davinder Singh. The 19-year-old Neeraj is 14th in IAAF rankings after registering a season-best distance of 85.63m while Davinder’s 84.57 puts him at 20th. In a tournament where Indian athletes have been lackadaisical and have failed to win a single medal, the two javelin throwers will hope to turn things around. Here is the full schedule for Day 7: Evening session 23:00 - Women’s 5,000m first round 23:35 - Men’s javelin qualifying* 23:40 - Women’s high jump qualifying 23:55 - Women’s 800m qualifying 00:50 (11 August) - Men’s triple jump final 00:55 (11 August) - Men’s 1500m qualifying 01:05 (11 August) - Men’s javelin qualifying* (depending on qualifying results) 01:35 (11 August) - Women’s 200m semi-final 02:05 (11 August) - Women’s 400m hurdles final 02:22 (11 August) - Men’s 200m final With inputs from AP