Spotakova reclaims title

An emotional Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic said it felt “so easy” to regain the javelin world title she first won 10 years ago. The two-time Olympics champion and world record holder threw 66.76 metres on her second attempt, which proved enough to clinch a second world gold for the 36-year-old. Sara Kolak of Croatia, the reigning Olympics champion, finished fourth.  China’s Li Lingwei (66.25) and Lyu Huihui (65.26) claimed the silver and bronze, respectively.

Wayde van Niekerk retained his world 400 metres title in dominant fashion  as he stormed to victory in 43.98 seconds but there was almost as much interest in the empty lane alongside him where Botswana’s Isaac Makwala should have been.

South African van Niekerk, the Olympics and defending champion and world record holder, ran a controlled race and was even able to ease down over the final strides.

Steven Gardiner, 21, of the Bahamas was a clear second in 44.41s and 20-year-old world junior champion Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar blasted through at the end to snatch bronze in 44.48s.

The US failed to win a medal in the event for only the second time since the championships began.

Makwala, third-fastest this season, was scratched from the race. He insisted he wanted to run but IAAF officials ruled him out for public health reasons and refused him entry to the stadium amid a swathe of nanovirus and gastroenteritis cases.