World Athletics Championships: Asher-Smith surges to 200m title

There was glory for Dina Asher-Smith in the 200m as Omar McLeod endured a nightmare end to his 110m hurdles defence.

Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain celebrates after winning the 200m final at the World Athletics Championships.

Dina Asher-Smith did not shrink under the pressure as she clinched gold in the 200m at the World Athletics Championships.

The Briton was the heavy favourite in a race missing the likes of Elaine Thompson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Dafne Schippers.

She justified her status in emphatic fashion, becoming Great Britain's first female sprint world champion.

There was drama in the men's 110m hurdles final, won by Grant Holloway of the United States, while Pawel Fajdek prevailed for Poland in the men's hammer throw.

DINA DELIVERS

The expectation was not too much for Asher-Smith, who eased to a dominant victory in the 200m final to add gold to the silver she claimed behind Fraser-Pryce in the 100.

Asher-Smith ran a personal best and a national record of 21.88 seconds, finishing well clear of Brittany Brown (22.22) with her performance owing in part to a lightning fast start.

Read: PU Chitra clocks PB, but falls short of 1500m semis

Victory never looked in doubt after she surged out of the blocks and the Briton was unable to keep her emotions in check as the magnitude of her achievement hit home.

"I just don't know what to say, I don't know if it's properly sunk in," she told BBC Sport. "It's been a long championships, I'm tired. It means so much."

Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji (22.51) edged out Anglerne Annelus (22.59) for bronze.

MCLEOD HAMSTRUNG IN TITLE DEFENCE

Omar McLeod's defence of his 110m hurdles title ended in nightmarish circumstances.

The Jamaican was neck and neck with Grant Holloway for much of the race but clipped the third-last hurdle, setting in motion a series of stumbles that saw him fall to the ground after clattering into the final obstacle.

Holloway, the youngest man in the field at 21, triumphed ahead of neutral athlete Sergey Shubenkov and France's Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, with McLeod left to rue an apparent hamstring injury.

"I was not getting pop because of the hamstring," McLeod told BBC Sport. "There's nothing to take away, I gave it my all, that's just how it is."

FIT-AGAIN JAMES STORMS INTO FINAL

Kirani James is on course to complete a remarkable comeback after qualifying second-fastest for the men's 400m final.

James - the Olympic champion in 2012 and runner-up in Rio three years ago - was diagnosed in 2017 with Graves' Disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes an overactive thyroid.

The Grenadian has barely raced in the past three seasons, but he looked in superb form as he posted a time of 44.23 on Wednesday, which was beaten only by Steven Gardiner.

The women's 400m hurdles semis were dominated by American athletes.

Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad qualifed easily but her time of 53.91 seconds was bettered by Sydney McLaughlin, who cruised through in 53.81.