For someone who has not lost a race since 2004, Jeremy Wariner was the overwhelming favourite to win the 400m title at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan and the American did that in style, notching up his personal best timing of 43.45 seconds in the process.
Wariner was fast to get off the block before compatriot LaShawn Merritt joined him in an intense final bend, breathing down his neck. Under pressure to maintain his lead, Wariner went of like a bullet in the last 100m to win the gold with a personal best timing.
At some point, Wariner seemed going to erase Michael Johnson’s world record of 43.18 but that was not to be in the end. Little wonder that Wariner is hailed as the ‘New Michael Johnson’.
Meanwhile, in men’s 4×100m relay, the Asafa Powell-led Jamaican squad created a new world-record of 38.02 to reach the finals of the event. American and British squads also made it to the final.
In other events, defending champion Allyson Felix won the women’s 200m title. China’s Liu Xiang also made a mark by winning his first world 110m hurdles.
