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A round-up of all the results from the 16th World Athletic Championships in London
American Kori Carter pulled off another of the growing number of shocks at the World Championships on Thursday, achieving the rare feat of winning the 400 metres hurdles title from the outside lane.
All eyes had been on Carter's US teammate, Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad, who had been the strong favourite, but it was the former American champion in lane nine who maintained her form best to race to victory in 53.07 seconds.
Muhammad, the fastest woman in the world this year, earned the silver in 53.50 to complete an American one-two while Jamaican Ristananna Tracey, an Olympic finalist last year, took the bronze in a lifetime best 53.74.
Czech Zuzana Hejnova, who had been seeking to achieve an unprecedented third successive one-lap hurdles victory, had to settle for fourth, being overhauled by Tracey on the run-in despite clocking a season's best 54.20.
"I am on top of the world right now. What a blessing to be world champion. This is just an incredible feeling like I've never experienced," the 25-year-old Carter told the crowd.
"When you work so hard and sacrifice so much for something, for it to pay off in the end is so satisfying. It's a surreal experience right now.
"It's always great to run against great athletes because it brings the best out in you, going up against Team USA at trials really prepared me for this."
Turkey's Guliyev stuns field to win 200 metres
Ramil Guliyev, representing Turkey after switching allegiance from Azerbaijan, pulled off a shock 200 metres victory at the World Championships on Thursday, edging an emotional favourite Wayde van Niekerk into second place in a blanket finish.
The 27-year-old Guliyev, who had never won a medal in a senior global event, finished just the stronger to triumph in 20.09 seconds before setting off on a lap of honour carrying the flags of both of his nations.
South African Van Niekerk, who took the 400m title on Tuesday, had been seeking to match American Michael Johnson's achievement of doing the 200/400m double at the Gothenburg worlds in 1995, but had to settle for silver in 20.11 seconds.
Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago was given the same time but was relegated to third by one thousandth of a second.
Isaac Makwala of Botswana, the crowd favourite after his illness travails initially saw him barred from competing this week, started strongly but faded to sixth.
In the absence of Usain Bolt, who had won the event in the last four championships, it always looked a wide open race, but even with the most level playing field for a decade, few were looking at lane five for the likely winner.
Van Niekerk, Makwala, Richards and U.S. duo Isiah Young and Ameer Webb all looked stronger on paper, while the home crowd also focussed on local favourite Nathaneel Mitchell-Blake, who eventually came through for fourth.
Semenya eases through 800m heats, Arzamasova out
Olympic champion Caster Semenya maintained her two-year unbeaten record over 800 metres as she eased through the first round at the World Championships on Thursday.
Her main challengers, Francine Niyonsaba, Margaret Wambui and Ajee Wilson, also cruised into Friday's semi-finals but defending champion Maryna Arzamasova was eliminated after finishing fourth in her heat.
South African Semenya, last beaten at the World Championships semi-final in Beijing two years ago, was third going into the final straight and eased past Rose Mary Almanza and Natoya Goule to win in 2:01.33.
"I just want to keep winning. That's all I'm concentrating on. I'm feeling okay after the 1,500 metres, so I'm ready to go again," said Semenya, who won bronze in the 1,500 on Monday.
Wilson, who became the first American to run under 1.56 seconds when she set a national record in Monaco last month, comfortably won the first heat in 2:00.52.
Burundi's Niyonsaba and Kenyan Wambui, silver and bronze medallists respectively in last year's Olympics, also won their heats.
Arzamasova led the fourth heat on the last lap but faltered badly at the finish to be pipped for the third automatic place by Halima Nakaayi. She was not among the six fastest losers.
Kenyan Eunice Sum, the 2013 world champion, withdrew due to illness.
Vetter's huge throw sets up German javelin showdown
Germany's Johannes Vetter and Thomas Rohler will take their burgeoning javelin rivalry into a potentially riveting final at the World Athletics Championships after achieving the automatic qualifying mark on Thursday.
Yet the pair, who have this season both produced throws that have only ever been bettered by the great Czech Jan Zelezny, surpassed the 83 metres qualifying standard in contrasting style.
Vetter, who moved to second on the all-time list last month with a 94.44 metres effort in Lucerne, produced another fine throw of 91.20 metres at the first attempt to power into Saturday's final as the top qualifier.
Olympic champion Rohler, in the second group, had to work harder, failing to make it with his first throw (80.88m) before his second effort cleared the 83m mark by 87 centimetres to make him the eighth best qualifier.
With Andreas Hoffman also making the final as fifth best qualifier (85.62m), Vetter, whose leading throw was almost five metres longer than the next best effort of Czech Petr Frydrych (86.22m), declared: "I am dreaming of three medals for Germany."
Champion Kiprop leads Kenyan charge into 1,500m semis
Four Kenyans with eyes on 1,500 metres medals – the three fastest men in the world this year and the one seeking a fourth successive title – all qualified from Thursday’s first-round heats, though not without a scare for one of them.
Triple defending champion Abel Kiprop, aiming to match the four successive titles world record-holder Hicham El Guerrouj took from 1997-2003, showed that he is not about to hand over his title without a fight.
Kiprop went all the way to the line just behind Elijah Manangoi, silver medallist two years ago and the world leader this year with three minutes 28.80, in a mass finish to the first heat.
The two 21-year-old pretenders of the Kenyan team had contrasting nights as Timothy Cheruiyot went through strongly in second place in the third heat while Ronald Kwemoi snatched the sixth and last fast-loser slot.
Sadik Mikhou, who switched allegiance from Morocco to Bahrain last year, was an impressive winner of the second heat, where Dutchman Richard Douma fell 30 metres from the line when well-placed to qualify.
After an appeal by the Dutch federation Douma was advanced to the semi-finals.
Luke Mathews of Australia led the last heat home and it was considerably the fastest of the three with the six automatic and five of the six fast losers all going through from it.
The home fans, getting ever-more desperate for someone to join 10,000m champion Mo Farah on the medal table, had something to cheer as Chris O'Hare and Jake Wightman - whose father Geoff commentated on the race as the stadium announcer - progressed.
American Matt Centrowitz, the Olympic champion and former world silver and bronze medallist who has struggled for form after an injury and illness-hit season, finished a distant last in his heat.
The semi-finals take place on Friday with the final on Sunday, the last day of the championships.
Miller-Uibo takes on Schippers in second chance at gold
All eyes will be on Shaunae Miller-Uibo following her 400 metres slip up to see if she can keep her composure in the women's 200 metres final at the World Championships on Friday.
The Bahamian qualified for the final in the same time as the defending champion, Dafne Schippers who is aiming to become the first Dutch athlete to win successive world titles.
Another woman looking to retain her crown is America's Tianna Bartoletta in the long jump final.
She will be fiercely challenged by compatriot Brittney Reese, who has the season's best jump of 7.13 metres.
Another duel between team mates comes in the men's 1500 metres semi-final as Asbel Kiprop and Elijah Motonei Manangoi of Kenya take to the track for a place in Sunday's showpiece. Kiprop beat Manangoi to gold in Beijing two years ago.
The decathlon gets underway with the 100 metres starting the day’s events at 0900 GMT. South Africa's Caster Semenya goes in the women's 800m semi-finals later on Friday.
There are also gold medals to be won in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase and men’s hammer throw.
