Canada took full advantage of a USA mistake in the 4x100m relay final at the World Athletics Championships to win the gold medal, their first gold in the event since 1997.
A flubbed final handover between Elijah Hall and Marvin Bracy cost USA precious time as Canadian anchor Andre De Grasse raced past Bracy on the final leg, crossing the finish in 37.48 seconds to seal the gold for his country ahead of the USA who failed to retain their crown.
Britain completed the podium taking bronze in 37.83.
4x100m gold at the World Athletics Championships is redemption for De Grasse, the Olympic champion in 200m after he suffered an early season foot injury and was off the track during a crucial training period due to COVID-19 ahead of the tournament.
He had to withdraw from the 200m earlier in the meet and failed to qualify for the 100m final.
The USA did manage to win the women’s 4x100m relay event, stunning the Jamaica squad which fielded the three medallists from the women’s 100 meters in Saturday’s World Championships sprint.
Despite their “big three” – Shericka Jackson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Elaine Thompson-Herah- on the track- the USA managed to get home in 41.14 seconds ahead of Jamaica who finished in 41.18 after losing precious time on a couple of stretched changeovers.
Britain were in the medal hunt until 200m bronze medallist Dina Asher-Smith pulled up injured at the end of her third leg, allowing Germany to storm through for a surprise bronze in 42.03.
In Men’s Javelin final, Grenada’s Anderson Peters beat Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra to retain his title saving his best for last with a throw of 90.54 meters after leading the competition throughout.
Chopra threw a best of 88.13m to finish second while the Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, who won silver in Tokyo, took bronze with an effort of 88.09m.
Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem finished 5th, the first time an athlete from Pakistan has managed to finish in the top-8 of the event.
Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo continued his dominance in the men’s triple jump by adding his first World Championships title to the Olympic gold he won in Tokyo.
The 29-year-old jumped a world-leading 17.95 meters on his first attempt to take the top spot while Burkina Faso’s Hugues Fabrice Zango finished a distant second with an effort of 17.55m and China’s Olympic silver medallist Zhu Yaming settled for bronze with the best effort of 17.31m.
