Daegu, South Korea: Cuban hurdler Dayron Robles was stripped of gold and glory at the world athletics championships Monday in a twist every bit as dramatic as Usain Bolt's disqualification from the blue riband 100 metres sprint the night before.
The muscular world record-holder was disqualified after a physical track tussle in the 110 metres hurdles final with China's Liu Xiang.
Robles bumped Liu in an epic race between the three fastest hurdlers of all time — America's David Oliver finished fifth — and crossed the line first ahead of Jason Richardson.
The Chinese protested, however, and Richardson was awarded gold by the referee. A Cuban counter-appeal was rejected by a jury, and Richardson held on to gold with Liu winning silver and Britain's Andy Turner lifted to bronze.
Robles left the stadium after his appeal failed without making any comment.
"Robles hit me twice, at the ninth hurdle he pulled at me, but it wasn't intentional," former Olympic champion Liu told reporters. "If not for the incident I would be gold medallist.
"I am good friends with Robles. What I like is a happy camp — I don't know what to say."
Richardson said: "The reaction is bittersweet. I am disappointed to have won on a technicality. I wish that under different circumstances he could keep the medal but rules are rules.
"Anything can happen in track and field if you just do your best and stay in your lane."
Dreams shattered
The floodlit drama was exactly what the 13th world championships needed to dispel a gloom which, like the ever-present mist on Daegu's mountains, had lingered around the stadium after the shock of Bolt losing his 100 metres crown.
Allyson Felix's dreams of completing an unprecedented women's 200-400-metre double at a worlds disappeared when she was beaten in the 400 final by Amantle Montsho.
Montsho could not wipe the smile from her face after landing Botswana's first gold at a world championships. "I know Allyson is a good athlete and she is fast... I felt when she was coming, but I managed to hold on," Montsho said.
Carmelita Jeter put a smile back on the faces of Team US in the night's last final, racing to gold in the women's 100 metres.
She finished in 10.90 seconds, beating Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown by 0.07 seconds with Trinidadian Kelly-Ann Baptiste third.
In field events, Koji Murofushi earned a surprise gold medal in the hammer with a throw of 81.24 metres to give Japan their first title of the championships, while Poland's Pawel Wojciechowski leapt to gold in the pole vault, ahead of Cuban Lazara Borges.
RESULTS
Men: 110-metre hurdles:
1. Jason Richardson (United States) 13.16, 2. Liu Xiang (China) 13.27, 3. Andrew Turner (Britain) 13.44.
Pole vault:
1. Pawel Wojciechowski (Poland) 5.90 meters, 2. Lazaro Borges (Cuba) 5.90, 3. Renaud Lavillenie (France) 5.85.
Hammer throw:
1. Koji Murofushi (Japan) 81.24, 2. Krisztian Pars (Hungary) 81.18, 3. Primoz Kozmus (Slovenia) 79.39.
Women: 100 metres:
1. Carmelita Jeter (US) 10.90, 2. Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica) 10.97, 3. Kelly-Ann Baptiste (Trinidad and Tobago) 10.99.
400 metres:
1. Amantle Montsho (Botswana) 49.56, 2. Allyson Felix (United States) 49.59, 3. Anastasiya Kapachinskaya (Russia) 50.24.
Shot put:
1. Valerie Adams (New Zealand) 21.24, 2. Nadzeya Ostapchuk (Belarus) 20.05, 3. Jillian Camarena-Williams (US) 20.02.
