LONDON (AP) — The Latest from the world track championships (all times local):
___
8:15 p.m.
Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland left it pretty late, but with one massive hammer throw she won her third world title.
Wlodarczyk, the dominating figure over the past half-decade with two Olympic titles, took the lead on her fourth of six attempts and then had her gold-medal throw of 77.90 meters on her penultimate attempt.
It extended her winning streak to 41 competitions.
Early leader Wang Zheng of China took silver with a throw of 75.98 meters and another Pole, Malwina Kopron, won bronze with a toss of 74.76.
___
8:05 p.m.
The IAAF says Isaac Makwala withdrew from the 200 meters “due to a medical condition on the instruction of the IAAF medical delegate.”
If Makwala had no medical reason to withdraw, he would have been ineligible to compete in Tuesday’s 400 final.
Makwala is considered to be the main challenger to Olympic champion and world-record holder Wayde van Niekerk.
___
7:15 p.m.
Christian Taylor needed only one attempt to show he is still the man to beat in the triple jump.
With the automatic qualifying standard set at 17 meters, Taylor hit 17.15 right away and reached Thursday’s final at the world championships.
Taylor already has two world titles and two Olympic gold medals.
Another American, Chris Benard, also immediately qualified for the final with a mark of 17.20, while 18-year-old Cuban Cristian Napoles jumped 17.06.
___
7:05 p.m.
Isaac Makwala of Botswana, Wayde van Niekerk’s main competition for the 200-400 double at the world championships, didn’t start in the 200 meters.
Set to start in Lane 7, the blocks remained empty as the others set off in Heat 5.
Van Niekerk and Makwala are the top two performers over the half-lap race this season. In the absence of both Usain Bolt and 100-meter champion Justin Gatlin, the race for gold is wide open.
Makwala and Van Niekerk are still set to go head-to-head in Tuesday’s 400 final.
___
6:55 p.m.
Wayde van Niekerk was in a magnanimous mood at the world championships, but was still too fast to make it work.
Even though he eased at the line in the opening round of the 200 meters and twice looked at the hard-charging Daniel Talbot to do him a favor, Van Niekerk still crossed .001 seconds ahead of the British sprinter.
Van Niekerk was smiling as he crossed the line, again showing the great form he is in at the championships. Van Niekerk also has the final of the 400 on Tuesday.
Both Van Niekerk and Talbot were timed at 20.16 seconds, but Van Niekerk finished first by the smallest margin possible.
___
6:30 p.m.
The IAAF paid tribute to Australian great Betty Cuthbert before the start of action at the world championships.
Cuthbert, the only runner to win Olympic gold medals in the 100, 200 and 400 meters, died following a long battle with multiple sclerosis. She was 79.
At the Olympic Stadium, the big screen showed pictures of Cuthbert in her prime and the public address announcer asked the crowd to stand for a minute’s silence.
The tribute took place moments after Tori Bowie, Marie-Josee Ta Lou and Dafne Schippers received their medals for the 100-meter dash.
Cuthbert won the 100 and 200 at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics when she was 18. After a short retirement following the 1960 Olympics, she returned and won the 400 at the 1964 Tokyo Games.
___
6:20 p.m.
Aries Merritt will be looking to get a second gold at the Olympic Stadium, five years after he won the 110-meter hurdles at the London Games.
Since the 2012 Olympics, Merritt has had a kidney transplant. But the world-record holder is back near his best at this year’s world championships.
He will face Olympic champion Omar McLeod of Jamaica and defending champion Sergey Shubenkov of Russia.
Other finals Monday are the women’s hammer throw 1,500 meters and triple jump.
The men’s sprinters hit the track again for the heats in the 200, but both Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin are not in the event.
___
More AP track coverage: https://www.apnews.com/tag/London2017
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.