Novlene Williams-Mills overtook Francena McCorory in the closing metres to lead Jamaica to victory in the 4x400m on the closing night of the IAAF World championships, Beijing 2015.Williams-Mills entered the final straight some two or three metres down on McCorory, who had led the world on times coming into the championships but failed to qualify for an individual spot at the US trials.Reversing the result at the IAAF World Relays in May, Williams-Mills took Jamaica to victory and world lead in 3:19.13. The USA was second in 3:19.44 and Great Britain took the bronze in 3:23.62.It was hard to read the form line coming into the final. Based on what has happened here, Jamaica looked the favourite. All four of their runners had made the individual final. Shericka Jackson, on the second leg, was the individual bronze medallist, lead-off runner Christine Day was fourth, third-leg runner Stephenie Ann McPherson fifth and Williams-Mills sixth.The USA had only one finalist, but that was Felix, who won the 400m in the fastest time in the world this year, 49.26.In addition, the USA were able to bring in fresh for the final both McCorory and Sanya Richards-Ross, giving them three of the fastest four in the world. Maybe that swung favouritism back their way.The race was one of momentum swings. Day led off for Jamaica, Richards-Ross for the USA. Advantage Jamaica, who led clearly at the first change. Jackson then ran a strong second leg to hand over in the lead ahead of Hastings.Then, Felix. The US star had not been able to make much impact on the previous night&rsquo;s 4x100m, but she turned on a blinder here and made up the huge deficit to put the USA back into the lead with one leg to run. Her split of 47.72 was the third-fastest relay leg in history and the fastest ever seen at the IAAF World Championships.As McCorory and Williams-Mills entered the final straight, the gold still looked to be heading back to the US. Slowly Williams-Mills cut the lead down, but still it seemed McCorory may prevail. Entering the final 30 metres, though, Williams-Mills pulled out, got on to McCorory&rsquo;s shoulder and then edged past to give Jamaica both women&rsquo;s relay medals.The 33-year-old Williams-Mills was an individual bronze medallist as far back as Osaka in 2007, but her 49.14 anchor leg here was every bit as special.Len Johnson for the IAAF

Novlene Williams-Mills overtook Francena McCorory in the closing metres to lead Jamaica to victory in the 4x400m on the closing night of the IAAF World championships, Beijing 2015.

Report: women’s 4x400m final – IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015

There are a million and one different ways of running the 400m and Allyson Felix produced one slightly unusual, but highly effective, version which proved golden inside an electric Bird&rsquo;s Nest stadium on Thursday.The astonishingly versatile US sprinter claimed a maiden global 400m title &ndash; to add to her enormous cache of gold medals earned on the world stage in the 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m &ndash; with an utterly destructive piece of one-lap running to stop the clock in a world leading 49.26.Behind her, rising star Shaunae Miller of The Bahamas finished strongly to grab a deserved silver medal in a personal best of 49.67 with Shericka Jackson leading home a quartet of Jamaicans to take the final podium position in a lifetime best of 49.99.&nbsp; Yet tonight was all about Felix who briefly matched Bolt, for 15 minutes until the Jamaican&rsquo;s 200m triumph pulled him one clear of the American, with a record-equalling ninth world title which fully vindicated her decision to sacrifice the 200m to target the one-lap prize here in Beijing. If we also include her four Olympic titles, the 29-year-old Californian now has 13 global crowns to her name and she also achieved the unique feat of becoming the first woman in history to win world 200m and 400m titles. With four Jamaicans, two Americans and one Bahamian it was an all US and Caribbean affair with the sole exception of Great Britain&rsquo;s defending champion Christine Ohuruogu. With Miller drawn on the inside of Felix, the American opted to make a blistering start from the gun, possibly in an effort to slightly bewilder the less-experienced Miller.&nbsp; Felix&rsquo;s high-octane start raised gasps of astonishment from the crowd as she rapidly caught and passed the stagger on Ohuruogu on her immediate outside.For the first 150 metres Felix, who won world silver in this event in 2011, maintained her blistering pace but then visibly slowed as if fearing she may have misjudged the pace. We need not have worried. With 200 metres to go, Felix kicked again and extended her already sizeable lead as she entered the home straight. At that stage, Ohuruogu looked poised to strike with her all-too-familiar late run and was lying in second, Jackson was third with Miller, who had run a conservative first half of the race, back in fourth.However, there was to be no late charge from Ohuruogu as her challenge withered while the tall, statuesque Miller powered past Jackson. Felix always remained well clear of her rivals and her victory was never in doubt.Miller, the former world junior and world youth champion, would have to settle for silver on this occasion, although still aged just 21, a bright future not only beckons but could be said to have arrived.Jackson proved the best of the Jamaican quartet, trimming a further 0.04 from the personal best she set in the semi-final. The Jamaican champion Christine Day also set a lifetime best of 50.14 in fourth with 2014 Commonwealth champion Stephenie Ann McPherson fifth in 50.42, 0.05 clear of 2014 Diamond Race winner Novlene Williams-Mills, who recorded a season&rsquo;s best of 50.47. There was huge disappointment for the normally hugely reliable championship performer Ohuruogu. The Briton who looked well placed for a medal with 100 meters remaining but faded rapidly in the final straight and wound up eighth in 50.63.Felix, who had ran the fastest women&rsquo;s 400m time for three years, explained of her race tactics: &ldquo;It was my plan (to be at the head of the field from the beginning). I had to take advantage of my speed that I have and bring that to the 400m. I wanted to control the race. I wanted just to trust in my fitness, because I knew I had it.&rdquo;She did, and Felix finally got to fulfil her fulsome potential in this event and celebrated being a global 400m champion. Steve Landells for the IAAF

There a million and one different ways of running the 400m and Allyson Felix produced one slightly unusual, but highly effective, version which proved golden inside an electric Bird’s Nest stadium on Thursday.

Report: women's 400m final – IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015

Turks and Caicos Islands’ 2012 World Junior Championships 200m gold medalist Delano Williams, representing Munro College, provided the fireworks at Jamaica’s High Schools Athletics Championships which ended in Kingston on Saturday night (16).The 19-year-old sprinter was hugely impressive in running two national records 10.28 in the 100m and 20.27 in the 200m. However, he just fell short of the astonishingly high quality championships records in his events, which means that Yohan Blake’s 10.21 and Usain Bolt's 20.25 records live on.Omar McLeod, from Kingston College, also had a prolific championships and set two Jamaican junior records: 49.98 in the 400m Hurdles to become the first Jamaican junior to go under 50 seconds, and 13.24 to win the 110m Hurdles.On the women’s side, the star performer was Shericka Jackson of Vere Technical, the old school of Veronica Campbell-Brown. She won the class 1 (under-20) 200m in a personal best 22.98 and the 400m in 51.60.In the field events, Fedrick Dacres, the 2011 World Youth and 2012 World Junior Discus champion, was a double winner for Calabar. The 19-year-old took the class 1 (under-20) Shot Put with a record throw of 19.29m, the first Jamaican school boy over 19 metres, and then the Discus with 62.80m, which equaled his personal best set when winning his most recent global gold medal in Barcelona last summer.Tara-Sue Barnett, of Edwin Allen, won the girls’ class 1 Discus with a national junior record throw of 51.16m.Christoffe Bryan, 16, of Wolmer’s Boys School, showed the talent which could take him to the IAAF World Youth Championships this summer when he won the class 2 High Jump with a record leap of 2.19m.Likewise, Camperdown High’s Peta-Gaye Williams could be a medal contender in Donetsk. She false started in the girls’ class 2 (under-17) 100m Hurdles but had run 13.38 in heats on Friday.Also in the class 2 section, Jamaica College’s Devaughn Baker ran a 400m championships record of 46.64.Shaw and Matherson show prodigious sprint talentIn the younger age groups, 12-year-old St. Jago schoolgirl Kimone Shaw and 13-year-old Kingston College schoolboy Jhevaughn Matherson also impressed.Shaw and Matherson contributed to four of the twenty-seven records, that fell over the five days of the Championships, which is already being looked upon as one of the best in the over 100 years of this event.&nbsp;Shaw, running in the class 4 (under-13) 100m final flew to 11.75 (-0.2 mps) and she returned to run 24.28 in the 200m, into a -1.4m/s head wind. Both of her performances are world age-12 bests. Matherson ran a world age-13 best of 10.85 (1.0m/s) in the semifinals of the boys’ class 3 100m (under-14) and two hours later, on Friday, produced 10.86 (-0.6 m/s) in the final. He returned Saturday to take the 200m in a time of 21.87.In the class 3 (under-14) boys’ 400m final, Nathaniel Bann, also of Kingston College, clocked 49.13, beating Ati Watson’s old mark of 49.63, set more than two decades ago in 1991.Rushelle Burton, 14, of St. Andrew High, ran a 11.13 80m Hurdles record in his class while Kamali Simpson, 13, of St. Jago, the former school of Yohan Blake, took the boys class 3 (Under-14) 100m Hurdles title in 13.10.Anthony Foster for the IAAF

Williams, McLeod and Jackson light up at Jamaica’s High Schools Champs

Turks and Caicos Islands’ 2012 World Junior Championships 200m gold medalist Delano Williams, representing Munro College, provided the fireworks at Jamaica’s High Schools Athletics Championships which ended in Kingston on Saturday night (16).