400m: There's Merritt in LaShawn's golden win

It restored some credibility to his reputation after serving a 21-month doping ban and then fighting a court battle against the International Olympic Committee before being allowed to run in the 2012 Olympics.

USA's LaShawn Merritt celebrates after winning 400m final at World Championships in Moscow yesterday. Pic/AFP

The 27-year-old, who won his previous title in 2009, posted the fastest time of the year of 43.74 seconds to take gold while compatriot Tony McQuay ran a personal best (44.40sec) for second place and Luquelin Santos of the Dominican Republic was third (44.52sec).

Olympic and defending champion Kirani James of Grenada appeared to tighten up in the finishing straight and faded to finish seventh of the eight-man field.

"It just didn't work out for me today," said the 20-year-old, who beat Merritt for gold two years ago.