Wayde van Niekerk misses out on 200m gold
Wayde van Niekerk - the favorite for the 200m final - has taken silver at the IAAF World Championships.
The South African athlete missed clenching the title by a small margin at the World Champs in London.
Ramil Guliyev won gold, claiming the first ever world title for his country, Turkey.
Guliyev finished in a time of 20:09s - Wayde came in extremely close with a time of 20:11s.
Van Niekerk had his eye on a rare double gold at the world champs after winning the 400m final on Tuesday.
Astonishing. Ramil Guliyev delivers on the grandest stage for 200m gold 🥇. Europe has its sprint champion #BeTheNext fastest pic.twitter.com/MklGofFOJj
— IAAF World Champs (@IAAFWorldChamps) August 10, 2017
#WaydevanNiekerk It's okay champ 😉..... U r a #legend now 😎👌......#silver NEXT OLYMPIC IS URS
— Jeyaram Ganesh (@jeyaramcutty) August 10, 2017
The last athlete to claim the 200/400m double was American Michael Johnson.
He achieved this victory at the 1995 world champs in Gothenberg, repeating the achievement a year later at the 1996 Olympics.
Van Niekerk thrashed Johnson’s 400m record at the Rio Olympics and then his 300m record in Ostrava last month, making world history.
Wayde van Niekerk broke down during an emotional interview after that nail-bitingly close final and an incredible week at the World Champs.
Wayde van Niekerk gave an emotional interview as he reflected on his brilliant week at #London2017. pic.twitter.com/HiMIP9W7t7
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 10, 2017
South Africans still couldn't be more proud of van Niekerk.
The first 200m without #Bolt⚡️.... Well done #WaydeVanNiekerk 🇿🇦 ... Next Generation of sprinters pic.twitter.com/HZzMVYk98A
— فاطمة الزهراء (@FatimaZahra_S) August 10, 2017
Well done to @WaydeDreamer on a Silver Medal in the 200m. #WorldAthleticsChampionships #ProudlySA #WaydevanNiekerk
— JournalismIziko (@JournalismIziko) August 10, 2017