American Noah Lyles wins the men's 200m final in Doha

Reuters: American Noah Lyles shot to 200 metres world championship gold on Tuesday (October 1), providing a bright finish to a day darkened by yet another doping scandal. The showman Lyles, his hair dyed silver after a heroic animee character, won the first of what many predict will be many world championship medals by storming across the line unthreatened in a time off 19.83 seconds. Canada's Andre De Grasse, the Rio Olympic silver medallist behind Usain Bolt, placed second again in 19.95 while Ecuador's Alex Quinonez took the bronze by clocking 19.98. Sam Kendricks of the United States clinched his second consecutive world title on Tuesday after a duel with European champion Armand Duplantis that electrified the usually muted crowd at Khalifa International Stadium. Kendricks stayed alive by clearing 5.87 and 5.97 metres in his third and final attempts but it was his first-time clearance at 5.92 that put him above Duplantis and earned him gold when neither man could clear 6.02. Kendricks, who came into the championships with a season's best of 6.06, became the first pole vaulter to repeat at the worlds since Sergey Bubka clinched his sixth consecutive title in 1997. Sweden's Duplantis knocked down the bar on this first attempt to clear 5.87m but comfortably cleared the height on his second attempt, pounding his fist on his chest as he stood up from the pit. The 19-year-old encountered trouble at 5.92m, failing to clear on his first two attempts. He remained in contention by lifting himself over the bar on his third try, prompting cheers from a pack of Swedish fans in the crowd. Piotr Lisek of Poland, twice a world championship medallist before, settled for bronze after failing to get over the bar at 5.97m. In a display of camaraderie, all three medallists backflipped simultaneously in celebration, drawing cheers and claps from the crowd. Kelsey-Lee Barber won Australia's first javalin gold at a world championships after unleashing a throw of 66.56m, the best of the evening. Shiying Liu and Huihui Lyu of China took silver and bronze, respectively. Donavan Brazier stormed home and broke the world championship record to claim a first-ever world title for the United States in the men's 800 metres on Tuesday. The 22-year-old, running in his first world or Olympic final, destroyed the field as he raced past Puerto Rican Wesley Vazquez with 300 metres left to win in one minute 42.34 seconds. Bosnia's Amel Tuka, who won the bronze in Beijing in 2015, went one better by taking the silver and Kenya's Ferguson Cheruiyot Rotich got the bronze. When Qatari hurdler Mariam Mamdouh Farid crossed the finish line more than 15 seconds after the winner in her heat, the sparse crowd at Khalifa International Stadium cheered as if she had put on a podium performance. The 21-year-old finished last in a 400 metres hurdles heat in front of her home crowd with a personal best time of just under one minute 10 seconds, but her race was much more about breaking down barriers than leaping over them. Competing in a black full-body leotard covering her from head to toe under a national team singlet, Farid is one of two female athletes from Qatar taking part in the world athletics championships for the first time. "My goal is inspiring the younger generation, breaking down barriers, making people's perception of how women are in the Middle East," she said. "We are not oppressed. I can still compete with my scarf on. If there is something I want to do, I will do it." Farid took up athletics as a 15-year-old, having dabbled in a number of sports at her school in Doha. "I used to be the strong girl in school playing football with guys and beating them at the break," she said. Now on the global stage, Farid, a communications student at the Doha campus of Northwestern University, could not help but be a little starstruck by the hurdlers in other lanes. "I used to see Sydney (McLaughlin) the American champion on Instagram and now she's competing with me," she said. "I felt special." Making history at the world championships in Doha is not a big enough dream for Farid. She aims to one day win a medal at a major event. "My dreams are very big," she said. "It's not just competing at the world championships but taking medals."