LONDON -- Amid the furore surrounding Isaac Makwala, the norovirus and his appearances in the 200 meters, the elimination of Yohan Blake in the semifinals at the IAAF World Championships went comparatively unnoticed.
But after Blake's performance in the 100 meters, when he finished fourth in the final, and the slightly disappointing nature of Usain Bolt's final individual race as he took bronze in the same event, the pressure is on Jamaica in the 4x100-meter relay Saturday as they renew their rivalry with the U.S.
"It's very important that we go there and get gold," Blake said. "Usain wants a gold going home and I definitely want a medal, so I'm focussing on that."
Asked if Jamaican sprinting was in trouble, he added: "A little. The big man's leaving and there's a lot riding on our shoulders. So far I'm still the man in Jamaica, the fastest this year. I want to keep focused and keep getting my times better. If I run more races, I think I'll be much better.
"The guys have to really step up. Of course, I do too. It was a very disappointing championship for me."
-- Leo Spall
Age no barrier as 30-year drought ends
There was to be no historic third 400-meter hurdles world title for Olympic champion Kerron Clement, with the gold instead going to Norway's Karsten Warholm.
Warholm's triumph marked the end of a 30-year wait for a gold medal on the track in the worlds for his country with the last coming in 1987 when Ingrid Kristiansen won the 10,000 meters in Rome.
It was some feat for Warholm, 21, becoming the youngest world champion in this event, but the old master Clement was left to rue mistakes he felt cost him the title.
"I'm going to be honest. I'm very disappointed," Clement said. "I used my nondominant leg off the last hurdle and that really cost me the gold medal. That's the honest truth. If I'd kept my same leg off the last hurdle, I'd have gotten the gold medal."
That mistake, though, did at least give the world this picture of a celebrating Warholm:
-- Tom Hamilton
Stepping over the line
It was heartbreak for U.S. athlete Colleen Quigley in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase after she was disqualified for stepping on a line dividing the infield from the lane leading out from the water jump.
She finished third in the heat, but her disqualification came much later after the results had been processed -- even after she had done her media duties -- with USATF confirming the news on their social media feed.
After video review, Quigley did step on the line on the curve & gained advantage. Video referee upheld ruling on the field. DQ stands. 😞
— USATF (@usatf) August 9, 2017
-- Tom Hamilton
Fallers show their determination
It was a night of mishaps across various events. Indeed, Shaunae Miller-Uibo's dramatic stumble at the end of the women's 400-meter final in the last race of the night seemed somewhat fitting given all that had gone before.
There was a courageous effort from Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo in the second heat of the men's 5,000 meters, where he got tripped by Josphat Kirprono Menjo of Kenya. Both men went crashing down, but it was Chelimo who gathered himself the best, catching back up to the pack within a lap and clinging on well enough to qualify as a fastest loser for Saturday's final.
Birtukan Fente of Ethiopia arguably went one better. She fell in the water jump in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase but got back up to not only qualify as a fastest loser but record a season's best in the process.
But spare a thought for another steeplechaser, Britain's Rosie Clarke. She matched Fente by falling in the water jump as well in the subsequent heat, and then raised her by falling over another hurdle down the back straight. It was the equivalent of falling in a water jump again, given the driving rain. Unperturbed, Clarke got up again and finished ninth in her heat, though 14 seconds too slow to progress to the final.
-- Steven Saunders