400m Men: First blood to James as Merritt slips to third

A commanding run from Kirani James brought the Olympic champion a comfortable victory over his arch rival LaShawn Merritt in 44.66 as Merritt’s US teammate Tony McQuay stole second in 45.54. The Grenadan ate up the ground on Merritt down the back straight and strode away over the second half to cross line almost a second clear of his closest rival. McQuay won a three-way battle for second by four hundredths of a second from Merritt as the world champion held off a third American David Verburg for third.