No fairytale finish in 200m

LONDON clearly believe in fairytales.

First Usain Bolt was denied the perfect ending to his career, then Allyson Felix missed gold in the 400m.

To cap it off, the 200m men’s final went 0 for 2 in the fairytale count.

Wayde van Niekerk was trying to be the first man since Michael Johnson in 1995 to land the 200m-400m world doesn’t championships double. He took the 400m easily earlier in the week, but was yesterday denied by Turk Ramil Guliyev.

The South African had to settle for the silver, but that wasn’t even the sob story of the race.

Everyone inside the Olympic stadium was barracking for one man and one man only, Botswana’s Isaac Makwala.

Makwala was banned from running in the 400m final because of red tape and an IAAF ban over a virus outbreak. He was sick before the 200m heats and it was revealed he was staying at a hotel where more than 30 athletes and staff were hit by gastro.

He was quarantined by the IAAF, despite saying he was ready to race in the 400m, where he was the main challenger to van Niekerk.

Makwala was even denied entry to the stadium, before being granted a solo time-trial in the 200m the next day.

He ran under the targeted time and finished second in the semi to make the final.

When the field assembled on the start line, there was no doubt who the 60,000 fans in the stands were supporting.

Unfortunately, he faded in the final 20m to finish sixth.

“I’ve had one of the craziest championship journeys ever. I don’t think I will ever face this again. I will always pray to not face this again,” Makwala said.

Van Niekerk was left in tears after the race. “It was really a massive rollercoaster for me, this competition,” he said. “It was a tough week for myself. There were quite a lot of people who felt I did not deserve the 400m.”

Guliyev won in 20.09sec from van Niekerk (20.106), with Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards third (20.107).

The spike in performance of the Turk has raised eyebrows, given his country’s recent doping history.

AUSSIE RECORD: Tasmanian Hamish Peacock competes in the javelin qualifying round at the world athletics championships in London. His throw of 82.46m set a record for Australians at any Olympic Games or world titles.