Guliyev stuns in 200m

It wasn’t Wayde van Niekerk and it wasn’t Isaac Makwala.

Instead, Ramil Guliyev of Turkey earned the upset of the world championships yesterday when he matched Van Niekerk stride for stride and won the 200 metres title by lunging at the line just ahead of the favoured South African.

Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago took bronze, while Makwala faded down the stretch and finished sixth.

Guliyev, a little-known 27-yearold sprinter who transferred nationality from Azerbaijan six years ago, was not even among the top-10 performers this year before he stunned his rivals and the 60,000-strong sellout crowd at the Olympic Stadium, which had come to see Van Niekerk and Makwala fight for gold.

Guliyev finished in 20.09sec, .02sec ahead of both Van Niekerk and Richards. The South African took silver by .001sec.

‘‘It didn’t bother me the attention was on them,’’ Guliyev said. ‘‘Maybe at the next competition, everyone will look at me instead.’’

Guliyev held his hands over his mouth in sheer disbelief after the slow race.

Van Niekerk can only be disappointed with gold and silver. He fell just short of getting the first 200-400m double at the world championships since Michael Johnson in 1995. Still, he was upbeat. ‘‘Coming away with two medals – both a good colour, gold and silver,’’ the 400m Olympic and world champion said.

‘‘I think it’s great for my career.’’

In the first 200m final without Usain Bolt since 2009, it was wide open from the start.