Christine Ohuruogu produced an astonishing late charge while defending champion Amantle Montsho committed racing suicide, allowing the Briton to win the world 400m gold by four thousandths of a second on Monday.

Ohuruogu, the former Olympic champion, is famed for her storming finishes but even she looked out of it as Botswana's Montsho entered the final 30 meters with a big lead.

But Ohuruogu somehow closed the gap and timed her dip to perfection as Montsho crossed the line entirely vertical, having failed miserably to follow the advice given to all athletes from the day they begin competing.

Nobody in the stadium knew who had won, but after an anxious wait it was Ohuruogu's name that flashed on the board first.

Montsho, looking stunned, was given the same time of 49.41, but the Briton won by four thousandths of a second and broke the 29-year-old British record in the process.

"I can't believe I've done that ... it feels like a dream," she said.

"I was thinking, 'Do what you can, just get over the line'. The icing on the cake is the national record, that's all I wanted. Whatever you want just go for it. I am really happy I kept believing and trusting in what I could do.

"It is what I have been working towards all season. It was so tight on the line and I was so desperate to win it. I just wanted my name to come up."

Montsho will long live to regret her failure, unforgivable for such an experienced athlete and doubly so when the most famous come-from-behind runner on the circuit was chasing her home.

"I always have a bad finish; I don't know how to dip in a race," she said.

"I didn't see Christine when she came. If I saw her I could maybe have put my chest out and made it."

Reuters

(China Daily 08/14/2013 page23)