Sanya Richards shook off years of disappointment Tuesday with her first major title in the 400 meters, pumping her fist with utter relief after crossing the line at the world championships. Her main rival, Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu of Britain, was way back in fifth. And Shericka Williams of Jamaica, an Olympic silver medalist in Beijing, finished second again. “Finally I own a major title,” Richards said. With gold around her neck on the podium, she looked beyond the imposing grey stone of the Olympic Stadium and up at an evening sky filled with wispy pink clouds. There were no tears, just a beaming smile and intense happiness. “I finally got it right,” she said. In the shadows of the Usain Bolt vs. Tyson Gay showdown, this was a duel that was supposed to be almost as good. From Lane 3, Richards always had a good look at defending champion Ohuruogu's Lane 7 and she zoomed in on her over the first 300 meters. From then on, she only had to focus on the finishing line. In Beijing last year, Richards faltered over the last 50 meters to let the Briton through. Not so this year. The American crossed the line with her arms raised in celebration. “It means the world to me,” she said. With a grin on her face, she danced a little number for screaming fans. With a time of 49.00 seconds, she also set the fastest mark of the year. She was .32 seconds faster than Williams. Not only did she keep all competition back on the big day, she also shook off another flare-up from Behcet's syndrome, a rare disorder that causes chronic inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body. Two years ago, she struggled with the disease when she failed to qualify for the worlds in Osaka, Japan. This time, the lesions on her legs, her stomach and inside her mouth were not going to conquer her. Last year, her legs cramped up with gold in sight. Still, she admitted there was something else too that had held her back. It made it all the sweeter Tuesday. Completing a good day for the US team, Kerron Clement successfully defended his men's 400 hurdles title, holding off a late challenge from Javier Culson of Puerto Rico. It left the United States on top of the medals table with three golds and seven overall, ahead of Russia with two golds and seven medals overall. Jamaica has two golds and five overall. Bolt, however, was looking to impose more pain in the 200. Going for his second gold medal of the worlds, Bolt jogged across the line to advance to the semifinals of the 200. The final for the 200 is set for Thursday. Bolt is also favored to lead Jamaica to a sprint relay gold on Saturday to equal his feat of three golds at the Olympics. If the loss of Ohuruogu was a setback for Britain, Phillips Idowu made up for it, winning the triple jump ahead of Olympic champion Nelson Evora of Portugal. Idowu, the runner-up at last year's Beijing Olympics, jumped 17.73 meters – the best of the season – while Evora could muster no better than 17.55. The host nation won its first gold when Steffi Nerius won the javelin ahead of favorite Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic. Kenya continued its domination of the steeplechase. Ezekiel Kemboi, the 2004 Olympic champion, won ahead of Richard Mateelong and set a championship record of 8:00.43. Bouabdellah Tahri of France settled for the bronze but set a European record.
