Athletics: American LaShawn Merritt obliterated the field including defending champion Jeremy Wariner to win the Olympic men's 400 metres title today by the widest margin since 1896.
Merritt sealed a seventh straight gold in the event for the US, starting relatively slowly before blasting down the final straight to cross the line in a personal best of 43.75 seconds.
Wariner, visibly frustrated and upset, finished a distant second in 44.74 seconds and David Neville took third with a spectacular dive for the line to complete a US medal sweep.
Merritt and twice world champion Wariner have dominated the 400m this year and clocked 11 of the fastest times in the world before the Olympics.
Merritt already beat Wariner twice this year, including at the US Olympic trials, but Wariner was still considered favourite after a superb European campaign in July.
US runners have lost just once in the Olympic 400m over the past half century, when Cuba's Alberto Juantorena completed his unprecedented 400m-800m double in 1976.
The podium sweep came as some consolation for the US after Jamaica took all four golds in the 100m and 200m sprints and both US 4x100 relay squads dropped their batons in the heats.
World record-holder Dayron Robles of Cuba swept to victory in the Olympic 110 metres hurdles to take the gold medal that hosts China had been craving for one of their own.
The bespectacled 21-year-old combined pace and sublime technique to cross the line a metre clear of the field in 12.93 seconds and win the title China's injured Liu Xiang claimed in Athens four years ago.
The confident Robles was the only runner to go under 13 seconds and celebrated by striking a strongman pose before summoning a Cuban flag from the crowd.
American David Payne won silver in 13.17, just edging his compatriot David Oliver, the second fastest man in the world this year, who claimed bronze in 13.18.
World champion Liu departed the Olympics that were supposed to define his career after being unable to start his first-round heat because of an Achilles injury on Monday.
Frenchman Ladji Doucoure, whose career has been blighted by injury since he beat Liu to the 2005 world title, finished fourth in 13.24.
At the start, Robles, who bettered Liu's world mark with a time of 12.87 in June, received a rousing reception from the crowd, some of whom had queued for days to get one of the hottest tickets of the Games.
From the moment he got out of the blocks and over the first hurdle with his huge gold crucifix bouncing up and down on his chest, his victory never looked in doubt.
Blessed with the same smooth hurdling technique as Liu combined with the quick feet of the more