Van Niekerk fails to roll back the years with last-place finish at World Champs 400m final

Wayde van Niekerk failed to roll back the years in the 400m final of the World Championships in Budapest on Thursday night, fading to stone last in the race with a time of 45.11sec.

The race was won by Jamaican youngster Antonio Watson in a time of 44.22sec, with Great Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith second in a time of 44.31sec and Quincy Hall taking bronze in 44.37sec. Having been lucky to make the final with one of the two fastest loser times, Van Niekerk just didn't have it in him to live up to the pace of his new rivals. The world record holder had started in a measured manner to prevent blowing out at the end but still faded from contention in lane two to finish last.

Van Niekerk's disappointment puts questions on what lies in the 31-year-old's future, given that he has struggled to get back into podium contention in the six years since he suffered his infamous knee injury. The result also means Team South Africa now have to put all their medal eggs in the men's 4x100m relay basket over the weekend.

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The race was probably the most open it has ever been, with reigning world champion Michael Norman having opted not to go to Budapest to deal with persistent niggles throughout this season, while Olympic champion Steven Gardiner crashed out of his semi with a recurring knee injury he had just returned from this year.

There were numerous storylines in Thursday night's final, not least Van Niekerk's horrendous tale of bad luck since suffering his catastrophic knee injury six years ago. But Jamaica's Antonio Watson - coached by Usain Bolt's old coach, Glen Mills, and the fastest in the field with the 44.13sec lifetime best he posted in the semis - was