DOHA: Sprint hurdler Nia Ali led a final day gold rush for the United States as the curtain came down on the World Championships on Sunday.
Ali powered to victory in the 100 metres hurdles to upset world record holder Keni Harrison with a time of 12.34sec at the Khalifa Stadium.
“I’ve been training really hard, especially coming back from having my kids,” said 30-year-old mother-of-two Ali, who was accompanied by both of her children on her lap of honour.
“These ladies have been raising the bar all year so I knew what I had to do.”
Ali’s win was one of three final day gold medals for the USA, who finished on top of the medal table with 14 golds, 11 silver and four bronze.
Kenya, meanwhile, finished in second spot with five golds, two silvers and four bronze.
The final day’s action drew a line under 10 days of competition at the championships, held in the Middle East for the first time.
Despite problems at the start of the championships with sweltering heat and humidity and swathes of empty seats, Sunday’s action played out to a packed house.
“It is pretty clear to us that on athlete performance, this is the best world championships that we’ve ever had,” International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe told reporters.
The United States’ other gold medals came in the 4x400m relay events, with comfortable victories for their men’s and women’s quartets.
The women’s relay victory meant a second gold medal for Dalilah Muhammad, who swept to victory with a world record-breaking display in the 400m hurdles on Friday.
Muhammad ran a blistering third leg for the USA to help set up a win in 3min 18.92sec.
