As the three fastest 110-meter hurdlers of all time faced off in the World Championship final Monday, the question was, which would take the gold? The answer - none of the above. Indeed, only one was awarded a medal.

Photo:Dayron Robles (right) contacts Liu Xiang after the final hurdle in the 110-meter hurdles final. Ian Walton/Getty Images

At the ninth hurdle, world record-holder Dayron Robles was about even with former record-holder Liu Xiang.


After clearing the hurdle, Robles' right arm strayed into Liu's lane and contacted Liu's left arm. After the contact, Liu hit the final hurdle. Robles' arm then struck Liu again as the Cuban continued on to apparently win, while American Jason Richardson surged past an off-balance Liu. After a Chinese protest, however, Robles was disqualified for obstruction, handing Richardson the gold medal in 13.16. Liu was the unlucky runner-up, with Great Britain's Andrew Turner taking the bronze. David Oliver, the third-fastest in history, was fourth.

Carmelita Jeter is one of the fastest women in history, but she didn't own a major international championship - until Monday, when she won the 100 meters. Running into a 1.4-meters-per-second wind, Jeter took the lead late in the race to win in 10.90 seconds. Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce started fast and led most of the way but faded in the closing strides and had to settle for fourth. Veronica Campbell-Brown surged to the silver (10.97) while Kelly-Ann Baptiste earned the bronze (10.98).

The women's 400 was a battle between Amantle Montsho and Allyson Felix. Both ran personal bests, with Montsho setting Botswana's national record. Felix started fast in Lane 3 and made up the stagger on Montsho, in Lane 4. Montsho then surged ahead. Felix remained a stride behind through most of the second 200 meters before closing at the end, but Montsho hung on to win in 49.56, to Felix's 49.59. Anastasiya Kapachinskaya took third in 50.24. Defending champion Sanya Richards-Ross was never a factor, finishing seventh in 51.32.

In the shot put, Valerie Adams moved from fifth to first place in the third round and never let go, capping her night with a World Championship record-tying toss of 21.24 meters (69 feet, 8 inches). Nadzeya Ostapchuk finished second with a fifth-round 20.05/65-9, while American Jillian Camarena-Williams was a slightly surprising third (20.02/65-8).

Japan's Koji Murofushi led from his first attempt to capture the hammer throw gold medal. He improved in both the second and third rounds, topping out at 81.24/266-6. Krisztian Pars moved into second in the fourth round, then just missed catching Murofushi with a final round toss measuring 81.18/266-4. Primoz Kozmus placed third (79.39/260-5).

With the bigger names dropping out along the way, Poland's Pawel Wojciechowski won the pole vault after clearing 5.90/19-4¼ on his second try. Cuba's surprising Lazaro Borges also cleared 5.90 - on his third attempt - to earn the silver medal, while pre-Championships favorite Renaud Lavillenie took the bronze. Lavillenie was among a trio competitors to miss three times at 5.90.

In the heptathlon, Jessica Ennis was solid but not spectacular - except in the shot put - to take a 151-point lead after four events. Ennis was second in the first two events, both of which were led by American Hyleas Fountain, who posted season-bests in the 100-meter hurdles (12.93) and the high jump (1.89/6-2¼). Ennis then threw a personal best 14.67/48-1 in the shot put and closed by leading all competitors in the 200 (23.27) to finish the day with 4,078 points. Fountain lost ground in the shot and sat in third place with 3,887 points. Russia's Tatyana Chernova posted two personal bests and two season bests to score 3,927 points, while Natallia Dobrynska was in fourth with 3,868.

LaShawn Merritt led the 400-meter semifinalists, qualifying for Tuesday's final by finishing in 44.76 seconds. Both Borlee brothers from Belgium qualified, but South Africa's Oscar Pistorius did not.

Check out the 2011 World Outdoor Championships main page for results, previews and schedule information for the Daegu games.