Women's 400m Final
With Cathy Freeman, the defending champion, still recovering from her Olympic exertions, and the in-form Katherine Merry also absent, the women's 400m title was wide open in Lisbon. And it was the experienced Sandie Richards, the 32 year-old Jamaican who won this title back in 1993, who ended up with the crown.
Monique Hennagan (USA) tried to gain the lead as the runners broke from lanes after 150m, but Richards had the initiative at the bell, and she made sure that those chasing her had to go the long way round. Russia's Olga Kotlyarova and Olesya Zykina chased hard, with Kotlyarova, the fastest woman in the world this year, drawing level on the final bend, but she faded and by the finish the Jamaican still had a three metre gap on Kotlyarova - 51.04 to 51.56, with Zykina taking bronze with 51.71.
