Jeter takes women's 100m world title

Carmelita Jeter of the United States beat Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica to win the women's 100 metres at the world championships on Monday in Daegu, South Korea.

Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago took bronze.

Defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce had the best start but Jeter swept past her with about 40 metres to go and finished in 10.90 seconds. Campbell-Brown ran in the outside lane and finished in 10.97 seconds. Baptiste had a time of 10.98.

Montsho clips Felix in 400

Botswana's Amantle Montsho nipped American rival Allyson Felix at the line to win the women's 400-metre race and earn the African nation its first gold medal at the competition.

Felix, a three-time world champion in the 200, was even with Montsho as they entered the final straight but couldn't overtake her down the stretch.

"I'm so happy today to win my gold medal. I still can't believe it," said Montsho, who won in a national record time of 49.56 seconds. "I want to thank all the athletes today. They made me run faster, especially Allyson Felix."

Felix was second in 49.59, while Anastasiya Kapachinskaya of Russia took third in 50.24. Defending champion Sanya Richards-Ross of the United States finished seventh in 51.32.

Felix, who was trying become the first woman to win both the 200 and 400 titles at the worlds, said it was the kind of tight race she had expected.

"I didn't want Montsho to get too far away from me. I probably could have moved a little bit earlier," the American said. "I knew it would be a battle down the home stretch. I felt like I gave it everything I had but came up short."

Felix said she was disappointed with second but wouldn't let it distract her from preparing to defend her title in the 200.

"The way I look at, I can't dwell on the defeat. I have more work to do," Felix said. "The 200 is my favourite event. I am excited for it. I have to go after it. I can't let this get me too down. I have to keep moving."

With her victory, the 28-year-old Montsho bolstered her reputation as a pioneer in sports in her country. She was the first woman to represent her country at the Olympics when she raced in the 2004 Athens Games and now hopes her win will inspire more boys and girls to take up sports in the southern African nation.

"Starting from here, I will be an example for the young athletes in Botswana," Montsho said. "They will work hard since they see me winning the gold medal here."

Born in Mabudutsa, in the far north of the country, Montsho was already impressing with her performances in the 100 and 200 in school. But without a coach to help her get to the next level, she relocated to Senegal.

That move yielded almost immediate results. She broke both the 200 and 400 national records, reached the semifinals at the 2007 worlds in Osaka and then the final in Berlin in 2009.

Legojane Kebaitse, the secretary general of the Botswana Athletics Association, was there to greet Montsho as she headed off the field draped in the country's blue-white-and-black flag.

"We have diamonds. We have beef. We said we wanted gold," Kebaitse said. "We wanted three gold and we got one. It means all those willing to come to Africa can see Botswana has talent."

Ennis ahead at halfway point of heptathlon

Defending champion Jessica Ennis moved into the lead after four events in the heptathlon.

The British athlete finished first in her 200-metre heat and finished the opening day of competition with 4,078 points. Tatyana Chernova of Russia was second with 3,927 points while Hyleas Fountain of the United States was third with 3,887.

Jessica Zelinka of London, Ont., was in eighth place overall with 3,783 points, and Canadian champion Ruky Abdulai of Coquitlam, B.C., ended the day in 20th place with 3590 points.

Ennis was out of action for seven weeks earlier this season with an ankle injury but has looked strong since returning to competition in mid-May.

Fountain had a 41-point lead over Ennis after the 100-metre hurdles and high jump early Monday but Ennis moved in front after the 200 and a seventh-place finish in the shot put.

"I'm happy with how the high jump and hurdles went and definitely not happy with shot put and 200," Fountain said. "But I have enough time to sleep it off and come back tomorrow."

The heptathlon concludes on Tuesday with the long jump, javelin and 800.

The 25-year-old Ennis still has a chance to become only the fourth woman in history to break the 7,000-point barrier in the seven-discipline event.

Only three women — Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Larisa Turchinskaya and Carolina Kluft — have broken the 7,000-point barrier.

Olympic champion Nataliya Dobrynska was still challenging for a medal. Dobrynska was second in the shot put and fourth in her 200 heat for 3,868 points.

Adams repeats in shot put

Valerie Adams of New Zealand defended her women's shot put title, winning with a throw of 21.24 metres.

Nadzeya Ostapchuk of Belarus was second with a best of 20.05 and Jillian Camarena-Williams of the United States took third with a throw of 20.02.