World Athletics Championships: Britain's Dina Asher-Smith reaches 200m final

Britain's Dina Asher-Smith ran a season's best time to reach the 200m final and continue her title defence at the World Championships in Oregon.

Asher-Smith clocked 21.96 to finish one hundredth of a second behind America's Tamara Clark in a rapid semi-final.

"I am really happy with that. The field is so wide open and the quality is so high," she told BBC Sport.

Jake Wightman later claimed Britain's first gold of the championships with a stunning 1500m win.

Britain have won two medals at the event so far following Laura Muir's 1500m bronze on Tuesday.

"We knew we had to run this very well so I was really happy to get second," Asher-Smith, 26, said.

"I'm happy that we've got a day break so I can rest, recuperate, focus and get ready to go again, just a bit faster."

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Such was the quality of the 200m that American Jenna Prandini missed out on the final despite running 22.08 - a time that would have qualified for every previous final.

All three semi-finals were quick, setting up an intriguing final on Thursday.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah, who claimed a Jamaican one-two-three in the 100m final earlier this week, all came through.

Jackson was the fastest of all the qualifiers, clocking 21.67, while world 100m champion Fraser-Pryce ran 21.82.

Olympic champion Thompson-Herah was edged out on the line by Asher-Smith but her time of 21.97 was enough to qualify as one of the fastest runners-up.

"The final is shaping up to be on fire," four-time Olympic sprinting champion Michael Johnson said on BBC TV.

"Shelly-Ann ran just outside her personal best to get into that final, Dina ran well ... it is going to be amazing."

Britain's Jessie Knight qualified for the 400m hurdle semi-finals in 55.48 but Lina Nielsen missed out.

Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Joe Ferguson did not reach the men's 200m final, finishing fourth and seventh in their respective semi-finals.

Dos Santos ends Warholm's reign

Brazil's Alison dos Santos clocked the third fastest men's 400m hurdles time in history to claim gold and end Karsten Warholm's bid for a third successive world title.

Dos Santos ran a championship record of 46.29 to beat American duo Rai Benjamin and Trevor Bassitt.

Norway's Olympic champion Warholm started strongly but seemed to seize up towards the end of the race and could only finish seventh.

Olympic champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin of the United States cruised into the 400m hurdle semi-finals, winning her heat in 53.95.

American defending champion Dalilah Muhammad also advanced, clocking 54.45, as did Tokyo bronze medallist Femke Bol of the Netherlands.

Noah Lyles laid down a marker in the men's 200m, running 19.62secs to qualify fastest for the final, alongside Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Bednarek.

However, fellow American and 100m champion Fred Kerley could only finish sixth in his semi-final after suffering with cramp.

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