DOHA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Home fans were in ecstacy when Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim defended his title in a world leading height of 2.37 meters at the athletics world championships here on Friday.

Barshim took the host's first gold medal here after he edged two authorized neutral athletes Mikhail Akimenko (2.35) and Ilya Ivanyuk (2.35), who took silver and bronze respectively.

"For me, it was just a dream. At home, it was just amazing," said Barshim. "I was not 100 percent ready but when I came here and saw all those people cheering for me, even if I was dying, if they take me out with a wheelchair or with an ambulance, I would do everything I can."

Olympic champion and world top ranked Dalilah Muhammad of the United States renewed her own world record as she stormed to win the women's 400m hurdles gold medal.

The 29-year-old, who collected two silver medals in the previous two editions of the competition, clocked 52.16 seconds to win, trimming 0.04s off the world record she set in July in her country.

"This means so much. It's difficult to describe. I just wanted the world title so much but to break the world record again is fantastic," Muhammad said."I just decided to go for it from the start and I felt Sydney (McLaughlin) coming at me around hurdle nine, then I just gave it everything I'd got."

"Two world records, that sounds quite crazy, now it is done," she added.

Muhammad's compatriot Sydney McLaughlin finished second with a personal best of 52.23. Jamaica's Rushell Clayton took the bronze medal in 53.74.

Japan's Toshikazu Yamanishi led from the early stages of the race to win the men's 20-kilometer race walk in one hour, 26 minutes, 34 seconds, completing a Japanese doubles in the men's race walk events following the 50km victory from Suzuki Yusuke on Sunday.

Authorized neutral athlete Vasiliy Mizinov finished second in 1:26:49 while Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom took the bronze medal in 1:27:00.

"It's great to win a second gold for Japan here in race walk. It is the first medal for our country in this event. My next goal is to win the gold in Tokyo," said the Japanese. "When I started to speed up after 7km, I expected that some athletes will follow me. So I was surprised and in the same time I was lucky that nobody did it."

Steven Gardiner of Bahamas grabbed the men's 400m victory in 43.48 seconds and Colombian Anthony Jose Zambrano took his country's first medal in Doha, a silver, in 44.15. Fred Kerley of the United States finished third in 44.17.

Kenya's Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto demonstrated his dominating power in the men's 3,000m steeplechase when he retained his title in 8:01.35.

Ethiopian teenager Lamecha Girma narrowly missed the victory, 0.01 second off the pace and Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco was third in 8:03.76.

The women's discus throw title went to Cuban Yaime Perez at 69.17m while her compatriot and 2015 Beijing worlds champion Denia Caballero took silver in 68.44 and Croatia's Sandra Perkovic came third in 66.72. China's Chen Yang and Feng Bin finished fourth and fifth respectively. Enditem

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