Gold: Wayde van Niekerk (South Africa)
Silver: Kirani James (Grenada)
Bronze: LaShawn Merritt (United States)
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk broke Michael Johnson’s 400m world record to win the Olympic gold medal in Rio.
Van Niekerk clocked 43.03 seconds, taking .15 seconds off of Johnson’s world record, which had stood since 1999.
2012 Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada earned the silver medal in 43.76 seconds.
2008 Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt claimed the bronze medal in 43.85 seconds.
Merritt will return to the track Tuesday for the first round of the men’s 200m. He is the year’s fastest man in the event.