The women's 400m - seriously weakened by the absence of Olympic champion Cathy Freeman and British star Katharine Merry - produced a surprise as it was won by Amy Mbacke Thiam.

It was an exciting finish as three women were neck-and-neck in the home straight but Mbacke Thiam - the first woman from Senegal ever to make the final - dipped at the line and won in a time of 49.86secs.

Lorraine Fenton of Jamaica held on to take silver, and Mexico's Ana Guevara took bronze.

But with Freeman taking a year off after her Olympic success, and Merry forced out by injury, this race was more about who was missing than who took the medals.