Hurdles star lands dramatic medal reprieve at World Athletics Championships

Doha, October 4: Spanish sprint hurdler Orlando Ortega was handed a dramatic bronze medal reprieve at the World Athletics Championships - a day after a falling rival ruined his race in the Doha final.

The Cuba-born athlete, who took silver in the 110 metres hurdles at the 2016 Olympics, was in contention for a top-three finish on Wednesday when Jamaican Omar McLeod, racing in the lane to his left, began to hit hurdles and crashed to the deck.

Defending world champion and Olympic gold medallist McLeod came tumbling across Ortega's path, clearly impeding him and forcing the exasperated 28-year-old to have to settle for fourth place.

Given his momentum was clearly slowed by the disruption - Ortega even had to palm away the out-of-control McLeod - the IAAF, athletics' world governing body, took a sympathetic view.

Following an appeal from Spain, the IAAF announced it would preserve the 1-2-3 from the race, which was won by American Grant Holloway, ahead of Sergey Shubenkov and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde, but award a second bronze to Ortega.

"Following a protest from the Spanish team, the jury of appeal decided that Orlando Ortega - who was obstructed by a fall from defending champion Omar McLeod - would also receive a bronze medal," the IAAF stated in an updated race report.

McLeod was disqualified from the race after his fall, punishment for having stumbled out of his lane.