Outstanding US hurdler has a clear path to gold

Olympics punters should be singing “My, my, my Dalilah” as they go in search of the winner of the women’s 400m hurdles at the Rio Games.

In one of the most open events in the athletics programme, Dalilah Muhammad has emerged in the past month as the outstanding contender for gold at her first Olympics after winning the US trials in 52.88s, making her the only woman to run inside 53s this term.

Muhammad’s chances have been improved by the high casualty rate among her injured rivals – the one-lap hurdles is not called “the man killer” without good cause.