Houston area athlete Kerron Clement takes Olympic gold medal in mens 400 hurdles

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Thursday, August 18, 2016
Kerron Clement
Kerron Clement, right, and Jamaica's Annsert Whyte compete in the men's 400-meter hurdles final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Aug. 18, 2016.
AP Photo/Martin Meissner-AP

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Two-time world champion Kerron Clement finally has an Olympic gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles.

The 30-year-old American from La Porte, Texas, won the world titles in 2007 and '09, sandwiched around his Olympic silver medal in Beijing, but hadn't been back on the podium of a major championship until winning Thursday's final in a season-best 47.73 seconds.

Boniface Mucheru Tumuti took silver for Kenya, 0.05 behind, and Turkey's Cuban-born Yasmani Copello, the European champion, won bronze in 47.92.

Javier Culson, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Puerto Rico, was disqualified for a false-start.

Four of the finishers produced national-record times, including Tumuti and Copello.

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