Richards nabbed gold with a championship record of 45.00 seconds to finish ahead of USA’s Trevor Bassitt, who copped silver with a 45.05-clocking and Sweden’s Carl Bengstrom, who completed a national indoor record of 45.33 for the bronze.

Richards, the 2018 Commonwealth Games 200m champion, resisted the challenge of Bassitt who closed on him in the final metres, however, the T&T sprinter was able to hold on to his lead to the finish line as Bassitt dipped and crashed on to the track.

Filling the remaining spots were Denmark’s Benjamin Lobo Vedel with a national record of 45.67, Czech Republic’s Patrik Sorm (46.81) and USA’s Marqueze Washington (46.85).

Earlier, Jerod Elcock, running in lane eight, placed sixth in the men’s 60m final.

Elcock produced a quick 6.63 seconds time in the semifinal of the men’s 60 metres but the final presented a scorcher in which he placed sixth in the same time. Elcock was out of the blocks quickly at the start but the race turned out to be a battle among Olympic 100 metre champion, Italian Lamont Jacobs and the USA pair of Christian Coleman and Marvin Bracy.

Coleman appeared to have taken the advantage from the start which he held for the first 30 metres before Jacobs’ workman-like performance pushed him just ahead at the field, to edge Coleman in a photo finish by three-thousandth of a second, clocking a world-leading time of 6.41 seconds.

Coleman also produced a world-leading time of 6.41 seconds for the silver medal while his countryman Bracy secured the bronze in a new personal best time of 6.44 seconds.

Karl Erik Nazarov of Estonia was fourth in 6.58 while Great Britain’s Adam Thomas was fifth in 6.60 and Canadian Bolade Ajomale (6.63) and Ivory Coast’s Arthur Cisse (6.69), in seventh and eighth, respectively.

The local sprinter, running out of lane six advanced as an automatic qualifier, clocking 6.63 seconds to place second in heat one of three in the semifinals on Saturday.

He followed Marvin Bracy to the line, who topped the heat with a 6.51-clocking.

Elcock progressed to the semifinals with the 16th fastest time from the preliminary round. He lined up in lane six and was an automatic qualifier placing second in heat five with 6.63 seconds behind reigning Olympic 100m champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy with 6.53. Third was Bangladesh Imranur Rahman in a national record of 6.64.

On Sunday, the final day of Belgrade22, T&T’s Ruebin Walters will face the starter in the men’s 60m hurdles event. He will line up in lane two in heat one of six in the preliminary round against Brazil’s Gabriel Constantino, Great Britain’s David King, Cypress’ Milan Trajkovic, Serbian Luka Trgovcevic, Nigerian Saguirou Badamassi, Netherlands’ Liam Van Der Schaf and American Jarret Eaton.