Chris Rawlinson's dreams of medal glory were destroyed by Felix Sanchez in the 400m hurdles final in Edmonton.

The Briton, who had been tipped for a podium finish, could only finish in fifth place in Friday's final.

Instead it was Sanchez who took the glory with a blistering run, which earned the Dominican Republic their first ever World Championship medal.

He led the field home in 47.49sec, with Italy's defending champion Fabrizio Mori claiming silver in 47.54 and Dai Tamesue of Japan third with a time of 47.89.

Rawlinson clattered into the second hurdle and despite forcing his way into contention at the half-way point, he faded in the closing stages and was denied a top-three place.

He crossed the line in sixth place, but was later promoted to fifth after Russia's Boris Gorban was disqualified.

"I went straight through the second hurdle," he told BBC TV. "It knocked me out of my stride and I actually nearly fell over.

"It was my own fault, you can't make mistakes like that.

"After that it was all over. It took so much effort to get back into my stride pattern. I just had nothing left.

"It's back to the drawing board for next year."

Sanchez, who failed to make the final of the 400m hurdles at the Olympics, broke down after his victory as the enormity of his achievement began to sink in.

He owed his gold medal to a stunning start when he left his challengers grasping at thin air.

"I knew I had to go out fast," he explained. "I saw Chris Rawlinson hit a hurdle outside me and it threw me off a bit. But I had to run my own race."