Schippers shifts up a gear to take 200m gold

Dafne Schippers of the Netherland (L) crosses the finish line to win the women's 200m final ahead of Elaine Thompson of Jamaica (R) during the 15th IAAF World Championships at the National Stadium in Beijing, August 28, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - Dutch flier Dafne Schippers completed her transformation from heptathlete to world champion sprinter when she ran the fourth fastest 200 meters of all time to win by a nose at the Bird's Nest on Friday.

The 23-year-old European champion clocked 21.63 seconds to beat Jamaica's Elaine Thompson by three-hundredths of a second and add gold to the silver medal she won in the 100m behind Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Monday.

Only Americans Florence Griffith-Joyner, the world record holder, and Marion Jones, who was later banned for doping, have run faster.

"I can't believe it," Schippers, who only switched her focus to the sprints full time this year, told reporters.

"What a race! What a tournament for me! I think they'll be going crazy in the Netherlands at the moment."

Twice Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown took bronze (21.97) in a race which featured two of the five fastest 200 meters of all time and six of the seven fastest of 2015.