It was the 17th and final session of the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics on Sunday (2 Sep) and Finland was still waiting for its first medal, still waiting for even a top-eight finisher. Then along came the men’s Javelin Throw and Tero Pitkämäki. Suddenly it was as if night had turned into day. Or winter into summer.
Pitkämäki&nbsp;gave his country the best celebration it could have, taking the biggest medal of his career so far – World Championships gold. Traditionally, up to 50 per cent of the country’s 5 million population watches the men’s Javelin Throw on television during major championships and&nbsp;Pitkämäki will have sent them into delirium.
After a steadily improving record, but no gold medal,&nbsp;Pitkämäki finally found the measure of his opponents. European Under-23 bronze medallist in 2003, 8th in the Olympics in 2004, 4th in the World Championships in 2005, and silver medallist in the European Championships last year, now a top place on the podium is his at last.
Rome accident a turning point
It was a triumph of mind over torment. In Rome eight weeks ago Pitkamaki launched a wayward javelin towards the Long Jump where it struck Salim Sdiri, a French competitor. Penetrating Sdiri’s upper body, he suffered an horrific injury as&nbsp;Pitkämäki buried his head in his hands over what had happened.
Recalling how it had affected him, Pitkämäki said: “I had an up and down moment. That accident was a terrible thing and we both were very lucky. Now it feels even better after those bad days.”
Hannu Kangas,&nbsp;Pitkämäki's coach, underlined how traumatic a time it had been for his athlete. “Of course it was really difficult,” Kangas said. “The first week after Rome was awful. But we went little by little and had some very good training sessions.”
“Then, in his first competition afterwards, in Lapinlahti, he threw over 91 metres. So then I said that it would take a very strong guy to beat Tero in Osaka. We turned a sad thing into a victory for mental power.”&nbsp;Pitkämäki's 91.23 in Lapinlahti, was the second longest throw of the year, only six centimetres short of the leading mark of Breaux Greer, of the USA, in Indianapolis in June.
Coming only nine days after the Rome incident,&nbsp;Pitkämäki's comeback in Lapinlahti set him back on the winning trail. Unbeaten before Rome, where his mind was hardly worrying about his second-place finish behind Norwegian rival Andreas Thorkildsen, he is undefeated since.
With the gold medal in the bag from his 89.16&nbsp;second round throw,&nbsp;Pitkämäki's last effort cleared the 90 metres line, his 90.33 going into the record books as the third longest at a World Championships. He is the fourth Finnish World champion in the men's Javelin Throw after Seppo Räty (1987), Kimmo Kinnunen (1991) and Aki Parviainen (1999).
Having watched him in warm-up, Kangas sensed that his man was about to produce a good performance. “He made a few very good throws and that gave him self-confidence,” the coach said. “I have always said that our road is from eighth place, to fourth place to second place, to first.”
The youngest thrower in the 2004 Olympic final – Thorkildsen, the gold medallist, is eight months older –&nbsp;Pitkämäki rescued Finnish athletics on that occasion as he did here. He secured the only top-eight place for Finland although, on this occasion, Tero Jarvenpaa finished eighth in the javelin for two top-8 finishers.
“The party at home in Finland will be pretty big,”&nbsp;Pitkämäki said. “That was my dream – to win the gold medal. I was a little bit nervous because, in the qualification, I was unable to achieve the standard and my technique was something I was thinking about before the competition. It worked well finally.”
A former engineering student,&nbsp;Pitkämäki has been a full-time thrower only since last winter. Although his winning distance will be recorded as the one with his final throw, he had the competition won by then. “It was fantastic throw but the most important thing was that he won,” Kangas observed. “If he had won with 89 metres I would still have been as happy as I am now.”
The evening ended on a light note at the press conference when&nbsp;Pitkämäki said that he wanted to thank his family and coach. “He wants to thank his coach, I want to fire mine,” Thorkildsen said.
Then Greer chipped in: “I want to hire your coach, you can get mine. We’ll swap it around.”
And the final quip came from Thorkildsen. On seeing Asmund Martinsen in the room, he said: “Asmund, you’re not getting fired. I’ll try you for one more year. If I don’t win the Olympics you’re fired.” 
In which case Martinsen had better hope that&nbsp;Pitkämäki doesn’t find the form and desire he showed last night.
David Powell for the IAAF

It was the 17th and final session of the World Championships on Sunday and Finland was still waiting for its first medal, still waiting for even a top-eight finisher. Then along came the men’s Javelin Throw and Tero Pitkämäki. Suddenly it was as if night had turned into day. Or winter into summer.

Osaka 2007 - Men's Javelin Throw: Pitkämäki finally strikes gold

When she knew she had won, Blanka Vlasic decided there was still a treat or two in store for the crowd. She would attempt to break the High Jump world record, but first cam a little dance from the first World champion from Croatia.
She stood by the side of the mat and she jigged one way, and then the other. The spectators celebrated – and she waved and danced away more.
“I wanted to win this gold medal so much,” said Vlasic, 23, from Split. “Now I am in a state of shock.”
The unleashing of these emotions after she had been the only athlete to clear 2.05m brought confirmation of what the sport knew about her.
In 2002, in Santiago, Chile, and two years later in Kingston, Jamaica, Vlasic won gold at the IAAF World Junior Championships, one of the best bases for success as a senior.
Yet she is of such a tender, young age that this victory could be the springboard to her dominating the event for a number of years.
Her clearances then were 1.91m and 1.96m respectively, and how she has built on that now. She was not that far away from her party treat when she looked to break the World record of 2.09m, one which has stood since the 2nd IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Rome in 1987 when Bulgarian Stefka Kostandinova cleared 2.09m.
But the sport has a new star as Italy’s Antonietta Di Martino, and Anna Chicherova, of Russia failed to match her.
Both cleared 2.03m with Di Martino and Chicherova sharing second but the moment that Vlasic went over 2.05m on her third attempt, she knew victory was hers.
It has been some season for Vlasic who has lost only once in 13 competitions. She said: “I am so relieved. I was the favourite and I had to deal with a lot of pressure. But it is not easy to beat a strong field.”
It was a final full of drama. Belgium’s Tia Hellebaut , the European champion from Gothenburg last summer, failed to progress past 1.90m – and she needed two chances to clear that – and ended 14th while Sweden’s Kajsa Berqqvist, the defending champion, was joint-seventh after failing at 1.97m. Her best was 1.94m, with the event ending up with just the three left.
Vlasic had a fabulous record of clearances, knocking the bar off once on her way to 2.05m. But it was hardly surprising such has been her success in 2007.
Coached by her father, Josko, a former decathlete, the consistent nature of her jumping provides enough evidence that Kostandinova’s record might be broken soon.
Vlasic set her personal best at the Grand Prix in Stockholm at the start of the month when she cleared 2.07m.
It put her third on the all-time list behind Kostandinova and her fellow Bulgarian Lyudmila Andonova and if she does break the World record, we now know what to expect.
“In every competition, I actually have a different dance," she said. "It gives positive energy to people in the crowd. You need to spice it up.”
Richard Lewis for the IAAF

When she knew she had won, Blanka Vlasic decided there was still a treat or two in store for the crowd. She would attempt to break the High Jump world record, but first cam a little dance from the first World champion from Croatia.

Osaka 2007 - Women's High Jump: Beating back the pressure, Vlasic comes of age

Written coverage of the&nbsp;11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan (25 Aug to 2 Sep) was brought to you by the following writers –
Local Organizing Committee Media Team 
Event Previews and Reports Matthew Brown Michael Butcher Steven Downes Steve Landells
Flash Interviews Carole Fuchs Alfons Juck Ulrike Philipp
IAAF Freelance Writers
Pat Butcher (daily wrap and features) Jim Dunaway (daily preview) Paul Gains (features) Richard Lewis (features) David Powell (features) Diego Sampaolo (features) Jörg Wenig (features) Parker Morse (Blogger)
IAAF Website Editorial Staff
Laura Arcoleo – editing/publishing + news/press releases Virginie Ocquidant – photo editing Bob Ramsak – editing/publishing + news stories Chris Turner – editing/publishing + news stories/press releases
 The whole writing team would like to give its very special thanks to:&nbsp;
Statisticians 
Ottavio Castellini Carlos F. Canet Tatsumi Senda
Technical Support 
Delta-Tre, NTT and all our colleagues in IAAF Technology specifically:
Emanuele Perotti Nigra – Head of Information Technology Miroslav Tudan – Network Administrator Raffaella Risso – Database Administrator
----------
We hope you enjoyed our coverage of Osaka 2007.
Chris Turner IAAF Editorial Manager

Written coverage of the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan (25 Aug to 2 Sep) was brought to you by the following writers –

IAAF Website’s written coverage of Osaka 2007 was brought to you by...

Most athletes lock themselves away in their hotel rooms the day before a competition and cut themselves off entirely from every possible distraction. Not Maryam Jamal. The women’s 1500m gold medalist spent Saturday walking about Osaka with her manager Jacky Delapierre shopping and having a lunch of Kobe beef at a Japanese restaurant.
Not once did they discuss the women’s 1500m. But then that’s the sign of confidence and that is something she has in droves.
Remembering well her Helsinki experience
“I had planned that if it was too fast I would kick with three or four hundred metres to go,” she explained. “But as it happened when the Russian took the lead it was perfect for me to kick with about 150 metres to go.”
“I remember in Helsinki 2005 I got pushed around in the race and then I lost. This year I have come here well prepared and I was able to win the race.”
Allowing Russia’s Yelena Soboleva, the world leader coming into the race at 3:57.30, to run from the front, Jamal simply followed, trying to keep out of trouble. She admitted she had concerns that she might get bumped around a bit. After all, the Russian Yuliya Chizhenko was disqualified for roughhouse tactics two years ago.
“I did many things before I came into the race,” Jamal allowed. “There was Yelena Soboleva, who had run very fast all year, I decided I would wait until I go, and now I am the winner. In 2005 I was pushed quite a lot but now I had convinced myself that no matter what happens I would handle the pressure and win the race.”
The two and a half months prior to these championships Jamal spent at a high altitude training camp at St Moritz, Switzerland. Then a week before, she tested herself on a track north of Osaka running a 1000m time trial at race pace finishing the last 400m in 57.5 seconds. That gave her the confidence that she could not be caught in a flat out sprint.
Born in Ethiopia - the same region as Haile Gebrselassie - she traveled to Europe in 2002 as a promising Ethiopian runner and impressed Jacky Delapierre sufficiently to realise she could make a career out of running professionally. One of five children, she knew that she wanted more from life than her family had. In May, 2002 for personal reasons she asked for political asylum in Switzerland and has remained since. Her request for Swiss citizenship was denied as that country has severe restrictions on such applications. Together with her husband Tareq Sabt Hasan who was also an asylum seeker she became a citizen of Bahrain.
“I feel happy about winning the gold medal for Bahrain,” she told a press conference speaking in Amharic. She is also fluent in French and understands English to a degree. “They expected me to win the gold medal. I had plans to win the gold medal for Bahrain, I had confidence going into the race to win.”
“I usually go to Bahrain two times a year,” she says. “This day is a special celebration and usually I stay between one and two weeks. I can’t go back now but after I finish the season I have plans to go back.”
Jamal has one other trip penciled in to her busy schedule. It has been five years since she has been to Ethiopia and she intends to take a three week holiday once her athletics commitments are completed.
“With the help of God I plan to go back to Ethiopia,” she says, “I want to see my family because it is a long time since I have seen them.”
Paul Gains for the IAAF&nbsp;

Most athletes lock themselves away in their hotel rooms the day before a competition and cut themselves off entirely from every possible distraction. Not Maryam Jamal.

Osaka 2007 - Women's 1500m: Calm and cool, Jamal bears Helsinki in mind en route to Osaka gold

Osaka, JapanTalent can only get you so far, as innumerable youngsters have learned the hard way. Some recognise the fact that they are not making the grade as seniors, act on it, seek help and come through to the upper echelon. All too many disappear, wasted and disgruntled. Alfed Yego recognised the warning signs, accepted advice from his manager, and after a season without a single victory – apart from the semi-final two days earlier - raced out of the pack in the 800 metres on the final day of competition, and nipped Gary Reed of Canada for the gold medal. We’re so used to stories of Kenyan athletics success that there is a tendency to think it comes automatically. The story of Alfred Yego is a salutary reminder otherwise.
World junior silver medallist in Grosseto, Italy 2004, Yego had his first trip on the circuit to Doha, Qatar in early 2005, and finished second. He didn’t get through the heats in Helsinki 2005, but won the Golden Gala in Italy, while still a junior. He won bronze in the African Championships in 2006, and ran a personal best of 1:43.89 in Rieti the same year.
But his record this season defies belief. In a half dozen races, he did no better than fifth, even finishing tenth in a meeting in Sweden, before grabbing third in the Kenyan&nbsp; championships and world championships trials, to ensure coming to Osaka. His manager, Federico Rosa explained prior to the post-race press conference. “He is a great talent, but he was very inconsistent. Two months ago, we persuaded him to train with Janeth (Jepkosgei, women’s 800m winner), and her coach Claudio (Berardelli). The change was immediate”. 
And we all saw the results. After a superb semi-final victory, in 1:44.54, with Reed winning the second semi a half second slower, and Olympic champion, Yuriy Borzakowski winning the third slower still, the final went exactly that way, Yego, Reed, Borzakowski. If life could always be so simple!
Yego comes from near Eldoret, in the Western Highlands of Kenya, home to the Godfather of Kenyan athletics, the legendary Kipchoge Keino, and centre for the greatest concentration of Olympic and world championships gold medallists outside southern California – someone must do the tally one day! Yego is still only 20 years old, and one of ten children, “We are six brothers and four sisters,” he informed us at the press conference. 
“I still can’t believe I’m the one who won,” he said, “I was expecting the race to be tough, but as we went through the first lap, it was very easy for me, and I knew I would definitely be in contention. At 600 metres, I felt so relaxd that I thought I could win. I unleashed my last kick with 100 metres to go, but I was not sure that I actually won the gold by the time I crossed the line.”
He goes back to Rieti, and Brussels (as Rosa said, “he is not confirmed for Brussels, but I don’t think there will be a problem”), with a view to consolidating himself as a 1:43 man.
“I think I can run 1:42 eventually,” Yego added guardedly, “but I want to prepare for Beijing now.” He has also run a 3:37 1500m back in 2004, and says he will eventually turn to the longer distance. With a bit more organisation, Alfred Yego is going to be with us for quite a while.
Pat Butcher for the IAAF

Talent can only get you so far, as innumerable youngsters have learned the hard way. Some recognise the fact that they are not making the grade as seniors, act on it, seek help and come through to the upper echelon. Alfed Yego can count himself among those.

Osaka 2007 - Men's 800m: Yego’s first win of the season a notable one

Osaka, JapanMost athletes lock themselves away in their hotel rooms the day before a competition and cut themselves off entirely from every possible distraction. Not Maryam Jamal. The women’s 1500m gold medalist spent Saturday walking about Osaka with her manager Jacky Delapierre shopping and having a lunch of Kobe beef at a Japanese restaurant.
<A href="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=41506.html#calm+cool+jamal+bears+helsinki+mind+route+osaka+godl" target=_blank>Read the full story</A>
&nbsp;

Most athletes lock themselves away in their hotel rooms the day before a competition and cut themselves off entirely from every possible distraction. Not Maryam Jamal. The women’s 1500m gold medalist spent Saturday walking about Osaka with her manager Jacky Delapierre shopping and having a lunch of Kobe beef at a Japanese restaurant.

Calm and cool, Jamal bears Helsinki in mind en route to Osaka gold

Osaka, JapanTalent can only get you so far, as innumerable youngsters have learned the hard way. Some recognise the fact that they are not making the grade as seniors, act on it, seek help and come through to the upper echelon. All too many disappear, wasted and disgruntled. Alfed Yego recognised the warning signs, accepted advice from his manager, and after a season without a single victory – apart from the semi-final two days earlier - raced out of the pack to win the 800.<A href="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=41509.html#yegos+first+season+notable" target=_blank>
Read the full story
</A>&nbsp;

Talent can only get you so far, as innumerable youngsters have learned the hard way. Some recognise the fact that they are not making the grade as seniors, act on it, seek help and come through to the upper echelon. All too many disappear, wasted and disgruntled. Alfed Yego recognised the warning signs, accepted advice from his manager, and after a season without a single victory – apart from the semi-final two days earlier - raced out of the pack to win the 800.

Yego’s first win of the season a notable one 

The naked truthCatherine Ndereba is the world’s most consistently successful woman marathon runner
Osaka, Japan - Catherine the Great just got greater. Catherine Ndereba lived up to her nickname – and her reputation as the world’s most consistently successful woman marathon runner – by regaining the World title she lost to Paula Radcliffe in Helsinki two years ago.<A href="http://osaka2007.iaaf.org/news/kind=2/newsid=41411.html#the+naked+truth+catherine+ndereba+worlds+most+consistently+successful+woman+marathon+runner" target=_blank>
Read the full story
</A>&nbsp;

Catherine the Great just got greater. Catherine Ndereba lived up to her nickname – and her reputation as the world’s most consistently successful woman marathon runner – by regaining the World title she lost to Paula Radcliffe in Helsinki two years ago.

The naked truth - Catherine Ndereba is the world’s most consistently successful woman marathon runner

The flying Croatian Blanka Vlasic delivered her Balkan nation its first World Championships medal of any sort tonight as she danced her way to the World title, winning the greatest women’s high jump final these championships have seen.
The lanky 23-year-old failed to qualify for the final two years ago, but is now top of the world after clearing 2.05m in a competition that saw five women sail over 2.00m in a competition for the first time ever in athletics history. When three cleared 2.03, that made history, too.
“I'm just relieved, I wanted it so bad, said Vlasic, who was sixth in 2001, Croatia’s previous highest finish in any World final. “Now I'm in a state of shock, I don't realise.”
Vlasic was an overwhleming favourite and she admitted the pressure on her was great. She has lost only once all year in 13 competitions, becoming the second best of all time.
“I was the favourite, so had to deal with a lot of pressure,” she said. “It was not easy to beat them.”
Croatia’s first medal was safely in Vlasic’s hands when she cleared 2.03 with one leap, and it turned into solid gold as she arced over 2.05m, leaving Russia’s Anna Chicherova and Antoinetta Di Martino to share the silver. The defending champion, Kajsa Bergqvist, of Sweden had a night she’ll want to forget, going out at 1.97 and finishing equal seventh.
The minor medallists took two efforts apiece to leap 2.03 – a personal best by 2cm for Chicherova with Di Martino equalling the Italian record she set earlier this summer.
“I feel extraordinarily good, this is amazing,” said Di Martino, who fractured her foot just three weeks ago. “I am rejoicing. When I cleared 2.03m I said to myself 'Mamma mia!’”
Vlasic celebrated her winning height with a Flamenco-like shimmy and once Di Martino and Chicherova had bowed out, she returned to the dancefloor for three valiant attempts at a 2.10 world record, her fourth assault on Stefka Kostadinova’s 20-year-old mark this season. Surely it will come soon?
“Only after clearing 2.03m and 2.05m did I have fun, not before,” she said. “My dance? In every competition, I actually have a different one. It gives positive energy to people in the crowd. You need to spice it up.”
By that time, the jumpers had been going for two hours. With 16 in the final the start had been brought forward by half an hour to 18:30 Osaka time, but then it coincided with three victory ceremonies which interrupted the flow and slowed the competition. So much for the officials’ good intentions.
It was a gentle start, though, with the bar at 1.85m. Suprisingly, Di Martino was one of only two to knock the bar off, although it was only a temporary blip. She was soon back on track and rose above that and the second height, 1.90, as if it was a training jump.
Vlasic had no such trouble. Arching over like a floppy child’s toy, the tall athlete was putting clear inches of the Osaka sky between herself and the bar with each attempt. The shorter Swede, Kajsa Bergqvist, jumping next, appeared less relaxed, requiring more and more effort through each of the pre-set heights.
As the bar moved up to 1.94, the qualifying height for this final, all 16 were still involved, with only the Czech Barbora Lalakova and Levern Spencer, the 23-year-old from St Lucia, having needed three attempts at 1.90.
But this was where the field began to shrink. Last year’s European champion Tia Hellebaut, who has been below par all year, was the first go out, followed swiftly by Lalakova, Spencer, and Miruna Mataoanu of Romania. This is what officials had expected in the qualifying round – now, after an hour’s competition, we had the 12 finallists.
The first sign of Bergqvist’s trouble came at 1.97. Two years ago the bar had inched up 2cm at a time. The adjustments tonight were tougher.
After 1.97, only four athletes, three Russians and Vlasic, owned clear records, while Di Martino had been perfect since her trouble at 1.85. The Spanish record-holder Ruth Beitia needed two but she also went on.
The big surprise came when Bergqvist crashed out. She hasn’t been at her best this year, but with 2.02 to her name she’s still world No3 and ending her reign at 1.97 was way below the Swede’s expectations. 
As Bergqvist trooped disconsolately from the infield, six women moved on to 2.00m. Di Martino took the lead when she became the only jumper to clear on her first attempt, although the Olympic champion kept the pressure on, clearing second time, followed by Vlasic and Chicherova.
The most women ever to clear 2.00m in a World Championships final before tonight was three, but five went on to 2.03. With the pressure on, this was the time for the world's No1 to show her “bottle”.
Vlasic snatched the initiative, clearing with her first attempt as the three Russians and Di Martino all began to fail. The Italian showed her fighting spirit, wriggling over second time up to equal the national record she set back in June, while Chicherova also produced a personal best to join her.
It was too much for the Russian pair Yekatrina Savchenko and Yelena Slesarenko though, leaving Vlasic ahead of Di Martino and Chicherova as the bar moved on to 2.05. We had the three medallists, all we needed was the order.
Only Vlasic had ever cleared this height before, so the gold was her’s to lose. After two fails apiece, Vlasic prepared herself for her third during the uproar following Tero Pitkamaki’s massive gold medal-winning javelin throw. As if lifted up by the noise, she flew into the night sky like a comet and cleared the bar with space to spare.
She knew it was enough, and as she stepped off the mat, she put her hand in the air and shimmied her hips, delighting the crowd. “There’s a world record coming,” said someone in the press seats.
There wasn’t but Vlasic, not to mention Croatia, was happy enough with the gold.
Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb

The flying Croatian Blanka Vlasic delivered her Balkan nation its first World Championships medal of any sort tonight as she danced her way to the World title, winning the greatest women’s high jump final these championships have seen.

The lanky 23-year-old failed to qualify for the final two years ago, but is now top of the world after clearing 2.05m in a competition that saw five women sail over 2.00m in a competition for the first time ever in athletics history. When three cleared 2.03, that made history, too.

“I'm just relieved, I wanted it so bad, said Vlasic, who was sixth in 2001, Croatia’s previous highest finish in any World final. “Now I'm in a state of shock, I don't realise.”

Vlasic was an overwhleming favourite and she admitted the pressure on her was great. She has lost only once all year in 13 competitions, becoming the second best of all time.

“I was the favourite, so had to deal with a lot of pressure,” she said. “It was not easy to beat them.”

Croatia’s first medal was safely in Vlasic’s hands when she cleared 2.03 with one leap, and it turned into solid gold as she arced over 2.05m, leaving Russia’s Anna Chicherova and Antoinetta Di Martino to share the silver. The defending champion, Kajsa Bergqvist, of Sweden had a night she’ll want to forget, going out at 1.97 and finishing equal seventh.

The minor medallists took two efforts apiece to leap 2.03 – a personal best by 2cm for Chicherova with Di Martino equalling the Italian record she set earlier this summer.

“I feel extraordinarily good, this is amazing,” said Di Martino, who fractured her foot just three weeks ago. “I am rejoicing. When I cleared 2.03m I said to myself 'Mamma mia!’”

Vlasic celebrated her winning height with a Flamenco-like shimmy and once Di Martino and Chicherova had bowed out, she returned to the dancefloor for three valiant attempts at a 2.10 world record, her fourth assault on Stefka Kostadinova’s 20-year-old mark this season. Surely it will come soon?

“Only after clearing 2.03m and 2.05m did I have fun, not before,” she said. “My dance? In every competition, I actually have a different one. It gives positive energy to people in the crowd. You need to spice it up.”

By that time, the jumpers had been going for two hours. With 16 in the final the start had been brought forward by half an hour to 18:30 Osaka time, but then it coincided with three victory ceremonies which interrupted the flow and slowed the competition. So much for the officials’ good intentions.

It was a gentle start, though, with the bar at 1.85m. Suprisingly, Di Martino was one of only two to knock the bar off, although it was only a temporary blip. She was soon back on track and rose above that and the second height, 1.90, as if it was a training jump.

Vlasic had no such trouble. Arching over like a floppy child’s toy, the tall athlete was putting clear inches of the Osaka sky between herself and the bar with each attempt. The shorter Swede, Kajsa Bergqvist, jumping next, appeared less relaxed, requiring more and more effort through each of the pre-set heights.

As the bar moved up to 1.94, the qualifying height for this final, all 16 were still involved, with only the Czech Barbora Lalakova and Levern Spencer, the 23-year-old from St Lucia, having needed three attempts at 1.90.

But this was where the field began to shrink. Last year’s European champion Tia Hellebaut, who has been below par all year, was the first go out, followed swiftly by Lalakova, Spencer, and Miruna Mataoanu of Romania. This is what officials had expected in the qualifying round – now, after an hour’s competition, we had the 12 finallists.

The first sign of Bergqvist’s trouble came at 1.97. Two years ago the bar had inched up 2cm at a time. The adjustments tonight were tougher.

After 1.97, only four athletes, three Russians and Vlasic, owned clear records, while Di Martino had been perfect since her trouble at 1.85. The Spanish record-holder Ruth Beitia needed two but she also went on.

The big surprise came when Bergqvist crashed out. She hasn’t been at her best this year, but with 2.02 to her name she’s still world No3 and ending her reign at 1.97 was way below the Swede’s expectations. 

As Bergqvist trooped disconsolately from the infield, six women moved on to 2.00m. Di Martino took the lead when she became the only jumper to clear on her first attempt, although the Olympic champion kept the pressure on, clearing second time, followed by Vlasic and Chicherova.

The most women ever to clear 2.00m in a World Championships final before tonight was three, but five went on to 2.03. With the pressure on, this was the time for the world's No1 to show her “bottle”.

Vlasic snatched the initiative, clearing with her first attempt as the three Russians and Di Martino all began to fail. The Italian showed her fighting spirit, wriggling over second time up to equal the national record she set back in June, while Chicherova also produced a personal best to join her.

It was too much for the Russian pair Yekatrina Savchenko and Yelena Slesarenko though, leaving Vlasic ahead of Di Martino and Chicherova as the bar moved on to 2.05. We had the three medallists, all we needed was the order.

Only Vlasic had ever cleared this height before, so the gold was her’s to lose. After two fails apiece, Vlasic prepared herself for her third during the uproar following Tero Pitkamaki’s massive gold medal-winning javelin throw. As if lifted up by the noise, she flew into the night sky like a comet and cleared the bar with space to spare.

She knew it was enough, and as she stepped off the mat, she put her hand in the air and shimmied her hips, delighting the crowd. “There’s a world record coming,” said someone in the press seats.

There wasn’t but Vlasic, not to mention Croatia, was happy enough with the gold.

Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb

Event report: Women’s High Jump Final

Allyson Felix won her third gold medal in four days at the Nagai Stadium tonight as she provided the crucial leg to help the United States quartet to dominate and win its fourth women’s 4x400m relay gold in the penultimate event of the World Championships.
Felix ran the second leg for a team that boasted individual 400m finallist DeeDee Trotter on first, with Mary Wineberg and Sanya Richards taking Felix’s lead to the line in 3min 18.55sec, the fourth best of all-time by a US foursome and the fastest time in the world for 14 years.
“It’s great to work together,” said Felix after her first 4x400m relay final. “I didn’t want to let down the team. I ran a very strong leg, but I wasn’t really sure where I was compared to the others.”
After winning golds in the 200m and yesterday in the 4x100m, Felix completed her hat-trick as the USA ran away with the title leaving Jamaica, Britain and Russia to fight for silver and bronze. 
The Jamaicans, anchored by the individual bronze medallist Novlene Williams, smashed their national record for second in 3:19.73.
“We did all we could, ran the national record, we cannot ask for more,” said an exhausted Williams. “Silver is great for us. Now I have two medals and so must be totally satisfied.”
Britain’s individual silver medallist, Nicola Sanders, produced a storming last lap to eclipse Russia’s medal hopes, crossing the line in 3:20.04, a British record, bettering a mark set in the 1991 World Championships, the last time they were staged in Japan.
Sanders was just as pleased to have her second medal of the week. “After the heats we knew that the national record was in reach,” she said. “But to do it then in the final was just fantastic. It is amazing - I got two medals. This feels really great.”
Russia’s best time of the year, 3:20.25, was only good enough for fourth, while Belarus also set a new national record for fifth, 3:21.88.
The pundits had been saying this would be close. Through Sanders and Christine Ohuruogu, Britain had taken the first two places in the individual 400m final and had high hopes of giving the Americans a run for their money.
But after leading the qualifiers, USA had 200m finallists Felix and Richards to come into their side, two of the quickest one-lap runners in the world this year, and Britain’s gamble of putting Ohuruogu on first leg, clearly hoping to get an early advantage, didn’t pay off when Jamaica led at the first change.
That soon changed when Felix opened her stride down the back straight and established a 10m lead on the Jamaicans. Russia lay third with Britain fourth and the rest already out of it.
Wineberg extended USA’s lead to 15m as Richards took the baton for the final lap. Down the back straight, Williams and Russia’s Natalya Antyukh started to gain on Richards, opening a gap on Sanders as they did so. But the American had plenty in reserve and she moved away down the home straight to reclaim the title.
Sanders had saved some energy too. She rounded the bend and began her attack, moving out almost to lane four and catching Antyukh with five metres to go to give Britain its third bronze at this event, as Williams brought Jamaica home for a second silver to go with the gold they won in 2001.
“The other two in front of me ran pretty fast, but I kind of waited,” said Sanders. “I had beaten the Russian girl in the 400 metres final, so I knew that I could catch her again. And it worked!”
Richards had the last word, however. “It was just about team USA,” she said. After the Americans had won all four relays in Osaka, few can argue with that.
Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb

Allyson Felix won her third gold medal in four days at the Nagai Stadium tonight as she provided the crucial leg to help the United States quartet to dominate and win its fourth women’s 4x400m relay gold in the penultimate event of the World Championships.

Felix ran the second leg for a team that boasted individual 400m finallist DeeDee Trotter on first, with Mary Wineberg and Sanya Richards taking Felix’s lead to the line in 3min 18.55sec, the fourth best of all-time by a US foursome and the fastest time in the world for 14 years.

“It’s great to work together,” said Felix after her first 4x400m relay final. “I didn’t want to let down the team. I ran a very strong leg, but I wasn’t really sure where I was compared to the others.”

After winning golds in the 200m and yesterday in the 4x100m, Felix completed her hat-trick as the USA ran away with the title leaving Jamaica, Britain and Russia to fight for silver and bronze. 

The Jamaicans, anchored by the individual bronze medallist Novlene Williams, smashed their national record for second in 3:19.73.

“We did all we could, ran the national record, we cannot ask for more,” said an exhausted Williams. “Silver is great for us. Now I have two medals and so must be totally satisfied.”

Britain’s individual silver medallist, Nicola Sanders, produced a storming last lap to eclipse Russia’s medal hopes, crossing the line in 3:20.04, a British record, bettering a mark set in the 1991 World Championships, the last time they were staged in Japan.

Sanders was just as pleased to have her second medal of the week. “After the heats we knew that the national record was in reach,” she said. “But to do it then in the final was just fantastic. It is amazing - I got two medals. This feels really great.”

Russia’s best time of the year, 3:20.25, was only good enough for fourth, while Belarus also set a new national record for fifth, 3:21.88.

The pundits had been saying this would be close. Through Sanders and Christine Ohuruogu, Britain had taken the first two places in the individual 400m final and had high hopes of giving the Americans a run for their money.

But after leading the qualifiers, USA had 200m finallists Felix and Richards to come into their side, two of the quickest one-lap runners in the world this year, and Britain’s gamble of putting Ohuruogu on first leg, clearly hoping to get an early advantage, didn’t pay off when Jamaica led at the first change.

That soon changed when Felix opened her stride down the back straight and established a 10m lead on the Jamaicans. Russia lay third with Britain fourth and the rest already out of it.

Wineberg extended USA’s lead to 15m as Richards took the baton for the final lap. Down the back straight, Williams and Russia’s Natalya Antyukh started to gain on Richards, opening a gap on Sanders as they did so. But the American had plenty in reserve and she moved away down the home straight to reclaim the title.

Sanders had saved some energy too. She rounded the bend and began her attack, moving out almost to lane four and catching Antyukh with five metres to go to give Britain its third bronze at this event, as Williams brought Jamaica home for a second silver to go with the gold they won in 2001.

“The other two in front of me ran pretty fast, but I kind of waited,” said Sanders. “I had beaten the Russian girl in the 400 metres final, so I knew that I could catch her again. And it worked!”

Richards had the last word, however. “It was just about team USA,” she said. After the Americans had won all four relays in Osaka, few can argue with that.

Osaka 2007 News Team/mkb

Event report: Women’s 4x400m Relay Final

Only disaster would have stopped the United States winning the last title on offer at these championships. It was just a matter of how many superlatives they could accrue along the way.
As the individual 400m gold medallist Jeremy Wariner put it: “We had the top three for the quarter, so we were dominating the relay. A world record? Well, we cannot do both.
“The first goal was to win the relay, win the gold medal and a second goal would have been the world record. We can do that another time." 
As Wariner took the baton for the final grandstand lap, the flashbulbs popped and he responded with a notional world record 43.08 from a rolling start.
He also stopped the clock at 2:55.56, the third fastest time ever and the night was complete. As they did the night before in the short relay, the victorious American women waited to celebrate together. 
“It is the first time we have run together,” said Wariner. “The other guys put it right before me and I just got it home strong.''
Silver, almost four seconds back were the Bahamas followed by Poland for yet another surprise bronze after third places in both men’s and women’s 400m hurdles.
"I got the baton quite a little behind, maybe fourth or fifth,” said Bahamas’ anchor Chris Brown. “The gap opened by the USA was bigger than I expected. Then I had to do what I had to do. It's another medal to add to our collection. We've shown the others that they will need to work hard if they want to get us off the podium.''
"We calculated that USA, Jamaica and Bahamas are the favourites,” said Poland’s lead-off and 400m hurdles bronze medallist Marek Plawgo. 
“But we believed in luck and our team spirit. It is a great tradition in the relay in our country. We have something special in us for this race."
Individual silver medallist LaShawn Merritt led off for the USA, handing over to former Olympic hurdles gold Angelo Taylor. The juggernaut was on its way.
Taking the baton in third place, Jamaica’s Ricardo Chambers immediately overtook Michael Mathieu of the Bahamas and the ensuing Caribbean battle was to last for the next three laps with Poland also entering the fray.
By the next handover, Chambers had moved back into silver with Poland’s Daniel Dobrowski forcing his way past Mathieu. If it had not been for the overwhelming superiority of the Americans, the battle for the minor medals would have been epic.
In the lead, Darold Williamson worked on increasing the USA’s lead with Olympian detachment, but behind him the order was constantly changing.
Down the back straight, Poland’s Marcin Marciniszyn had shot past Jamaica’s Leyford Green who immediately came back at him around the top bend, quickly followed by the Bahamas’ Andrae Williams. At this stage Poland were out of the medals. 
While Wariner was forging his glory leg, the Brown forced his way past Jamaica’s Sanjay Ayre to move into a definitive silver.
Seeing his chance, as Ayre began to falter, Kacper Koslowski gave it his all in the final 80m to snatch bronze to the delirium of his team-mates. 
Osaka 2007 News Team/mb

Only disaster would have stopped the United States winning the last title on offer at these championships. It was just a matter of how many superlatives they could accrue along the way.

As the individual 400m gold medallist Jeremy Wariner put it: “We had the top three for the quarter, so we were dominating the relay. A world record? Well, we cannot do both.

“The first goal was to win the relay, win the gold medal and a second goal would have been the world record. We can do that another time." 

As Wariner took the baton for the final grandstand lap, the flashbulbs popped and he responded with a notional world record 43.08 from a rolling start.

He also stopped the clock at 2:55.56, the third fastest time ever and the night was complete. As they did the night before in the short relay, the victorious American women waited to celebrate together. 

“It is the first time we have run together,” said Wariner. “The other guys put it right before me and I just got it home strong.''

Silver, almost four seconds back were the Bahamas followed by Poland for yet another surprise bronze after third places in both men’s and women’s 400m hurdles.

"I got the baton quite a little behind, maybe fourth or fifth,” said Bahamas’ anchor Chris Brown. “The gap opened by the USA was bigger than I expected. Then I had to do what I had to do. It's another medal to add to our collection. We've shown the others that they will need to work hard if they want to get us off the podium.''

"We calculated that USA, Jamaica and Bahamas are the favourites,” said Poland’s lead-off and 400m hurdles bronze medallist Marek Plawgo. 

“But we believed in luck and our team spirit. It is a great tradition in the relay in our country. We have something special in us for this race."

Individual silver medallist LaShawn Merritt led off for the USA, handing over to former Olympic hurdles gold Angelo Taylor. The juggernaut was on its way.

Taking the baton in third place, Jamaica’s Ricardo Chambers immediately overtook Michael Mathieu of the Bahamas and the ensuing Caribbean battle was to last for the next three laps with Poland also entering the fray.

By the next handover, Chambers had moved back into silver with Poland’s Daniel Dobrowski forcing his way past Mathieu. If it had not been for the overwhelming superiority of the Americans, the battle for the minor medals would have been epic.

In the lead, Darold Williamson worked on increasing the USA’s lead with Olympian detachment, but behind him the order was constantly changing.

Down the back straight, Poland’s Marcin Marciniszyn had shot past Jamaica’s Leyford Green who immediately came back at him around the top bend, quickly followed by the Bahamas’ Andrae Williams. At this stage Poland were out of the medals. 

While Wariner was forging his glory leg, the Brown forced his way past Jamaica’s Sanjay Ayre to move into a definitive silver.

Seeing his chance, as Ayre began to falter, Kacper Koslowski gave it his all in the final 80m to snatch bronze to the delirium of his team-mates. 

Osaka 2007 News Team/mb

Event report: men's 4x400m Relay Final

Maryam Yusuf Jamal delivered her adopted country of Bahrain's first ever women's championship medal, as she overtook the early leader, Russia's Yelena Soboleva, with just over 200m to run and clocked 3min 58.75sec, the second fastest time of the year.
That Soboleva holds the fastest performance of 2007 was no consolation to the Russian champion, who missed out on gold by 0.24sec. Iryna Lishchynska, of the Ukraine, chased the front two home for the bronze in 4:00.69, while behind the medallists, Mariem Alaoui Selsouli (MAR) and Viola Kibiwot (KEN) set PBs in 5th and 6th (4:01.52 and 4:02.10), while 8th placed Agnes Samaria, Namibia's first World finalist since Frank Fredericks, set a national record 4:07.61.
All these achievements were due to the diligent and earnest pacemaking offered by Soboleva. The World No1 coming into the championships, the 25-year-old graduate of Bryansk Institute of Technology, had looked anxious before the start, clearly dry-mouthed, concerned at the weight of expectation on her, in the absence of Tatyana Tomashova, the 2003 and 2005 winner, to continue the Russian dominance of this event.
The opening lap was respectable enough, with Soboleva and Jamal shoulder to shoulder at the front, and Alaoui Selsouli tucked in behind them handily enough. But this was still not good enough for the Russian, who around the second bend forced the pace a little more: 65.82 at 400m, and the race was already down to the top six, Kibiwot, Dabiela Yordanova (BUL) and Lishchynska chasing after Soboleva, with a gaping 10m hole back to the rest of the already strung-out field.
Jamal sat and bided her time. Two years ago in Helsinki, she felt she was robbed of her medal chance when baulked by another competitor who was subsequently disqualified. This season, the former Ethiopian (then known as Zenebach Tola) had had a formidable build-up to these championships. Apart from a bad race in Paris, she has strung together an impressive series of results, including wins over a mile in Geneva, and at 1500m in Oslo, Lausanne and Monaco. Soboleva knew she had to run her off her legs. 
Thus 800m was passed in 2:09.57, the bell reached in 2:57.37. With 300 to go (3:12.66), the race was down to the last three, and Jamal kicked along the back straight to force herself to the front for the first time. Surely Soboleva could not have the strength to come back at her?
But she did. Into the home straight, the front two had now opened up a six-metre gap on the chasing Lishchynska.
Jamal looked to be fading, her strength exhausted, and Soboleva summoned up one last big effort. Yet she, too, was at the end of her resources, and try as she might, she did not have enough to overhaul her younger rival.
And rivals they will be for some time to come, starting with races in Zurich on Friday and then over one mile at the Brussels Golden League meeting, where Soboleva is threatening to attack the world record of her compatriot, and former World champion, Svetlana Masterkova.
She did not reproach herself for giving her all in pursuit of glory. "She was better today," Soboleva conceded, adding that she felt that her semi-final may have taken more out of her than Jamal's less demanding qualifying race. 
But, she added, "I would not change anything in my tactics if I was to race this final again. It was a very tough race."
Jamal, who lives and trains at altitude in the Swiss Alps at St Moritz, was enjoying a different sort of high after her victory. "This makes up for Helsinki," she said. "This race was perfect for me."
Osaka 2007 News Team/sd

Maryam Yusuf Jamal delivered her adopted country of Bahrain's first ever women's championship medal, as she overtook the early leader, Russia's Yelena Soboleva, with just over 200m to run and clocked 3min 58.75sec, the second fastest time of the year.

That Soboleva holds the fastest performance of 2007 was no consolation to the Russian champion, who missed out on gold by 0.24sec. Iryna Lishchynska, of the Ukraine, chased the front two home for the bronze in 4:00.69, while behind the medallists, Mariem Alaoui Selsouli (MAR) and Viola Kibiwot (KEN) set PBs in 5th and 6th (4:01.52 and 4:02.10), while 8th placed Agnes Samaria, Namibia's first World finalist since Frank Fredericks, set a national record 4:07.61.

All these achievements were due to the diligent and earnest pacemaking offered by Soboleva. The World No1 coming into the championships, the 25-year-old graduate of Bryansk Institute of Technology, had looked anxious before the start, clearly dry-mouthed, concerned at the weight of expectation on her, in the absence of Tatyana Tomashova, the 2003 and 2005 winner, to continue the Russian dominance of this event.

The opening lap was respectable enough, with Soboleva and Jamal shoulder to shoulder at the front, and Alaoui Selsouli tucked in behind them handily enough. But this was still not good enough for the Russian, who around the second bend forced the pace a little more: 65.82 at 400m, and the race was already down to the top six, Kibiwot, Dabiela Yordanova (BUL) and Lishchynska chasing after Soboleva, with a gaping 10m hole back to the rest of the already strung-out field.

Jamal sat and bided her time. Two years ago in Helsinki, she felt she was robbed of her medal chance when baulked by another competitor who was subsequently disqualified. This season, the former Ethiopian (then known as Zenebach Tola) had had a formidable build-up to these championships. Apart from a bad race in Paris, she has strung together an impressive series of results, including wins over a mile in Geneva, and at 1500m in Oslo, Lausanne and Monaco. Soboleva knew she had to run her off her legs. 

Thus 800m was passed in 2:09.57, the bell reached in 2:57.37. With 300 to go (3:12.66), the race was down to the last three, and Jamal kicked along the back straight to force herself to the front for the first time. Surely Soboleva could not have the strength to come back at her?

But she did. Into the home straight, the front two had now opened up a six-metre gap on the chasing Lishchynska.

Jamal looked to be fading, her strength exhausted, and Soboleva summoned up one last big effort. Yet she, too, was at the end of her resources, and try as she might, she did not have enough to overhaul her younger rival.

And rivals they will be for some time to come, starting with races in Zurich on Friday and then over one mile at the Brussels Golden League meeting, where Soboleva is threatening to attack the world record of her compatriot, and former World champion, Svetlana Masterkova.

She did not reproach herself for giving her all in pursuit of glory. "She was better today," Soboleva conceded, adding that she felt that her semi-final may have taken more out of her than Jamal's less demanding qualifying race. 

But, she added, "I would not change anything in my tactics if I was to race this final again. It was a very tough race."

Jamal, who lives and trains at altitude in the Swiss Alps at St Moritz, was enjoying a different sort of high after her victory. "This makes up for Helsinki," she said. "This race was perfect for me."

Osaka 2007 News Team/sd

WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Happy that the world came to Osaka

Osaka 2007 – no positive tests during the IAAF World Championships

President Diack proudly signs off Osaka 2007

Osaka 2007 - HIGHLIGHTS, Day 9

Osaka 2007 - Men's 5000m: With historic double, Lagat joins illustrious company