With the five fastest 400metre runners in the world this season at their disposal, Russia always promised to deliver something special in the 4x400 metres relay final at the 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships.
And they lived up to their promise, the unstoppable quartet of lesya Krasnomovets, Olga Kotlyarova, Tatyana Levina and the individual 400m champion, Natalya Nazarova delivering the sixth world record of the weekend, with a breathtaking 3min 23.88sec, 0.37sec better than the best established by their national predecessors in Maebashi five years ago.
The unofficial split times of the Russians as they won this title for the sixth successive occasion were: Krasnomovets 51.4; Kotlyarova 50.1; Levina 52.5 and Nazarova 49.8.
Russia fnished their race the length of the indoor straight ahead of their rivals, who fought out a tremendous battle, with three teams contesting the remaining two medals going into the final leg: Poland leading Belarus, with Romania having worked their way through the field for Maria Rus to hand over to Ionela Tirlea just four metres down on the medal placings.
Poland’s Grazyna Prokopek came under intense pressure, and was finally overtaken by Svetlana Usovich on the final bend, with Tirlea chasing past the Pole to snatch the bronze medal at the last.

Russia always promised to deliver something special in the 4x400 metres relay final at the 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Women 4x400m Relay Final

Sweden's Christian Olsson, the reigning World indoor and outdoor champion leapt out to a 17.83 metres performance in the third round of the men’s Triple Jump today, so equalling the Cuba’s Aliecer Urrutia’s World indoor record mark which was set in Sindelfingen, Germany on 1 March 1997.
24 year-old Olsson's previous best was 17.80 set in 2002.
The final is still on-going in the fourth round with Olsson passing his attempt. <A href="http://www.iaaf.org/wic04/news/kind=132/index.html" target=_blank>A full report can be found after the competition is finished – click her for link</A>
IAAF 
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Sweden's Christian Olsson, the reigning World indoor and outdoor champion leapt out to a 17.83 metres performance in the third round of the men’s Triple Jump today, so equalling the Cuba’s Aliecer Urrutia’s World record mark which was set in Sindelfingen, Germany on 1 March 1997.

NEWS FLASH - Olsson equals World indoor Triple Jump record

After a pair of 68second opening laps, it was readily apparent that the men's 1500 metres would come down to a mad dash, and it did, with the runner who did much of the leading, Kenyan Paul Korir, winning as well.&nbsp; 
At 3:52.32, it was the slowest ever men's 1500m final, but it was also one of the closest.
As he did in his semi-final, Ukraine's Ivan Heshko made his move with 100 metres to go, but couldn't match the Kenyan's superior sustained kick, and finished second in 3:52.88.&nbsp; Commonwealth Games Champion Micheal East, who jetted from the pack into third at the bell, finished third across the line in 3:52.88, but was subsequently disqualified after a protest by the Kenyan Federation, giving Kenyan Laban Rotich (3:52.93) the bronze medal.

second opening laps, it was readily apparent that the men's 1500 metres would come down to a mad dash, and it did

Men 1500m Final

Ethiopia was expected to capture gold and silver in the women's 3000m, which they did, but the predicted finishing order was reversed when Meseret Defar out-sprinted defending champion Berhane Adere to win in 9:11.22.
The race may have been the slowest ever in a world championships final, but the final two laps were a spectacle to behold. 
Defending silver medallist Marta Dominguez led the entire race, until the Ethipian pair, along with Briton Jo Pavey, made the first major move.&nbsp; At the bell, Dominguez faded, with American champion Shayne Culpepper the only one willing to take on the challenge posed by the Ethiopians.&nbsp; Berhane, the world outdoor 10,000m champion, led heading into the final curve, but Defar, pint-sized next to the taller Adere, wouldn't submit, running stride-for-stride around the bend. She pulled ahead in the final 20 meters o win by less than two one-hundredths of a second ahead of Adere's 9;12.15. Culpepper held off Dominguez's final challenge to caputre the bronze in 9:12.15 to the Spaniard's 9:12.85.

Ethiopia was expected to capture gold and silver in the women's 3000m, but the predicted finishing order was reversed

Women 3000m Final

They say that the great champions are the ones who manage to win in adversity. Roman Sebrle must, therefore, be a truly great champion, as he came back from adversity on the second day of the heptathlon at the 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships here not only to regain the title he last won in 2001, but to set the second highest points tally in history.
It is not often that you see multi-eveners really gunning it in the final event of their ordeal, which indoors for men is the 1000m.
But today, Sebrle had little option, since he went into the final race 32 points behind Bryan Clay, of the United States. The Czech knew that Clay’s endurance could be tested, and he duly did so, leading his seven fellow metatheses from the gun, setting a pace that, if he could sustain it, could have even yielded the world record.
Through 200m in 31.41sec, 400m in 63.36 and 600m in 1min 35.92sec, Sebrle must have felt Clay’s gaze boring into the back of his neck, as the American stalked the Czech, carefully keeping the gap between them to less than the 3sec he could afford to yield.
But going into the final two laps, the young American began to crack. The gap began to widen, and with a lap to go, Sebrle was six seconds clear of his rival.
Sebrle sprinted into the home straight as if his very life depended upon it, collapsing in an exhausted heap on the track after stopping the clock at 2:39.67, and a final total of 6438pts, a European record.
Clay came home, to his immense credit after two demanding days, with yet another personal best, of 2:49.41, for a final score of 6365 - significantly, four points better than his US team mate, Tom Pappas, scored in winning the title in Birmingham a year ago.
Lev Lobodin, from Russia, confirmed his bronze medal, with a final score of 6203.

They say that the great champions are the ones who manage to win in adversity. Roman Sebrle must, therefore, be a truly great champion

Men Heptathlon 1000 metres

After dropping off slightly yesterday in the qualifying round, Christian Cantwell again moved back over the twenty-one-metre mark with his second-round 21.49, as the American provided the best winning world indoor performance since 1989, the last time the competition was staged in Budapest.&nbsp; 
It was technically a come-from-behind victory for the Missouri strongman, as his teammate Reese Hoffa had opened the competition with a PB 21.07, which stood up throughout all six rounds as the silver-medal put.
For the most part, the places were decided early in the competition, as only five individual throws after the midway point registered improvements.&nbsp; One of these was the 20.99 of Denmark's Joachim Olsen, the reigning European indoor and outdoor silver medallist, as he claimed the bronze today.
Probably the least heralded competitor in the final, Poland's Tomasz Majewski, surprised with a national-record 20.83 late in the competition for fourth place.&nbsp; 
Turning in disappointing performances were the defending champion Manuel Martinez of Spain, fifth at 20.79, and Paris champion Andrey Mikhnevich of Ukraine, sixth with 20.50.&nbsp; 
Similarly, British strongman Carl Myerscough didn't let loose until it was too late, and his final-throw 20.47 put him meekly into seventh place, ahead of the 20.26 of European outdoor champion Yuriy Bilonog of Ukraine.

After dropping off slightly yesterday in the qualifying round, Christian Cantwell again moved back over the twenty-one-metre mark

Men Shot Put Final

Two years ago, after winning his first major senior title at the European Indoor Championships in Vienna, Sweden's Christian Olsson came home to Gothenberg two days later and presented his neighbours with the gift of a 17.80 leap in a small "welcome-back" competition.&nbsp; It was only three centimetres short of the world record, and he has lived with that thought ever since.
Tonight, the obsession became a reality as the reigning world indoor and outdoor champion hopped, stepped and jumped 17.83 to equal the seven-year-old mark of Cuba's Aliecer Urrutia.
Olsson took care of the ubiquitous seventeen-metre statistic on his first jump (49 of last 50 finals) with a 17.30.&nbsp; That was just to get a feel of the runway after a two-day layoff.&nbsp; A 17.51 resulted from round two, but it may well have been the 17.43 from Brazil's Jadel Gregorio at the end of the second stanza which tightened up the competition and really got the Swede's adrenalin flowing.
On his third jump, Olsson gave up more than seven centimetres on his takeoff, but everything else was right, including a substantial improvement in the second phase (step) of the jump, and he gestured emotionally when the 17.83 was flashed on the scoreboard.&nbsp; 
The Swede took one more attempt, a fifth-round 17.45, before taking a slow lap of honour at the end.
Gregorio's "world record catalyst" jump of 17.43 remained as the silver-medal leap, as Paris runner-up Yoandri Betanzos of Cuba ended his day with 17.36 to strengthen and finalize his hold on the bronze medal which had been dangling in front of him since round three.
European under-23 champion Dmitriy Valyukevich of Belarus finished fourth at 17.22, just ahead of the man he defeated in Bydgoszcz last year, Marian Oprea of Romania, whose season-best 17.19 ended in fifth.&nbsp; 
Sixth went to Mykola Savolaynen of Ukraine at 16.95, far ahead of the disappointing performance of 16.62 from Russia's Danila Burkenya, who came to Budapest with a season-best 17.41 in his Samara win against a stellar world-class field.

Tonight, the reigning world indoor and outdoor champion hopped, stepped and jumped 17.83 to equal the seven-year-old mark of Cuba's Aliecer Urrutia

Men Triple Jump Final

First it was the pole vault, then the long jump earlier today, and now the high jump with a one-two Russian finish.&nbsp; 
The win by Yelena Slesarenko at 2.04 confirmed her February conquest of world-leader Anna Chicherova in the Russian championships, as Chicherova today was stuck at "only" 2.00 for the silver medal.
It was a belated birthday celebration for Slesarenko, who became 22 earlier in the week. 
The Volgograd resident started conservatively at 1.82, and maintained a perfect jumping slate until 2.00, which needed a second attempt.&nbsp; Back on track, she then dispatched 2.02 and 2.04 on on opening attempts, resulting in the best winning height since the 1987 championships in Indianapolis.&nbsp; She then took two excellent but unsuccessful jumps at 2.08 before retiring to enjoy her victory.&nbsp; 
Chicherova meanwhile did not have a smooth afternoon, barely avoiding elimination with a third-attempt clearance at 1.97.&nbsp; A second effort at 2.00 kept her in contention, but she had to resort to a passing game.&nbsp; Two misses at 2.02 and a single failure at 2.04 left her with the silver, one place higher than her Birmingham finish last year.
Last year's European under-23 champion, Blanca Vlasic of Croatia, won the bronze medal at 1.97 on a countback ahead of Ukraine's Vita Palamar and Daniela Rath of Germany, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

First it was the pole vault, then the long jump earlier today, and now the high jump with a one-two Russian finish.

Women High Jump Final

Has the 800 metres found itself a new star? Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, from South Africa, ought to think of himself as such, after a shrewdly judged race in the 800m final at these 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Mulaudzi thus added World Indoor gold to the World bronze he won in Paris last year and the Commonwealth title he took in Manchester in 2002, as he produced a perfectly judged effort on the final circuit to pass the early pace setter Osmar dos Santos, who was relegated on the line to third by Mohammed Rachid Ramzi, from Bahrain.
Mulaudzi clocked 1min 45.71sec, as Ramzi set an Asian record of 1:46.15, with dos Santos taking bronze in 1:46.26.
Perhaps the biggest shock of this final was the fifth and sixth placings of the two Kenyans, William Yiampoy and Joseph Mutua.
Dos Santos, as he had done in Saturday’s semi-final, took the early pace, passing the lap marker in 24.17, 50.74 and then 1:18.21, a tactic that began to unwind for the Brazilian as Mulaudzi moved to his shoulder just after the bell.
Dos Santos gamely resisted the challenge until 100 metres from the finish, but his South African rival had more finishing strength and pulled away from the fading dos Santos in the home straight.
Mulaudzi thus emulates the World Indoor title of his compatriot, Johan Botha, the winner of the 800m in Maebashi in 1999, although the 2004 winning time was the slowest at these championships since 1995.

Has the 800 metres found itself a new star? Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, from South Africa, ought to think of himself as such

Men 800m Final

Yet again, Maria Mutola entered the record books.&nbsp; With her 1:58.50 win, the World, Olympic and defending champion became the first-ever person to win six World Indoor Championships titles.
As expected, world indoor record holder Jolanda Ceplak set the initial fast pace, bringing the field through the first lap in 28.46, through the half in 58.61 and through 600 metres in 1:29.23&nbsp; But just behind her the entire time was Mutola, who blasted pst the Slovenian as she headed into the final turn, building a three metre gap.&nbsp; Ceplak made up some of the ground, but not enough, and finished second in 1:58.72
The pack was tight down the homestretch, with Briton Jo Fenn fighting best to take the bronze in 1:59.50, a two-notch improvement over her fifth place finish in Birmingham. 
American champion Jen Toomey continued to improve, clocking a personal best 1:59.64 for fourth, her first sub-two-minute performance.&nbsp; Russians Tatyana Andrianova (1:59.71) and Olga Raspopova (2:00.56) were fifth and sixth, both with personal bests.

Yet again, Maria Mutola entered the record books, winning her 6th World Indoor 800m title.

Women 800m Final

As she did in Paris just over six months ago, Perdita Felicien not only pulled off a major upset to win the 60 metres hurdles, but foiled defending champion Gail Devers’ attempt at the flat 60-60 hurdles double. 
Running in lane five, the 23-year-old Canadian clocked a championship record 7.75 in the process, eclipsing the 7.80 set by Devers last year in Birmingham. Devers, who won the 60 metre sprint on Friday, was second in 7.78.
Two-time European Indoor Champion Linda Ferda-Khodadin was ecstatic with her bronze medal finish here, lowering the French national record to 7.82.&nbsp; 
American Joanna Hayes was fourth in 7.86, with Swede Susanna Kallur fifth in 7.89. Jamaican Lacena Golding-Clarke was sixth, clocking 7.89 as well.

As she did in Paris just over six months ago, Perdita Felicien not only pulled off a major upset to win the 60 metres hurdles.

Women 60m Hurdles Final

Defending bronze medallist Dominic Demeritte moved up two notches in Budapest to become the last World Indoor Champion in the 200 metres.&nbsp; The 26-year-old held off the late race charge of Swede Johan Wissman to win in 20.66, a Bahamian national record. 
Wissman, just 21, became his country’s first-ever medallist in the short sprints after his 20.72 performance. Well, back in third was Tobias Unger of Germany, clocking 21.02, to win his first medal in a major competition.
Defending silver medallist Joseph Batangdon of Cameroon was fourth in 21.16, well ahead of American Jimmie Hackley, fifth in 21.35.
Providing further evidence as to why the race will no longer be contested indoors, the finishing order was the exact opposite of the lane assignments, with Demeritte, the winner in lane 6, and Marcin Urbas, in lane one, finishing last.

Defending bronze medallist Dominic Demeritte moved up two notches in Budapest to become the last World Indoor Champion in the 200 metres.

WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Mutola - nurturing the future

Olsson and Russian relay girls add to World record tally – Day THREE – final session.

Budapest 2004 from a long distance

Lebedeva does the double

Men 4x400m Relay Final