Dan O'Brien's Heptathlon world best of 6476pts, set in Toronto in 1993, included a relatively pedestrian 2min 57.96se 1,000-metre run at the conclusion of the two-day competition. Here, at the 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships, O'Brien's successor as the United States's top multi-eventer, Tom Pappas, would need to run nearly 12sec faster than ever before - 2:40.98 - if he were to challenge for the world record.
But after losing ground to Lev Lobodin in the pole vault, Pappas knew that it would take the run of his life if, having led the event from early on Saturday morning, he was not to lose the gold medal in the final strides. Pappas's job here was to beat Lobodin rather than to beat history.
So through the first two laps, Pappas ran steadily, keeping the Russian in sight. Job done: in a race won by Tomas Dvorak (2:41.98), Lobodin crossed the finish in 2:48.25, and Pappas chased him home just 3sec later in 2:51.65 to score 748pts,
The run was Pappas's sixth personal best of the two days and gave him 6361pts - the eighth best tally ever, with Lobodin scoring 6297 and Roman Sebrle, the defending champion, 6196, just beating Jon Arnar Magnusson (6185) for the bronze in the best in-depth Heptathlon seen since the 1999 World Indoors in Maebashi, Japan.

Despite a setback in the pole vault Pappas held on in the 1000 metres to take the gold medal.

Men Heptathlon Event Seven

The noise for retiring British hurdler Colin Jackson was intense.&nbsp; Twice the spectators were asked to be quiet for the start.&nbsp; 
When all was said and done, Allen Johnson of the US had regained the gold medal he first won in Barcelona eight years ago.
The American hurdler had run in a seemingly lackadaisical manner during the preceding two rounds, and this resulted in his less-than-prime position near the outside in lane seven.&nbsp; 
But even when running out of contact with the other top hurdlers in the field, Johnson was able to brush off the effects of his mediocre start and some contact with four of the five hurdles to post a 7.47 time, just enough to take the gold ahead of Sydney champion Anier García of Cuba (7.49).&nbsp; 
Of the others, only China’s Liu Xiang was able to challenge the leaders, as he collected the bronze with 7.52.
The remaining hurdlers were led by France’s Ladji Doucouré (7.58), as the final race of Jackson’s nineteen-season international career was a fifth-place 7.61.
Surprisingly far back in sixth was Stanislav Olijar of Latvia (7.62), who had twice clocked 7.50 in the preliminary rounds.

When all was said and done, Allen Johnson of the US had regained the gold medal he first won in Barcelona eight years ago.

Men 60 Metres Hurdles Final

Thirtysixyearold Gail Devers wasn’t about to let Regina Jacobs be the only female thirty-something gold medallist today.&nbsp; 
The three-time World outdoor champion came out of the blocks quickly and had a lead by the first hurdle, and the technically perfect Devers was on her way to a gold medal with a 7.81 time.
Glory Alozie of Spain accelerated well in the final stages of the race and claimed the silver with 7.90, ahead of the other US entry, Sydney bronze medallist Melissa Morrison (7.92).
Also running 7.92, but in a medalless fourth place, was Commonwealth Games victor Lacena Golding-Clarke of Jamaica, as current European indoor champion Linda Ferga-Khodadin of France was fifth at 7.95.
With seven finalists running under eight seconds, it was the deepest finish ever at the World Indoor Championships.

old Gail Devers wasn’t about to let Regina Jacobs be the only female thirty-something gold medallist today.

Women 60 Metre Hurdles Final

If Haile Gebrselassie had any doubts about his own sprinting ability, he didn’t show it today.&nbsp; After watching his chief rival, Spain’s Alberto García, move to the front&nbsp; with 3½ laps left, the Ethiopian calmly followed and then sprinted away two laps later for his third World Indoor title.&nbsp; 
Gebrselassie’s winning time was 7:40.97, with García claiming the silver (7:42.08) ahead of a fast-closing Luke Kipkosgei of Kenya (7:42.56).
In a typically tactical contest, the twelve competitors stayed in a tight pack, as first Jaouad Gharib and then his Moroccan teammate Abderrahim Goumri took the front-running chores.
García apparently felt his only chance for a win was to test the Ethiopian’s ability to sprint for a long time, as he suddenly bolted to the lead with 700 metres remaining.
But all this succeeded in doing was to draw out both Ethiopians - Gebrselassie and Abiyote Abate and the two Kenyans - Kipkosgei and Leonard Mucheru - into a front-running pack.
With 400 to go, Holland’s Gert-Jan Liefers also decided to see if his background as a 1500 runner would result in a medal as he pulled into fourth behind García and the two Ethiopians.
In the final sprint, as Gebrselassie and García had already claimed the top two medals for themselves, the fight for the bronze ensued, with Kipkosgei ending victorious.
Liefers’ late-race move resulted in a national-record 7:44.34 in fifth, just ahead of Mucheru’s sixth-place 7:44.83.

If Haile Gebrselassie had any doubts about his own sprinting ability, he didn’t show it today

Men 3000 Metres Final

The dichotomy between athletics' component halves of track and field is usually brought into sharp focus at the end of a meet with the staging of the final running event. At that point, no matter what's going on on the infield, it's not uncommon to see the arena quickly empty.
That wasn't about to happen here, not with five contestants remaining in the triple jump and home son Jonathan Edwards - who had led earlier but had been shunted to second in the interim - to be the last of them.
They didn't get to see an Edwards win, but in an amazing final 5–6 minutes of competition they did see the lead change hands twice and the medals get totally shuffled over their order at the end of the penultimate round.
The standings going into the final 5 jumpers: 1. Christian Olsson (Sweden) 17.31; 2. Edwards 17.19; 3. Yoelbi Quesada (Cuba) 16.96; 4. Walter Davis (US) 16.92; 5. Jadel Gregório (Brazil) 16.86.
First up was American champion Tim Rusan, whose 16.88 moved him ahead of Gregório into 5th. Rusan's teammate Walter Davis, an inconsistent jumper who nonetheless was at times a huge player on the circuit last summer, then reached 17.35 to take the lead. Edwards was suddenly only in bronze position.
Olsson, suddenly displaced as the leader, responded magnificently, stretching his angular frame deeply into the pit, cutting sand at 17.70, the No. 6 indoor performance ever.
Now it was Quesada's turn. He hadn't improved since round 2, but suddenly he too came up huge, his 17.27 slotting him 3rd, with Edwards out of the medals.
Despite the entreaties of the crowd, he could manage only 17.00, thus falling to 4th in a competition which a round before had looked like a certain medal, if not a chance to win for the first time.
Olsson told the crowd, "Things really came together after the 17.28 [in the fourth round]. I'm starting to realize I really know how to triple jump."

They didn't get to see an Edwards win, but in an amazing final 5–6 minutes of competition they did see the lead change hands twice and the medals get totally shuffled over their order at the end of the penultimate round.

Men Triple Jump Final

When a 37yearold Regina Jacobs finished a desultory 12th and last in the women's 3000 at the 2001 edition of the World Indoor Championships, nobody would have been blamed had they said her window of success had come and gone.
The American veteran defied conventional wisdom repeatedly this season, however, not only running better than ever, but also doing it at a shorter distance at an age when most are moving up.
Six weeks ago she became the first woman ever to break the 1500's 4-minute barrier indoors, running 3:59.98 in Boston. Then she won a 1500/3000 double at the U.S. Championships. Choosing to run only the shorter distance in Birmingham, she was content to follow Natalya Gorelova for the better part of 5 laps. 
The Russian split 30.96, 1:02.71, 1:35.44 and 2:08.80 before giving way to Jacobs (2:42.65) at the kilometer post.
From there the WR holder was never headed, reaching the subsequent lap markers in 3:15.22 and 3:45.92. From there she would need a stiff 14.05 to break her World Record. That wasn't possible, but her 15.75 was enough for a new Championships Record and a win by almost exactly&nbsp; a second over Kelly Holmes of Britain, 4:01.67–4:02.66.
Russia's Yekaterina Rozenberg had been closest to Jacobs as the last lap began, but former 800 star Holmes had the better speed in the final 200 as she lowered the Commonwealth Record by more than 4 seconds. Rozenberg finished in 4:02.80 as the fading Gorelova ended up 4th in 4:06.18.
Said Jacobs, whose time rated as the No. 6 performance in indoor history, "Despite being an old lady now, my heart is still strong and that keeps my body strong. It is all about determination."

Veteran runner Regina Jacobs showed the field a clean pair of heels to take the gold medal in the 1500 metres Final.

Women 1500 Metres Final

A shocking win by American David Krummenacker over Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer in the final metres left the crowd in stunned silence.
The American’s 1:45.69 was a personal best by 1½ seconds, and mastered the 1:45.87 of Kipketer, who won the silver medal. 
During the middle stages of the race, Krummenacker appeared to be boxed in by Kipketer and Spain’s Antonio Reina.
But at the bell, the Dane moved ahead, followed by the American and also Kenya’s Wilfred Bungei, who had been the lead runner for the previous 600 metres.
Krummenacker then made a strong move in close behind Kipketer on the final backstraight, which made possible his final strike in the last 30 metres.
Bungei stayed in good position on the run-in, and his 1:46.54 was able to fend off a comeback by Reina (1:46.58) for the bronze medal.
Young Dutch runners Bram Som (1:47.00) and Arnoud Okken (1:48.71) completed the sextet of finalists.

A shocking win by American David Krummenacker over Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer in the final metres left the crowd in stunned silence.

Men 800 Metres Final

Maria Mutola of Mozambique made indoor athletics history by becoming the first woman to win five world titles in an individual event with her 1:58.94 victory.
It was not the runaway win that many might have expected.&nbsp; 
Great Britain’s Jo Fenn held the lead from the start, with a constant, unshifting following group of Lisbon silver medallist Stephanie Graf of Austria, Mutola, and World Record holder Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia.
Not until 130 metres remained was Mutola able to take the lead, as she moved outside and just ahead of Fenn.
The British athlete stubbornly stayed behind Mutola, as Mayte Martínez of Spain had meanwhile sprinted ahead of Ceplak.
Only with 50 metres remaining did Mutola’s victory appear certain.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Behind her came the fight for the other medals, which was won by Graf (1:59.39), as Martínez (1:59.53) barely held off a last-gasp challenge by Ceplak (1:59.54).
For all of her slavish front-running, Fenn was rewarded with a fifth-place 1:59.95, with Russia’s Yekaterina Puzanova (2:00.86) never an integral part of the race.

Maria Mutola of Mozambique made indoor athletics history by becoming the first woman to win five world titles in an individual event with her 1:58.94 victory.

Women 800 Metres Final

American Tyree Washington won both the mental and physical contests over Great Britain’s Daniel Caines with a 45.34 personal-best run, his first gold medal at the international level in a spasmodic five-year career.&nbsp; 
Caines’s chase to the end produced a 45.43 clocking, also a personal best.&nbsp; The two clockings were the top two performances during this year’s indoor season.&nbsp; 
The sweatband-clad Washington, running on Caines’ inside, ran with determination around the second curve to ensure the lead at the bell.
His one-metre lead over Caines did not seem to waver on the final backstretch, but the British athlete had not played all of his cards.&nbsp; 
Coming off the backstretch, Caines put on a strong kick as Washington appeared to be tiring slightly, but the American would not denied the top prize as he struggled successfully to cross the line first.
Behind the top pair, Jamie Baulch was in a fight of his own against Paul McKee.&nbsp; The Irish runner ran in lane two on the final bend to pull even with Baulch, both runners ended up with identical 45.99 - a national record for the Irish runner -&nbsp; with bronze medals going to both runners after close scrutiny of the finish photo.
David McCarthy of Ireland (46.61) and Australian Daniel Batman (46.67) were assigned inside lanes and never were able to become part of the lead action.

American Tyree Washington won both the mental and physical contests over Great Britain’s Daniel Caines with a 45.34 personal-best run

Men 400 Metres Final

With World Record holder Stacy Dragila having shockingly failed to reach the final, former standard-bearer Svetlana Feofanova figured to have her way with the women's pole vault field. She did, and she did it with a big exclamation point, reclaiming the WR from her American rival.
The 22-year-old Russian didn't pull clear of the field for good until the sixth height of the day, however. Not surprisingly, she passed at the opening height of 4.20. She made routine first-try clearances at both 4.35 and 4.45, then struck a bit of a rough patch when she needed a pair at 4.55.
Fellow Russian Yelena Isinbayeva cleared 4.55 on her first, so she was actually in the lead as the bar went to 4.60 with the teammates being the only ones left in the competition. When each cleared on first attempt Feofanova moved into a tie for 1st, as Isinbayeva had had a miss back at 4.20.
Feofanova decidedly had the advantage when the bar moved to 4.65. While such a clearance would equal Isinbayeva's all-time best, it was a height Feofanova had already mastered in four other meets this year.
Predictably, Feofanova sailed clear on her first attempt, while Isinbayeva missed. With no hope of winning at that height, Isinbayeva had no choice but to pass her final attempts and use them at 4.70. The only thing wrong with that plan was that Feofanova, jumping first in the order, promptly soared over again. Plan B: Isinbayeva passes 4.70 completely. Then, when Feofanova cleared 4.75, Isinbayeva realized she was in so far over her head--both literally and figuratively--that she essayed the height twice, not coming remotely close.
Then it was time for Feofanova to try to reclaim her World Record. Rather than going for a single centimeter's rise over Dragila's best of 4.78, she elected to try 4.80. After an artificially long wait unfortunately induced by a victory ceremony delay, she finally got back on the way.
Her first try wasn't close. Initially, the second didn't seem to be either, as she smacked the bar solidly, but after a few moments of marked wiggling the bar settled and the WR was back in her hands.
Slow-motion replay from the mini-cam mounted atop the standards later showed the incredible sequence of events which led to the bar's staying on after what seemed to be such a solid hit. Her thigh actually begins to dislodge the crosspiece on the way down, but before it can slide off the pegs, her chest hits it from the opposite direction, setting things aright. Not against the rules, and a few minutes later she's $50,000 richer as she receives a World Record bonus cheque from vaulting legend Sergey Bubka on behalf of the IAAF.

Svetlana Feofanova takes gold and reclaims World Record.

Women Pole Vault Final

With a wiretowire race, Natalya Nazarova of Russia won&nbsp; in a splendid 50.83, fending off last-second challenges of Christine Amertil of Bahamas (51.11) and Germany’s Grit Breuer (51.13).&nbsp; 
The Russian had the best time credentials coming into the final, and she flaunted them with a powerful run down the first backstraight, carving out an advantage over Amertil as she moved to the curb at the halfway point, with the first 200 put away in 23.57.
As she did, Amertil tried to create her own space quite close to Nazarova along the inside, and there was a small amount of contact, enough for the Bahamian to have to change pace for a few steps.&nbsp; It gave Nazarova a two-metre lead which she held into the finish.
Breuer moved up well in the final backstretch and appeared on the way to a possible silver.&nbsp; But Amertil did not waver off the final turn and preserved her second-place position as Maebashi champion took the bronze.
Behind the medallists came Catherine Murphy of Great Britain (51.99), American Monique Hennagan (52.08), and Svetlana Usovich of Belarus (52.72).

Natalya Nazarova dominated the women's 400 metres Final.

Women 400 Metres Final

Despite coming into the meet ranked only No. 5 on the yearly list, Tatyana Kotova had little trouble in becoming the most successful women's long jumper in the history of the World Indoor Championships. The 26-year-old Russian first won gold in '99, then added a silver in '01.
Her first-round 6.84 here - a yearly world leader - left her never threatened, and even her next-best attempt, 6.81, would have sufficed to win by a solid 9cm.
The winner of the most-consistent series award was silver medalist Inessa Kravets (Ukraine), who after a first-round 6.50 hit 6.66, 6.68, 6.67 and 6.67. Maurren Maggi of Brazil wasn't nearly as consistent, but she was still holding down the silver-medal spot after five rounds, having spanned a South American Record 6.70 in the third stanza.
In the final round Kravets finally broke out of her high-6.60s rut with a 6.72 that edged Maggi for silver. Kravets thus returned to the WIC long jump podium for the first time since Toronto '93. Maggi's bronze marked not only her first WIC medal, but also the first medal of any kind for Brazil.

Tatyana Kotova is the most successful woman long jumper in the history of the World Indoors.

WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Birmingham at a distance

World record for Feofanova brings Birmingham’s World Indoor Championships to spectacular close

Pappas looks for another healthy autumn

2003 World Indoor Championships men's 4x400m final

Women 4x400 Metres Final