When you can boast of the sort of sporting resume that Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has, it is little wonder that the Jamaican sprint superstar found herself in strong contention for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships 60m gold medal.The 27-year-old 2008 and 2012 Olympic 100m champion, and 2013 World Athlete of the Year, utilised her major championship experience and lightning-fast speed as the pocket rocket scorched to a remarkable eighth global title on Sunday evening in Sopot.Sprinting to a world-leading 6.98 victory, Fraser-Pryce in turn claimed the Caribbean island&rsquo;s fourth 60m win in the 16-year history of the championships and shot right up to seventh on the world all-time list for the indoor event. She was just 0.02 away from Merlene Ottey&rsquo;s long-standing Jamaican record which dates from 1992 and 0.06 adrift of Irina Privalova&rsquo;s world record, both marks having been set in the sprint-friendly 640m altitude of Madrid. By contrast, Sopot nestles by the Baltic Sea. In winning in Sopot, she also became the first woman in history to win IAAF world titles in the 60m, 100m, 200m and 4x100m.Not that impressive statistics means anything to the world 100m, 200m and 4x100m champion.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve said many times that I&rsquo;m not one of those people who check statistics, follows history and says, &lsquo;If I do this, what will happen&rsquo;,&rdquo; she said.&ldquo;I just line up and I compete. I think I get going because I try not to put added pressure on myself because a lot of times, you can be very good at what you do but when you get ready, you have to be prepared to get it going.&rdquo;Flying out of the blocks with a 0.159 reaction time, Fraser-Pryce enjoyed a slight advantage after just 10 metres before maintaining pole position all the way to the finish, shattering her former 7.04 lifetime best set when winning at the IAAF Indoor Permit meeting in Stockholm last winter. Having begun her 2014 campaign with a 7.11 clocking in a special outdoor race in Kingston, her home country not having any indoor facility, her only loss of the season was having to settle for second place in Birmingham four weeks ago behind world 100m and 200m silver medallist Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast &ndash; her fierce rival who claimed the silver medal in Sopot in 7.01.<div class="quote">&ldquo;I was surprised, I knew I could do well here and I was more focused on getting that start so I just relied on past experience in the final and I think I got it right. </div>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m pleased I got the chance to compete at my first World Indoor Championships. I&rsquo;m just humbled and thanking God at the same time for this opportunity. I&rsquo;m so happy for everything that&rsquo;s happened so far.&rdquo;Sprinting to a 7.12 first-round performance before progressing to 7.08 in the semi-finals, despite a mediocre start which she rectified when the medals were at stake, Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s sparkling 6.98 winning time was surprisingly achieved off no specific preparation. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still preparing for my outdoor season so nothing special for the 60m. I just came here and wasn&rsquo;t prepared for the 60m,&rdquo; she said.&ldquo;I knew I had a good start and just wanted to come here to do my best. I don&rsquo;t think it was what I expected. It was ok, the 60m doesn&rsquo;t make that much difference to my 100m. &ldquo;A lot of people do run well at 60m but can&rsquo;t transfer it to the 100m because there&rsquo;s still 40m to go and anything can happen in that last section.&rdquo;Ever the competitor and eternal perfectionist despite her apparent relaxed attitude to the indoor event, Fraser-Pryce's last words confirmed her unwavering focus for preserving her winning reputation.&ldquo;Whenever we line up on the start line, we know we&rsquo;re going to bring it; there&rsquo;s no &lsquo;oh, tomorrow&rsquo;,&rdquo; she insisted. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re always laying it down and I think that&rsquo;s important in order to run fast times because we&rsquo;re competing.&rdquo;Nicola Bamford for the IAAF

When you can boast of the sort of sporting resume that Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has, it is little wonder that the Jamaican sprint superstar found herself in strong contention for the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships 60m gold medal.

Fraser-Pryce: "I just came here and wasn’t prepared for the 60m"

The men’s 60m hurdles winner Omo Osaghae really came to win out of the blue. A few weeks ago, he didn’t even know there was going to be an indoor season for him and now he is the world indoor champion. The 25-year-old from Lubbock, Texas, where he attended both high school and Texas Tech university – nicknamed the Red Raiders, and Osaghae was fittingly decked out in red in Sopot – has won three US indoor titles in 2011, 2013 and 2014, but Sopot 2014 was still his first major intenational competition.Osaghae, whose father was Nigerian, continued a US winning tradition in this event at the World Indoor Championships, his being the 10th title for USA in 15 editions of the championships. Previous champions were Tonie Campbell (1987), Roger Kingdom (1989), Greg Foster (1991), Allen Johnson (1995, 2003, 2004), Terrence Trammell (2001, 2006) and Aries Merritt (2012). “It means a lot," he said. "Coming from a university [Texas Tech] we call ourselves the Hurdle U as we produce so many All-Americans, so being able to uphold the tradition there and being able to be a representantive for the school and for the US here is beyond me."Despite being a top hurdler in the highly competitive US collegiate system, stepping to the top of the podium is actually something of a new achievement for Osaghae. He was part of four NCAA finals during his time at Texas Tech, he was the runner-up in the indoor 60m hurdles in 2009 and then third in 2010.Outdoors, Osaghae notched up two seventh-place finishes at the NCAA Championships in 2008 and 2011, and his best performance at the US outdoor championships is sixth place last summer. Little more than 18 months ago, he didn’t get beyond the semi-finals of the US Olympic Trials for a place on the plane to the London 2012 Olympic Games.The past months have not been easy for Osaghae, whose outdoor personal best of 13.23 dates back to 2011. The latter part of his 2013 season was hampered by injuries and delayed his preparations for the 2014 season.“Coming off last season, I was very injured. I got hurt on my left achilles and right foot. The indoor season started very late for me, I had to rehab pretty late and I started working out in the middle of December. We were just trying to get ready for outdoors and my coach (Dion Miller) was like, 'you have nothing to lose, you might as well go to the US Championships'. “We were just happy to go there, he was able to come and coach me on the Sunday. We knew that we could put something together, at best a good product, but to be able to win the US Championships and now the gold here is just incredible and I’m just happy to be here.”Allen Johnson, at the traditional pre-championship press conference, reflected on the fact that a new generation of hurdlers is starting to emerge, including the young French silver medallist in Sopot, Pascal Martinot Lagarde, and it was a theory Osaghae concurred with. “I haven’t been professional very long and I think he (Martinot Lagarde) has been longer. It’s always exciting and envigorating when we get to run against somebody who is very passionate about what they do because I’m exactly the same way,” added Osaghae, setting the stage for the summer when he hopes to challenge members of the old guard like his compatriots David Oliver, Aries Merritt and Jason Richardson, the winners of the past three outdoor global titles over the barriers. &nbsp;Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

The men’s 60m hurdles winnert Omo Osaghae really came to win out of the blue. 

Omo Osaghae: the Red Raider roams afar

You know when it’s getting to business time in the men’s
high jump. Ivan Ukhov removes his training tights.The 2012 Olympic champion and red hot favourite kept his
leggings on as he sailed over 2.20m, 2.29m and 2.34m at the first time of
asking. Not until the bar was raised to 2.38m did we get a sight of the
Russian’s legs.At that stage there were only four men left in the medal
mix. There might have been four but Ukhov’s team mate Daniil Tsyplakov was
timed out after clearing 2.36m.As it was, Ukhov was one of two jumpers with a perfect card.
Mutaz Essa Barsham, the Olympic bronze medallist and world silver medallist
from Qatar, was in silky smooth form, sailing over 2.20m, 2.25m, 2.29m, 2.32m,
2.34m and 2.36m with room to spare.Andriy Protsenko of Ukraine needed three attempts to clear
2.32m but nailed 2.36m first time. Olympic silver medallist Erik Kynard was
doing his best to hang in. The US jumper managed 2.34m but failed on his first
attempt at 2.36m, then passed to 2.38m and bowed out with two failures at that
height.Protsenko exited too, but with the consolation of a bronze
medal and a personal best. Ukhov was on the verge of following suit after two
failures but then roused himself and the crowd, clearing the bar with his final
attempt.Barshim succeeded with his first attempt, improving his
Asian indoor record, and it was the jump that was to win him the gold. Both the
Qatari and Ukhov were unable to register a clearance at 2.40m, so Barshim took
the title on count-back.Ukhov, unbeaten in his previous seven competitions this
winter, looked crestfallen. Barshim was so overjoyed, he raced up into the
stands, in the style of Pat Cash at Wimbledon circa 1987, to celebrate with his
coach and support team.The 22-year-old has made a habit of finishing on the podium
at global championships, on this occasion at the very top of the pile. “It is
my first indoor medal and it’s a gold,” he said. “I’m very happy with that and
with an Asian record.”As for Ukhov, the beaten favourite insisted: “I’m not
unhappy. I wasn’t quite successful, but it happens. It’s just sport.”Simon Turnbull for
the IAAF

You know when it’s getting to business time in the men’s high jump. Ivan Ukhov removes his training tights.

Report: men’s high jump final – Sopot 2014

Yarisley Silva finally hit the jackpot following a couple of lesser medals in the past two years. The 26-year-old Cuban only competed once indoors before Sopot, but had no trouble during the competition and only failied to clear one height with her first attempt. She cleared 4.65m with her second try before a decisive first-time clearance at 4.70m, which was enough for the win in a low standard competition. In fact, 4.70m is the lowest winning result in a worldwide championships since the 2001 World Indoor Championships. Russia’s Anzhelika Sidorova and Czech Repubic’s Jirina Svobodová were tied for the silver with the same 4.70m result, going over that height on their second attempt.The young Russian was competing in her first worldwide championship; she was the bronze medallist at the 2013 European Indoor Championships and came really close to her personal best of 4.72m from this season. Svobodová has been around much longer, but this was her first medal outside a continental championship as well. She won the 2012 European outdoor title and she too was vaulting at close to her best level, her national indoor record standing at 4.71m from this indoor season.Brazil’s 32-year-old former world champion, both outdoors and indoors, Fabiana Murer was fourth with a season’s best clearance at 4.70m but missed out on a medal due needing three attempts at that height during the competition. The leading quartet all had three failures at 4.75m.Another 32-year-old, Olympic champion and world indoor record-holder Jenn Suhr, jumped 4.65m for the equal fifth place but was bitterly disappointed at her inability to get on the podium on this occasion. Together with Suhr in fifth place was homecrowd favourite, local Sopot athlete Anna Rogowska. Also 32 years old, Rogowska didn’t seem to find her best form. She jumped 4.76m earlier this season, but was not very close to clearing 4.70m today. Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Yarisley Silva finally hit the jackpot following a couple of lesser medals in the past two years. The 26-year-old Cuban only competed once indoors before Sopot, but had no trouble during the competition and only failied to clear one height with her first attempt. 

Report: women's pole vault final – Sopot 2014

The men’s 800m final was one of the most exciting events in
the arena this weekend. With two Polish athletes going for the gold, the roar
from the crowd was infernal.Thijmen Kupers started at the front, passing 200m in 24.96
before the Dutchman brought the group to 400m in 53.29.The movement behind him began after 400m when South Africa’s
Andre Olivier looked to take the lead. The two Poles had other ideas with Marcin
Lewandowski taking the lead on the third lap, passing 600m in 1:20.57 and
compatriot Adam Kszczot joining him at the start of the last lap. Kszczot
passed his countryman in the back-straight with Mohammed Aman, the world
leading athlete in this event, taking the lead before the final curve.The 20-year-old, also 2013 World champion from Moscow,
retained his world indoor title from Istanbul in style finishing in 1:46.40,
but to the absolute delight for the crowd, Adam Kszczot challenged him almost
to the finish line to take the silver medal clocking 1:46.76 and Marcin
Lewandowski crossed the line in third, just ahead of Briton Andrew Osagie.But moments later, it was revealed that Lewandowski had been
disqualified for a lane violation, moving Osagie into the bronze medal
position, replicating his finish from 2012.This was a second medal for Kszczot in this competition, as he
was third in 2010. Olivier was fifth in 1:47.31 and the early leader Kupers
finished in sixth (1:47.74).Mirko Jalava for the
IAAF

The men’s 800m final was one of the most exciting events in the arena this weekend. With two Polish athletes going for the gold, the roar from the crowd was infernal.

Report: men’s 800m final – Sopot 2014

The US quartet smashed the 15-year-old men’s 4x400m relay world indoor record*, scorching to victory in 3:02.13.Led off by the individual 2014 world indoor 400m bronze medallist Kyle Clemons, who settled behind Britain’s two-time world indoor 4x400m runner-up Conrad Williams, the US squad then utilised individual 400m fourth-place finisher David Verburg who moved them into the lead.Clocking a 45.62 split, Verburg passed the baton on to Kind Butler who recorded 45.41 on the third leg before 2012 world indoor 4x400m champion Calvin Smith brought the US team home with an impressive 45.12 final effort.Improving the previous world indoor record by seven tenths of a second, the USA’s gold medal-winning performance captured the nation’s ninth title in the 12 editions of this event in the championship. For breaking the world indoor record, the US team will receive a USD $50,000 world record bonus from the IAAF. It should be noted that a US team ran 3:01.96 in 2006 but it could not be ratified as a world indoor record as the full anti-doping procedure required for ratifying records was not carried out at that meeting.With silver, Great Britain registered a 3:03.49 season’s best in a tight battle which saw the Jamaican team settle for the bronze medal with a 3:03.69 national indoor record.Poland finished fourth in a 3:04.39 season’s best while Russia placed fifth in 3:07.12 and Ukraine in sixth with 3:08.79.Nicola Bamford for the IAAF*subject to the usual ratification procedures

The US quartet smashed the 15-year-old men’s 4x400m relay world indoor record*, scorching to victory in 3:02.13.

Report: men’s 4x400m final – Sopot 2014

Omo Osaghae surprised the European favourites in the 60m hurdles final and equalled the world lead with a 7.45 winning result, the second personal best during the competition after 7.49 came in the semi-finals.The 25-year-old was competing at his first major international championship. The US hurdler also had a limited indoor season of only three finals prior to Sopot due to an injury from late in the 2013 season.It didn’t come easy for the winner though, as it was a photo-finish against the two strong Frenchmen and it was impossible to see who won with a human eye. Pascal Martinot Lagarde was second in 7.46, only 0.01 behind the winner and his own personal best set last month. This was a second straight medal at these championships for the Frenchman after he won the bronze in 2012.Garfield Darien was third in a personal best of 7.47, just 0.01 behind his compatriot. The 26-year-old won his first worldwide medal here, although he has previously won three European silvers, two outdoors at 110m hurdles and one indoors.Britain’s Andy Pozzi enjoyed another succesful World Indoor Championships, finishing in fourth place for the second time in a row and clocking a 7.53 PB.Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

Omo Osaghae surprised the European favourites in the 60m hurdles final and equalled the world lead with a 7.45 winning result, the second personal best during the competition after 7.49 came in the semi-finals.

Report: men's 60m hurdles final – Sopot 2014

Russia’s Lyukman Adams improved on his bronze medal in Istanbul two years ago to snatch the gold in Sopot with a world-leading 17.37m in the sixth and final round.Adams stole the gold medal from under the nose of Cuba’s Ernesto Reve by four centimetres with the penultimate jump of the competition, with the latter frustratingly unable to respond as he was having to watch the competition on TV in the Ergo Arena treatment room after injuring a leg in the third round.The 22-year-old 2010 world junior silver medallist collected his second major medal of that hue with 17.33m in only his third indoor competition ever, ahead of his team-mate and training partner Pedro Pablo Pichardo, who took the bronze with 17.24m.The Cuban pair’s only previous indoor competitions have been in Prague and Metz last week.Pichardo, just 20 but the world silver medallist and world junior champion, unleashed his farthest jump in the final round to push Romania’s 2004 Olympic silver medallist Marian Oprea into fourth position by three centimetres.The 31-year-old’s bad luck, and lack of a medal, in this championship thus continued, having finished fourth, fifth and sixth in three of his five previous appearances. Poland’s Karol Hoffman couldn’t emulate his father, the 1983 world champion outdoors, but still finished a highly satisfactory fifth with 16.89m. Nicola Bamford for the IAAF

Russia’s Lyukman Adams improved on his bronze medal in Istanbul two years ago to snatch the gold in Sopot with a world-leading 17.37m in the sixth and final round.

Report: men's triple jump final – Sopot 2014

Ashton Eaton came close in the heptathlon and Ivan Ukhov wasn’t quite at his best in the high jump, but the enthusiastic Sopot crowd were finally rewarded with a world indoor record* in the final event of the championships, the men’s 4x400m.There had been some talk beforehand that the Jamaican team would be targeting the world indoor record of 3:02.83 that had stood to the USA since the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Maebashi. But instead it was the USA who was in record-breaking form.First-leg runner Kyle Clemons caught Britain’s Conrad Williams at the end of the first leg as they both handed over in 45.98. David Verburg then went into the lead, covering his two laps in 45.62.Kind Butler maintained the momentum with his 45.41 split before handing over to Calvin Smith, who brought the baton home in 45.12, crossing the line in a world indoor record of 3:02.13 to secure the USD $50,000 world record bonus offered by the IAAF.It should be noted that a US team ran 3:01.96 in 2006, but the time could not be ratified as a world indoor record as the full anti-doping procedure required for ratifying records was not carried out at that meeting.Great Britain held off Jamaica for the silver medal, clocking 3:03.49 to Jamaica’s national indoor record of 3:03.69.Less than an hour prior, the US team also struck gold in the women’s 4x400m. They led from the outset with Natasha Hastings handing over to Joanna Atkins in 51.95. Atkins put in a 50.85 split to hand over to Francena McCorory.The individual 400m champion McCorory clocked 50.36, the fastest of the team, before Cassandra Tate ran the anchor in 51.67.Their winning time of 3:24.83 was a North American indoor record; a time that has only ever been beaten by Russia.Jamaica overtook Britain after the half-way stage and went on to take silver with a national indoor record of 3:26.54. Britain, anchored by world 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, clocked 3:27.90 – almost a second faster than their winning time in Istanbul two years ago.Barshim upsets UkhovUp until a few weeks ago, Mutaz Essa Barshim wasn’t even considering competing at the World Indoor Championships. Meanwhile, Ivan Ukhov was setting indoor arenas alight with a stunning series of high jump performances.The Russian Olympic champion was one of the biggest favourites heading into the championships, but his two failures at 2.38m ultimately proved costly. Although he got over that bar on his third try, Barshim had already sailed over at the first time of asking, as he had done with all of his previous heights.Ukraine’s Andriy Protsenko took bronze with a PB of 2.36m with Olympic silver medallist Erik Kynard finished outside of the medals with 2.34m.Pocket Rocket strikes againAfter the 60m semi-finals earlier in the afternoon, double world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce looked vulnerable as she was pushed all the way to the line in 7.08 while rival Murielle Ahoure looked comfortable in winning her semi-final in 7.06.But once the Jamaican nailed the start, there was no catching her. She sped to the line in a world-leading PB of 6.98 to become just the second woman in history, after Veronica Campbell-Brown, to win world titles in the 60m, 100m and 200m.Ahoure took silver in a season’s best of 7.01 with USA’s Tianna Bartoletta taking bronze in 7.06.In the last individual track event of the championships programme, the men’s 60m hurdles, Omo Osaghae took USA’s ninth world indoor gold medal in the event. He sped to a lifetime best of 7.45 to edge pre-race favourite Pascal Martinot-Lagarde by one hundredth of a second.Martinot-Lagarde’s French team-mate Garfield Darien took bronze in 7.47 as Britain’s Andy Pozzi once again finished fourth, clocking a PB of 7.53.Dibaba duly delivers, Lagat upset by NdikuAfter two world indoor records* and a world indoor best this year, Genzebe Dibaba was perhaps the most talked-about athlete heading into Sopot and she didn’t disappoint.After a slow first few laps, Dibaba moved up through the field and then wound up the pace in the second half. Covering the last 1500m in 4:04 – a time that would have been good enough for silver in the individual event – she crossed the line in 8:55.04 to win her second world indoor gold medal.Defending champion Hellen Obiri finished second in 8:57.72 while two-time world 1500m champion Maryam Jamal clocked 8:59.16 for the bronze medal.Bernard Lagat was the oldest athlete in Sopot. In the men’s 3000m he was also the oldest ever finalist and became the oldest ever medallist in a men’s event at the World Indoors, but he could not quite secure the accolade of oldest ever champion.Instead, the defending champion was beaten by someone 18 years his junior. Kenya’s 21-year-old Caleb Ndiku took up the running over the final few laps and was never headed, crossing the line in 7:54.94.Lagat held on for silver in 7:55.22 with Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel taking bronze in 7:55.39.Aman defends, Price surprisesEthiopia’s reigning world indoor champion Mohammed Aman bided his time in the 800m, waiting until the closing stages to steal the victory.Surprise finalist Thijmen Kupers of the Netherlands took the early lead, going through 200m in 28.33 and 400m in 53.29. Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski then took up the running and on the final lap his team-mate Adam Kszczot was right behind him.The crowd went wild, but their cheers were muted somewhat as Aman forged ahead in the final 50 metres to claim his second successive gold in 1:46.40.Kszczot took silver in 1:46.76 as Lewandowski crossed the line third, only to be disqualified later for a lane violation. It meant Britain’s Andrew Osagie replicated his bronze medal from two years ago, clocking 1:47.10.Chanelle Price finished second at the US Indoor Championships, but today she became the world indoor 800m champion after leading from gun to tape.After covering the first lap in 27.88 seconds and going through 400m in 57.73, it looked as though the other finalists were waiting for Price to fade. But the 2007 world youth finalist maintained her lead through 600m (1:28.91) and desperately held on during the last lap to cross the line in a world-leading 2:00.09.Poland’s Angelika Cichocka was roared on by the home crowd on the final lap as she came through to take silver in 2:00.45 from Marina Arzamasova (2:00.79).Gold for SilvaHaving taken bronze in Moscow last year and silver at the London Olympics, Cuban pole vaulter Yarisley Silva finally won a global gold medal.In one of the best quality indoor competitions of all time, 10 women cleared 4.55m, seven vaulted 4.65m and four of those got over 4.70m. But that would be the highest mark of the competition.Silva’s first-attempt clearance at that height proved crucial and gave her the gold. Jirina Svobodova and Anzhelika Sidorova needed two attempt to clear that height and ended up sharing the silver medal. World indoor record-holder Jenn Suhr finished down in fifth, tied with home hope Anna Rogowska at 4.65m. 2011 world champion Fabiana Murer cleared 4.70m, but was fourth on count-back.With the two best long jumpers this winter absent from the final, Ivana Spanovic appeared to be the favourite for gold. But she only led for a matter of minutes as her opening round leap of 6.68m was soon usurped by Katarina Johnson-Thompson.The young Briton landed at 6.69m on her first attempt, only to see European champion Eloyse Lesueur take the lead with 6.72m. Johnson-Thompson responded with a PB of 6.81m in the second round, which remained the lead until Lesueur’s fourth-round leap of 6.85m.Spanovic improved to 6.77m in the final round, but she remained in the bronze medal position. The other horizontal jumps final of the day, the men’s triple jump, was dramatically won in the final round of the competition.Marian Oprea’s early lead of 17.02m was soon overtaken in the second round by Lyukman Adams (17.21m) and Ernesto Reve (17.33m).Reve’s mark remained the lead for several rounds but the Cuban had to retire mid-way through the competition after injuring his leg.Adams, bronze medallist in Istanbul two years ago, seized the moment to attack the lead and flew out to a world-leading 17.37m on his final attempt. Reve’s team-mate Pedro Pablo Pichardo leapt 17.24m in the final round to move into bronze medal position. Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF *subject to the usual ratification procedures

Ashton Eaton came close in the heptathlon and Ivan Ukhov wasn’t quite at his best in the high jump, but the enthusiastic Sopot crowd were finally rewarded with a world indoor record* in the final event of the championships, the men’s 4x400m.

World Indoors ends on a high with world indoor 4x400m record – Sopot 2014

The USA asserted their dominance from the outset, storming to a world-leading 3:24.83 victory in an event that, quite surprisingly, the USA have won only once in the history of these championships.Led by relay stalwart Natasha Hastings who – after three faulty starts due to technical issues – composed herself to speed to a 51.95 opener, the US quartet then utilised their individual 400m finalist Joanna Atkins, who registered a 50.85 split to maintain their comfortable winning margin.Sopot individual 400m champion Francena McCorory sprinted to an impressive 50.36 clocking, and then handed over to Cassandra Tate, who anchored them home with a 51.67 split. Their winning time was a North American indoor record. Behind the USA, Jamaica took nearly three seconds off their national record set in the heats to clock 3:26.54 and take the silver medal.Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the winners two years ago in Istanbul, captured the bronze medal as world 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu brought them home in a 3:27.90 season’s best.Nicola Bamford for the IAAF &nbsp;<o:p></o:p>

The USA asserted their dominance from the outset, storming to a world-leading 3:24.83 victory in an event that, quite surprisingly, the USA have won only once in the history of these championships.

Report: women's 4x400m final – Sopot 2014

The USA quartet of Kyle Clemons, David Verburg, Kind Butler III and Calvin Smith set a world indoor record* of 3:02.13 in the men's 4x400m relay at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Sopot 2014 on Sunday (9). The USA team will receive a world record bonus of US$50,000.*subject to the usual ratification proceduresMore to follow

The USA quartet of Kyle Clemons, David Verburg, Kind Butler III and Calvin Smith set a world indoor record of 3:02.13 in the men's 4x400m relay at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Sopot 2014 on Sunday (9).

FLASH – Men's 4x400m relay USA 3:02.13 WORLD INDOOR RECORD

Four laps into the women’s 3000m final, the stadium announcer described the pace as “relatively sedate,” which was putting it very mildly.The 12-woman field passed 400m in 1:22 and 800m in 2:46, and many people wondered whether we were watching a Sunday afternoon stroll along Sopot Pier, the longest wooden pier in Europe, or a championship race.Any chance of Genzebe Dibaba troubling the record books – the championship record books, let alone the global one in which she had made three marks this season – had been blown out of the water. Elly van Hulst’s 8:33.82, already a quarter of a century old, would survive for at least another two years.Dibaba was one of the chief dawdlers, setting off second to last, with Dutch runner Sifan Hassan bringing up the rear. The lethargy lasted for 900m. At that point Hiwot Ayalew hit the front, drawing Dibaba, her Ethiopian team-mate, through into second place. With seven laps to go, Dibaba assumed the lead, waiting until the final 400 metres before putting her foot on the gas.Winner of the 1500m crown in Istanbul two years ago, she finished 2.68 clear in 8:55.04. The final kilometre was completed in 2:38.94, the first in 3:24.50 and her last 1500m was covered in 4:04. Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, the defending champion, took silver in 8:57.72 with Bahrain’s Maryam Jamal claiming the bronze medal ahead of former world junior champion Irene Jelegat, of Kenya, and the fading Hassan.Simon Turnbull for the IAAF

Four laps into the women’s 3000m final, the stadium announcer described the pace as “relatively sedate,” which was putting it very mildly.

WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

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International Starters Panel stays bang up to date in Sopot

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Calvin Smith provides family with second helpings of world records