The plan in Portland for Boris Berian was perfectly simple.
Get to the front of the men&rsquo;s 800m field at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016, and stay there.
The 23-year-old American&rsquo;s front-running exploits in his race whipped the crowd into a frenzy and punctuated another highlight on his remarkable rise from unknown to gold medallist.
Berian&rsquo;s first 200m split of 23.92 scrambled the field behind him and put Berian in the pole position that he wanted. &ldquo;Coming through I saw 23 I was just like, wow, this is definitely going to hurt.&rdquo;
He did slow, crossing 400m in 49.73, but so did the others; and while the chasing pack that included Antoine Gakeme of Burundi, Musaeb Balla of Qatar, and the USA&rsquo;s Erik Sowinski fought for positioning, Berian was well clear.
He never gave up the lead, winning his first global title in 1:45.83.
&ldquo;Boris got the crowd going and it&rsquo;s a testament to how he raced and he really set that up to be a heck of a race,&rdquo; said Sowinski, who placed third behind Gakeme.
With each successive lap, the noise inside the Oregon Convention Center grew as it became apparent that Berian&rsquo;s bold move was paying off.
&ldquo;I really wasn&rsquo;t focused on what time that was going to be (for the first 200m) whether that was 26, 24, 23 (seconds). I just want to get out in front,&rdquo; said Berian. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how I feel more comfortable racing and that&rsquo;s exactly what I wanted to do.&rdquo;
<h3>From Big Macs to big bucks</h3>
Berian is quite accustomed to taking his own route.
Even passionate followers of track and field didn&rsquo;t know who he was early in 2015. After being declared ineligible to compete at Adams State, Berian trained&nbsp;by himself. He wasn&rsquo;t fast enough for a professional contract so he worked at McDonald&rsquo;s to earn money.
&ldquo;That was a source of income at the time, I had my own plans just training by myself and getting money at the time,&rdquo; he added, knowing that money in the short term will no longer be an issue as he got a US$40,000 first prize on Saturday in addition to his gold medal. &ldquo;I was just staying positive and hoping this dream would happen on my own.&rdquo;
But with no coach and no team, he also had trouble getting into races. Eventually, he linked up with Big Bear Track Club in California and trained with Carlos Handler. &nbsp;
In the 2015 outdoor season, he burst on to the scene, running faster than 1:44.00 at IAAF Diamond League meetings in New York and Monaco.
Between those performances, though, there was the US Championships where his inexperience showed and he did not advance from the rounds. This year, he has opted for a more strategic approach to the early rounds of racing.
&rdquo;I was really just excited,&rdquo; Berian said, describing his 2015 as &ldquo;not too much experience, just kind of going for it every time".
But any plans of being conservative were pushed aside on Saturday and Berian was back at the front.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a speed-based guy so going out in 23, and high 49, it still felt pretty relaxed,&rdquo; he said.
The lead did dwindle over the last lap as Berian felt his legs tighten over the final 150 meters.
&ldquo;Pick up your knees, let&rsquo;s keep moving them and get to that finish line,&rdquo; he told himself. &ldquo;I got excited, stayed positive and trusted in my training and hung on.&rdquo;
He admitted that he didn&rsquo;t think he would get this good, this quickly. He wanted to make a championship team, but when he first started working out with the Big Bear Track Club, he didn&rsquo;t imagine it would only take one year.
&ldquo;Everything has progressed a lot faster than I thought it would.&rdquo; &nbsp;
Still, there is a feeling that there is more to come. He&rsquo;s still unsponsored and said that he didn&rsquo;t back off on training for the World Indoor Championships. The talent that his high school coach first spotted when he &lsquo;brainwashed&rsquo; Berian to stick with track is now blending with fearless tactics and growing experience.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a huge, huge accomplishment," he said. "Coming from nowhere a year ago to world indoor champion, it&rsquo;s definitely going in the best direction it possibly can.&rdquo;
Kevin Sully for the IAAF

The plan in Portland for Boris Berian was perfectly simple. Get to the front of the men’s 800m field at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016, and stay there.

From nowhere to the front, Berian’s ascent continues

<a href="#FR">Fran&ccedil;ais</a>
In line with the IAAF vision to rebuild trust in the sport and foster the younger generations of athletes and fans, the first &lsquo;On Camp with the IAAF&rsquo; was held last week, ahead of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016.
Four athletes who stood out from last year&rsquo;s IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali were selected for what will remain the experience of a lifetime and this quartet spent three days training with IAAF World Athlete of the Year Ashton Eaton before attending the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016.
Three-time world indoor champion Eaton and his long-time coach Harry Marra took time off from their busy schedules to help foster part of what will be the next generation of champions.
For the world record holder, leaving a strong legacy and making an impact on the youngsters is as important as his commitment to being the best at what he does.
It was therefore natural that he partnered with the world governing body of the sport for the first 'On Camp with the IAAF' initiative.
&ldquo;This was a great opportunity for the kids to see how I work, and to see what it takes to be a professional athlete competing at the top level,&rdquo; said Eaton. He later added on Twitter: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gained more than I&rsquo;ve given. The youth have transferred their energy and enthusiasm.&rdquo;
Marra, who also coached Brianne Theisen-Eaton to her fist global title in Portland, was enthusiastic about the opportunity given to four of next generation&rsquo;s best athletes. He is adamant the way forward for athletics is getting elite athletes to pass their knowledge and experience on to the youth.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about the kids,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This sort of project is what will save the sport. Having the youths training with elite athletes is absolutely crucial. It won&rsquo;t happen overnight, but this is where it&rsquo;s got to start.
&ldquo;You got to get five, six, seven-year-old kids, get them good coaches, teach them how to do it correctly, teach them ethics, and teach them to respect and enjoy the sport. They will teach their kids, and so on, and that&rsquo;s how it will grow.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no quick fix, but there&rsquo;s a correct fix in my estimation, and it&rsquo;s always with the kids."
World youth decathlon champion Niklas Kaul from Germany was one of the Cali stars to be selected and said he has gained so much from the experience and is now more excited than ever about what lies ahead in his own career.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very special being here and watch all these great athletes," said Kaul. "I definitely want to be down on the track and compete at a world championship. Probably in four years&rsquo; time it will be me down on the track.&rdquo;
Maribe Caicedo of Ecuador, the world youth 100m hurdles champion, commented: &ldquo;I learned a lot from this experience. New drills and warm up exercises but mostly I learned that athletics is a real job!&rdquo;
Another member of the camp, South Africa&rsquo;s Werner Visser, the world youth discus champion, added: &ldquo;This is by far the best experience of my life. I couldn&rsquo;t thank you enough for this amazing opportunity.&rdquo;
World youth 100m silver medallist Khalifa St Fort of Trinidad and Tobago was also part of the camp. &ldquo;This is incredible. Being here and seeing how they train. I love it.&rdquo;
"This is such an important initiative and I want to thank Harry and Team Eaton for investing their passion into future generations,&rdquo; said IAAF President Sebastian Coe. "We must take their commitment and build a programme which instils the right values in young athletes to build strong ethical foundations for their development in life."
<a name="FR"></a>IAAF
<hr />
<h3>Parrainage de la nouvelle g&eacute;n&eacute;ration &ndash; en stage avec l&rsquo;IAAF</h3>
En phase avec la vision de l&rsquo;IAAF de reb&acirc;tir la confiance dans l&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme et de parrainer les jeunes g&eacute;n&eacute;rations d&rsquo;athl&egrave;tes et de fans, la premi&egrave;re &eacute;dition de l&rsquo;initiative On Camp with the IAAF (&ldquo;En stage avec l&rsquo;IAAF&rdquo;) s&rsquo;est tenue la semaine derni&egrave;re, juste avant les Championnats du Monde de l&rsquo;IAAF, Portland 2016.
Quatre athl&egrave;tes qui s&rsquo;&eacute;taient particuli&egrave;rement distingu&eacute;s lors des Championnats du Monde Cadets de l&rsquo;IAAF de l&rsquo;an dernier &agrave;&nbsp;Cali, ont &eacute;t&eacute; s&eacute;lectionn&eacute;s pour une exp&eacute;rience inoubliable, et ce quatuor a ainsi pass&eacute; trois journ&eacute;es &agrave; s&rsquo;entra&icirc;ner en compagnie de l&rsquo;Athl&egrave;te de l&rsquo;Ann&eacute;e de l&rsquo;IAAF, Ashton Eaton, avant d&rsquo;assister aux Championnats du Monde en Salle de l&rsquo;IAAF, Portland 2016.
Le triple champion du monde Eaton et son entra&icirc;neur de longue date, Harry Marra, avaient pris soin de mettre du temps de c&ocirc;t&eacute; dans leurs programmes charg&eacute;s afin de contribuer &agrave; parrainer et encourager ce qui sera la prochaine g&eacute;n&eacute;ration de champions.
Pour le d&eacute;tenteur du record du monde, laisser un legs puissant et avoir un impact sur les jeunes compte autant que son engagement &agrave; &ecirc;tre le meilleur dans ce qu&rsquo;il fait.
Il n&rsquo;&eacute;tait d&egrave;s lors que tout naturel qu&rsquo;il se soit associ&eacute; avec l&rsquo;instance dirigeante mondiale du sport pour cette &eacute;dition inaugurale de l&rsquo;initiative On Camp with the IAAF.
&ldquo;Cela a &eacute;t&eacute; une superbe opportunit&eacute; pour les jeunes de voir la mani&egrave;re dont je travaille, et de d&eacute;couvrir ce qui est requis pour &ecirc;tre un sportif professionnel du plus haut niveau,&rdquo; a dit Eaton. Il a par la suite ajout&eacute; sur Twitter: &ldquo;J&rsquo;en ai retir&eacute; plus que je n&rsquo;ai donn&eacute;. Les jeunes ont transmis leur &eacute;nergie et leur enthousiasme.&rdquo;
Marra, qui a &eacute;galement entra&icirc;n&eacute; Brianne Theisen-Eaton et l&rsquo;a amen&eacute;e &agrave; son premier titre mondial &agrave; Portland, &eacute;tait enthousiaste par rapport &agrave; cette opportunit&eacute; offerte &agrave; quatre des meilleurs athl&egrave;tes de la g&eacute;n&eacute;ration montante. Il est convaincu que l&rsquo;avenir pour l&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme passe par la cr&eacute;ation d&rsquo;opportunit&eacute;s permettant aux athl&egrave;tes de l&rsquo;&eacute;lite de transmettre leurs connaissances et exp&eacute;rience aux jeunes.
&ldquo;C&rsquo;est vraiment sur les gamins que tout doit &ecirc;tre centr&eacute;, a-t-il dit. Ce genre de projet est ce qui va sauver notre sport. Il est crucial que les jeunes puissent s&rsquo;entra&icirc;ner avec l&rsquo;&eacute;lite. Cela ne va pas se passer du jour au lendemain, mais c&rsquo;est de l&agrave; que tout doit partir.
&ldquo;Il vous faut rassembler des petits de cinq, six, sept ans, leur donner de bons entra&icirc;neurs, leur apprendre &agrave; ex&eacute;cuter les gestes correctement, leur enseigner l&rsquo;&eacute;thique, et leur apprendre &agrave; respecter et prendre plaisir &agrave; l'athl&eacute;tisme. Eux transmettront alors tout cela &agrave; leurs enfants et ainsi de suite. Une fois lanc&eacute;, ce syst&egrave;me pourra cro&icirc;tre et perdurer.
&ldquo;Il n&rsquo;y a pas de formule magique, mais il est une mani&egrave;re correcte de le faire, &agrave; mon avis. Et cela passe toujours par les enfants.&rdquo;
Le champion du monde Cadets du d&eacute;cathlon, l&rsquo;Allemand Niklas Kaul, &eacute;tait une des stars de Cali &agrave; &ecirc;tre s&eacute;lectionn&eacute;, et il a dit que l&rsquo;exp&eacute;rience lui avait &eacute;norm&eacute;ment apport&eacute;, et qu&rsquo;il est &agrave; pr&eacute;sent plus exalt&eacute; encore qu&rsquo;avant quant &agrave; ce que sa carri&egrave;re pourra lui r&eacute;server.
&ldquo;C&rsquo;est tr&egrave;s sp&eacute;cial d&rsquo;&ecirc;tre ici et de voir tous ces grands sportifs &eacute;voluer, a dit Kaul. Je veux vraiment &ecirc;tre moi-m&ecirc;me sur la piste et prendre part &agrave; des championnats du monde. Il est probable que dans quatre ans, c&rsquo;est moi qui serai en lice&rdquo;.
Maribel Caicedo, d&rsquo;Equateur, championne du monde Cadets du 100m haies, a dit: &ldquo;J&rsquo;ai beaucoup appris de cette exp&eacute;rience. De nouveaux drills, et de nouvelles mani&egrave;res de m&rsquo;&eacute;chauffer bien entendu, mais avant tout, j&rsquo;ai surtout appris qu&rsquo;&ecirc;tre un athl&egrave;te pouvait constituer un v&eacute;ritable m&eacute;tier!&rdquo;
Un autre membre du stage, le Sud-Africain Werner Visser, champion du monde du lancer de disque Cadets, a ajout&eacute;: &ldquo;Ceci est de loin la meilleure exp&eacute;rience de ma vie. Je ne pourrai jamais vous remercier assez pour cette extraordinaire opportunit&eacute;.&rdquo;
La vice-championne du monde Cadets du 100m, Khalifa St. Fort, de Trinidad et Tobago, une autre participante au stage, a dit&nbsp;: &ldquo;C&rsquo;est incroyable. D&rsquo;&ecirc;tre ici et de voir comment ils s&rsquo;entra&icirc;nent. J&rsquo;adore.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Ceci est une initiative tellement importante et je tiens &agrave; remercier Harry et le &ldquo;Team Eaton&rdquo; pour avoir ainsi instill&eacute; leur passion dans les g&eacute;n&eacute;rations de l&rsquo;avenir, a &eacute;nonc&eacute; le pr&eacute;sident de l&rsquo;IAAF, Sebastian Coe. Il nous faut nous appuyer sur leur engagement et b&acirc;tir un programme qui transmette les bonnes valeurs aux jeunes athl&egrave;tes pour &eacute;riger des fondations &eacute;thiques robustes qui leur serviront pour leur d&eacute;veloppement dans la vie.&rdquo;&nbsp;
IAAF

In line with the IAAF vision to rebuild trust in the sport and foster the younger generations of athletes and fans, the first ‘On Camp with the IAAF’ was held ahead of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016.

Fostering the new generation – On Camp with the IAAF

On Friday, at the Oregon Convention Center, Nia Ali was doing a lap of honour and giving endless interviews after winning her second world indoor title in the 60m hurdles.
It was just like two years ago in Sopot with one important difference. On this occasion, she had company: her nine-month-old son Titus.
Was the world expecting Ali&rsquo;s swift comeback to the top? Maybe.
As Ali reflected, the hurdlers never count anyone out. Especially as she had proved her credentials earlier in the season, having won her overall event title at the inaugural IAAF World Indoor Tour. But there was no lack of unexpected twists and turns in Ali&rsquo;s career that led to this glorious moment in Portland.
Ali started off in athletics at the age of six, after repeatedly outrunning the young cousin of a local track club coach at day care and eventually signing up for said track club.
&ldquo;I was a distance runner back then,&rdquo; she smiles. &ldquo;I ran cross country, set some records in the 800m and 1500m. I only took up the hurdles during my senior year of high school.&rdquo;
Nia was recruited for college as a hurdler, but during her first year her versatilty came to the fore asgain. She took a stab at a heptathlon at the conference championships, and won the title.&nbsp;
Ali toyed with the combined events for a couple of years and high jumped and hurdled throughout her college career.
In 2011, while Ali was getting ready to begin her post-collegiate career after winning the World University Games title, negotiating the barriers took a front seat again.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t want to do just plain running. I tried high jump, but still wanted more,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;Hurdling is still running, but it&rsquo;s more athletic. It&rsquo;s the happy medium between running and jumping. It&rsquo;s pretty cool.&rdquo;
<h3>Wilson shows Ali the way</h3>
And she definitely had someone to look up to, training in the same group as Ryan Wilson, a 13.02 hurdler with no lack of experience on professional circuit.
Ali always liked Wilson&rsquo;s attitude towards the sport and the constant desire to branch out and learn from others. &ldquo;So one day I just came up to him and asked what he thought about coaching me. And we went from there,&rdquo; Ali reminisces.
Wilson agreed to become Ali&rsquo;s coach even though he was, and still is, pursuing his personal goals.
At the IAAF World Championships Moscow 2013, Wilson had to play a double duty, representing his country on an international level for the first time and looking after Ali, who was also making her Team USA debut on such an exalted level.
&ldquo;Luckily, I&rsquo;m not a needy athlete, so we both can be in our own zones,&rdquo; explained Ali. &ldquo;But the fact that he can make it work is a true testament to his character, as a person and as an athlete. It&rsquo;s all him.&rdquo;
In the Russian capital, it was Ryan&rsquo;s time to shine, as he claimed the silver, while Ali exited in the semi-finals. But just a few months later, the roles were reversed, as she took the world by surprise by taking the world indoor title.
The outdoor season of 2014 was somewhat uninspiring, after Ali got injured during a warm up before the Drake Relays in April.
And just when the hurdler started plotting her road to Beijing 2015, she found out that she was pregnant.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of those things when you know it&rsquo;s great&rdquo;, said Ali, who always wanted to have a lot of kids, especially coming from a family with 25 siblings. &ldquo;But in our sport, it&rsquo;s considered a career suicide. I was 26 and I wanted to make the best of it. And immediately, I started looking forward to defending my world indoor title in 2016.&rdquo;
After maintaining her usual training regimen for the first four months of pregnancy, Ali went back from Los Angeles to her family in Philadelphia and decided to relax.
&ldquo;I talked to Jasmine Chaney (the US 400m hurdler), who&rsquo;d just had a baby, and she told me: you should take it all in. I followed the advice, as I knew once I got back, there was going to be some serious training, and I wanted to be ready for it.&rdquo;
Ali&rsquo;s competitive comeback took place in December 2015, at a low-key meeting in New York City. She was spending holidays with family in Philadelphia and decided to drive up the road to the Armory the day after Christmas to race.
&ldquo;I wanted to get the season opener in before the New Year, so it was convenient,&rdquo; she admits. &ldquo;Even though I ran 8.26 and it wasn&rsquo;t spectacular, I was pretty pleased to know I was in a good range and could work from it.&rdquo;
By Friday, as she describes it, her mind and body were in synch.
&ldquo;Sometimes your body feels good but you don&rsquo;t believe it and your coach has to convince you that you look good. On that night, my body and mind were on the same page.&rdquo;
<h3>Strong support system</h3>
The now twice world indoor champion was thrilled that her son Titus was actually there to witness her triumph.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t take him to the track too often when I train, because I haven&rsquo;t mastered that whole &lsquo;focusing when he&rsquo;s around&rsquo; thing,&rdquo; she laughed. &ldquo;I get into a parent mode too quickly. Unless my mom or his father (400m hurdler Michael Tinsley) are there, I can&rsquo;t focus.
&ldquo;Being a mom and an elite athlete is difficult, but it&rsquo;s very rewarding. I wouldn&rsquo;t have it any other way.
&ldquo;I love my son, love coming back home after long days. It puts what I do on the track in a perspective, and I have an amazing support system that helps make it happen. I can&rsquo;t take the full credit.&rdquo;
With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games so close, Ali will only get a few days&rsquo; rest and then it&rsquo;s back to training, with her summer opener looming on the horizon as early as in April. And she might have some more surprises up her sleeve.
Ali has continued to train as a combined-events athlete and a heptathlon is on her agenda. She hasn&rsquo;t ruled out being serious about the heptathlon.
&ldquo;One can&rsquo;t just emerge into someone&rsquo;s event and not be prepared to go at it with the best. So if I do it, I plan on being a contender. I really plan to focus on it this outdoor season and see where my fitness is.
&ldquo;If it allows me to do both heptathlon and hurdles, then I will. If not, I&rsquo;ll be smart about it.&rdquo;
Elena Dyachkova for the IAAF

On Friday, at the Oregon Convention Center, Nia Ali was doing a lap of honour and giving endless interviews after winning her second world indoor title in the 60m hurdles.

Not an ordinary comeback in Portland: Ali’s new perspective

<a href="#FR">Fran&ccedil;ais</a>
Fittingly for the host nation, the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 reached its conclusion with the USA taking gold in the final event.
Their victory in the men's 4x400m relay brought their medal tally to 23 medals, 13 of which were gold, meaning they took half of the titles that were on offer.
All four of the evening sessions at the Oregon Convention Center were sell-outs, with a combined attendance figure of nearly 40,000.
&ldquo;During the past four days, we have experienced indoor athletics at its finest at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016,&rdquo; commented IAAF President Sebastian Coe.
&ldquo;Top-class entertainment, innovatively presented with light and sound effects, from the introduction of athletes in the stadium to the medal ceremonies in the heart of city centre.
"We were thrilled by some outstanding performances. The four action-packed days produced 10 world-leading marks, with two championship, seven area and more than 40 national records set in the Oregon Convention Center.
&ldquo;Indoor athletics offers an intimate experience for sports fans who are separated by no more than a few feet from the athletes in competition. The capacity crowds this week have shown that indoor athletics delivers a great show when well packaged.&rdquo;
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships" target="_blank">For full coverage from Portland, including reports, results, pictures and much more, visit the IAAF website</a>.
<h4>Daily summaries</h4>
Thursday (<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/iaaf-world-indoor-championships-5681/news/report/men/pole-vault/final" target="_blank">men's</a> and <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/iaaf-world-indoor-championships-5681/news/report/women/pole-vault/final" target="_blank">women's</a> pole vault finals)
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/news/portland-world-indoors-bromell-theisen-eaton" target="_blank">Friday</a>
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/news/portland-world-indoors" target="_blank">Saturday</a>
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/news/world-indoor-championships-portland" target="_blank">Sunday</a>
<a name="FR"></a>IAAF
<hr />
<h3>Les Championnats du Monde en Salle de l&rsquo;IAAF, Portland 2016, offrent un show superbe</h3>
Les Championnats du Monde en salle de l&rsquo;IAAF, Portland 2016, se sont conclus, de mani&egrave;re fort &agrave; propos, sur une m&eacute;daille d&rsquo;or remport&eacute;e par la nation h&ocirc;te, les USA.
Leur victoire dans le relais 4x400m masculin a port&eacute; leur total de m&eacute;dailles &agrave; 23, dont 13 en or, ce qui signifie que les USA ont au final remport&eacute; la moiti&eacute; des titres qui &eacute;taient en jeu.
Chacune des quatre s&eacute;ances en soir&eacute;e dans l&rsquo;Oregon Convention Center s&rsquo;est d&eacute;roul&eacute;e &agrave; guichets ferm&eacute;s, avec un total combin&eacute; de pr&egrave;s de 40&nbsp;000 spectateurs sur l&rsquo;ensemble de la comp&eacute;tition.
&ldquo;Au cours de ces quatre derni&egrave;res journ&eacute;es, nous avons vu ce qui se fait de mieux en mati&egrave;re d&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme en salle, ici lors de ces Mondiaux de Portland 2016, a comment&eacute; le pr&eacute;sident de l&rsquo;IAAF, Sebastian Coe.
&ldquo;Un spectacle divertissant de tout premier ordre, pr&eacute;sent&eacute; de mani&egrave;re innovante avec des effets son et lumi&egrave;res, depuis la pr&eacute;sentation des athl&egrave;tes dans le stade jusqu&rsquo;aux c&eacute;r&eacute;monies de remise des m&eacute;dailles tenues dans le c&oelig;ur de la ville.
"Nous avons eu la chance d&rsquo;assister &agrave; plusieurs performances fabuleuses. Les quatre journ&eacute;es dans l&rsquo;Oregon Convention Center, toutes emplies d&rsquo;action, ont vu s&rsquo;&eacute;tablir dix meilleures performances mondiales de l&rsquo;ann&eacute;e, ainsi que de nombreux nouveaux records&nbsp;: deux des championnats, sept r&eacute;gionaux et plus de 40 records nationaux.
&ldquo;L&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme en salle offre une exp&eacute;rience intimiste aux fans de sport, qui se trouvent &agrave; tout juste quelques m&egrave;tres des comp&eacute;titeurs. Les tribunes bond&eacute;es de cette semaine ont d&eacute;montr&eacute; que l&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme en salle offre un spectacle superbe, pour peu que tous les &eacute;l&eacute;ments soient r&eacute;unis pour la meilleure pr&eacute;sentation possible.&rdquo;
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships" target="_blank">Pour une couverture int&eacute;grale depuis Portland, y compris des rapports, les r&eacute;sultats, des photos et bien plus encore, rendez-vous sur le site internet de l&rsquo;IAAF</a>.
<h4>R&eacute;sum&eacute;s journaliers</h4>
Jeudi (finales des concours de saut &agrave; la perche <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/iaaf-world-indoor-championships-5681/news/report/men/pole-vault/final" target="_blank">hommes</a> et <a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/iaaf-world-indoor-championships-5681/news/report/women/pole-vault/final" target="_blank">femmes</a>)
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/news/portland-world-indoors-bromell-theisen-eaton" target="_blank">Vendredi</a>
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/news/portland-world-indoors" target="_blank">Samedi</a>
<a href="http://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-indoor-championships/news/world-indoor-championships-portland" target="_blank">Dimanche</a>

Fittingly for the host nation, the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 reached its conclusion with the USA taking gold in the final event.

IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 delivers a great show

They saved the best for last.
On the final day of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016, a sellout crowd once again filled the stands at the Oregon Convention Center, and witnessed&nbsp;a host of individual displays to remember, along with thrilling contests they&rsquo;ll simply never forget.
<h3>Centrowitz times it right</h3>
He may have only led for 20 metres of the entire 1500m final, but for hometown hero Matt Centrowitz, that was all he needed, the 26-year-old timing his run to perfection to take gold in 3:44.22.
Less than a second separated the first seven athletes, a shining example of the fine &ndash; sometimes cruel &ndash; margins that separate success and failure at this level.
After a slow early pace &ndash; set by reigning champion Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti, who took the field through 800m in 2:07.88 &ndash; the race was always likely to boil down to an elongated sprint. Souleiman cranked up the pace at the front from four laps out, but only when Nick Willis of New Zealand swept to the front with 400 metres to run did everyone truly kick it into gear.
Centrowitz reacted immediately, shuffling past Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dawit Wolde into second, taking pole position behind Willis for the final sprint to the line. Willis turned into the home straight with a one-metre advantage, but try as he might, he couldn&rsquo;t hold off the smooth-striding Centrowitz, and the American took his first global title.
Having been a distant seventh at the bell, Czech Republic&rsquo;s Jakub Holusa unleashed a kick for the ages to snatch second place right on the line from Willis.
&ldquo;I wanted it very bad,&rdquo; said Centrowitz. &ldquo;I found the push from the crowd at the end. They got me through that last 50.&rdquo;
<h3>McLeod magnificent</h3>
While Centrowitz may have run the perfect race, 60m hurdles champion Omar McLeod said he wasn&rsquo;t entirely satisfied with his performance, which made his near-flawless victory in a national record of 7.41 all the more impressive.
<div id="56ef2bcfd5c0fd195060ad48" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('http://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/22e7b1a5-4446-4374-9d6c-4f64342be2ad.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Omar McLeod wins the 60m hurdles at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016</div>
&nbsp;
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t a perfect race,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I hit a couple of hurdles, but I just wanted to stay tunnel-vision, feed off the energy, and maintain my composure and fight through the finish.&rdquo;
That he did, and McLeod was all alone as he crossed the line ahead of Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (7.46) and Dimitri Bascou (7.48). &ldquo;This is the second time I won a silver medal and I&rsquo;m happy,&rdquo; said Martinot-Lagarde. &ldquo;I still want the gold. That is what I work for, but today Omar was just better than me.&rdquo;
<h3>Kejelcha too classy, Hill raises roof</h3>
The men&rsquo;s 3000m final started out as a slow, cagey affair, but slowly cranked up to a pace that was nothing short of vicious by the time they entered the final kilometre. Kenya&rsquo;s Isiah Koech led through the opening 1000m in a pedestrian 2:52.18, but the first significant move of the race happened with six laps to go, as reigning champion Caleb Ndiku swept to the front along with Djibouti&rsquo;s Youssouf Hiss Bachir.
<div id="56ef1e8cd5c0fd195060ad01" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('http://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/c58124c6-d62b-43e6-8fd5-a5b372205276.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Yomif Kejelcha wins the 3000m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016</div>
&nbsp;
Ndiku seemed intent to lead all the way to the finish, but he had no answers when Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yomif Kejelcha stormed to the front with two laps to run. Behind him, Ndiku and his teammate Augustine Choge tried to come again along with Morocco&rsquo;s Abdalaati Iguider and Ryan Hill of the US, but Kejelcha had too much speed over the final 100 metres and held on to take gold in 7:57.21. The last kilometre: a blistering 2:22.81.
Through the final 200 metres, the noise inside the arena reached a crescendo as Hill began his charge, and it was almost deafening as he moved from fourth to second in the final straight, edging Choge for silver on the line, 7:57.39 to 7:57.43.
<h3>Victory for Vashti, delight for Dendy</h3>
Home favourites Vashti Cunningham and Marquis Dendy could hardly have endured closer contests in their respective finals, but both American jumpers showed admirable composure to take their first world indoor titles.
<div id="56ef1e7c3d9f2512b055149d" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('http://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/9893d3a7-bb2f-4945-8d1f-7d152397f712.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Vashti Cunningham at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016</div>
&nbsp;
Since exploding on the scene when jumping 1.99m to win the US title last weekend, Cunningham has been touted as a budding star of the sport, but on Sunday she proved that the present &ndash; and not just the future &ndash; belongs to her as well. The 18-year-old had a perfect series between 1.84m and 1.96m, her first-time clearance at the latter height proving crucial in the end. Spain&rsquo;s Ruth Beitia needed two attempts to go clear, as did Poland&rsquo;s Kamila Licwinko, while Lithuania&rsquo;s Airine Palsyte joined them at 1.99m after going clear on her third attempt.
All four recorded three failures at 1.99m, which gave gold, and world champion status, to Cunningham, who was self-critical even in victory. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little disappointed in myself for not clearing 1.99m,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;but I&rsquo;m thankful for the title.&rdquo;
At twice her age, Beitia was equally impressive in taking silver. &ldquo;I thought maybe I could get two metres,&rdquo; she said. &nbsp;&ldquo;This is my ninth world championship and the second silver medal and I&rsquo;m 36 years old, so I&rsquo;m very, very happy.&rdquo;
Marquis Dendy edged an equally close men&rsquo;s long jump final which saw the leading six men separated by just 12cm. Dendy&rsquo;s second effort of 8.26m proved the crucial jump, with Australia&rsquo;s Fabrice Lapierre &ndash; who set an Oceanian indoor record of 8.25m &ndash; denied by the shortest of margins.
Dendy, like Cunningham, was quick to point out his own underperformance, despite taking gold. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t jump how I wanted,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I have some things to fix in my approach heading into outdoors.&rdquo;
China&rsquo;s Changzhou Huang usurped Jeff Henderson of the US in the final round to take bronze, his best mark of 8.21m edging the American by just 2cm.
<h3>Dibaba, Niysonsaba a class apart</h3>
The female middle distance races were won in commanding fashion with strikingly similar mid-race surges.
<div id="56ef1db8d5c0fd195060acff" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('http://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/5e25ef00-b5af-4025-8904-72ba5ac623c2.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Genezebe Dibaba wins the 3000m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016</div>
&nbsp;
In the women&rsquo;s 3000m, Dibaba dropped the hammer with nine laps to run, coasting clear of the field and coming home an easy winner in 8:47.43 ahead of teammate Meseret Defar (8:54.26) and Shannon Rowbury (8:55.55). It was easy for me because the field was not that strong,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;My family and my whole country are happy.&rdquo;
In the women&rsquo;s 800m, Burundi&rsquo;s Francine Niyonsaba returned to form and upset home favourite Ajee Wilson to take gold in 2:00.01, the fastest time in the world this year. Wilson had seized control of the race on the first lap, but Kenya&rsquo;s Margaret Wambui took over on the second lap. With 400m to run, Niyonsaba moved wide and surged to the front, shooting out to a five-metre lead which she never relinquished. Wilson rallied again to take second in 2:00.27, with Wambui third in 2:00.44.
&ldquo;I think Burundian people will remember this night,&rdquo; said Niyonsaba.
<h3>US relays on the double</h3>
It came as no surprise that the USA re-asserted their dominance of the 4x400m with a pair of facile wins, though their path to gold was made considerably easier by the misfortune which struck two of their chief rivals.
<div id="56ef3231d5c0fd195060ad4f" class="dropMedia">
<div style="background-image: url('http://media.aws.iaaf.org/media/Small/e0e294ca-be0b-4331-a785-12661d1aa969.jpg');">&nbsp;</div>
Christopher Giesting passes to Vernon Norwood in the men's 4x400m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016</div>
&nbsp;
In the women&rsquo;s race, Jamaica&rsquo;s Patricia hall crashed to the track on the first leg, ending their involvement, and from there the Americans were all alone at the front. Natasha Hastings gave them the lead on the first leg, an advantage extended by Quenera Hayes on the second leg. Courtney Okolo clocked the fastest split of the day on third leg, 50.71, which left Ashlet Spencer all alone to enjoy the final leg, bringing them home in 3:26.38 ahead of Poland (3:31.15) and Romania (3:31.51).
In the men&rsquo;s race, Belgium looked the most likely to challenge the Americans, but their chances elapsed on the second leg when Robin Vanderbemden dropped the baton. Up front, the US extended their advantage with a strong leg from Christopher Giesting, who handed over to Vernon Norwood to bring them home in 3:02.45.
Bahamas, anchored by 37-year-old Chris Brown, held on for second in a national indoor record of 3:04.75, with Trinidad and Tobago taking third in 3:05.51, also a national record.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

They saved the best for last. On the final day of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016, a sellout crowd of 7191 filled the stands at the Oregon Convention Center. Throughout an action-packed two-hour programme, they witnessed several individual displays to remember, and some thrilling contests they’ll simply never forget. 


Close calls, dominant displays highlight final day in Portland

The men&rsquo;s 4x400m team closed the most successful World Indoor Championships ever for the United States with a memorable performance in front of another sell-out crowd at the Oregon Convention Center.
National indoor champion Vernon Norwood anchored the host squad to a 3:02.45 win, the third-fastest time ever indoors, just 0.33 seconds shy of the world record they set two years ago in Sopot. Bahamas (3:04.75) and Trinidad and Tobago (3:05.51) produced national indoor records to complete the medallists.
Kyle Clemons, the 2014 world indoor 400m bronze medallist, took the US squad to the front with a 46.47 first leg, closely followed by Olympic champions The Bahamas, thanks to superb run by Michael Mathieu.
Calvin Smith, who anchored the team to a world record of 3:02.13 in 2014, kept the US team in the lead with 45.66 leg to hit the half way mark in 1:32.13. The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Belgium, featuring the three Borlee brothers, were right on their heels.
Chris Giesting, the fastest leg runner in the heats, produced another superb run (45.34) to build up an unsurmountable lead as Norwood took the baton with the clock at 2:17.47.
Determined to erase the disqualification in the individual 400m, Norwood clocked an impressive 44.98 anchor leg to the delight of the packed stadium. The host nation finished with a record 23 medals, including 13 gold.
As the teams started the penultimate leg, Robin Vanderbemdem dropped the baton and left Belgium out of contention for the medals.
After five consecutive individual world indoor medals, including gold in 2010, anchor runner Chris Brown held off Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Deon Lendore to give The Bahamas its first world indoor medal in the relays.
Jamaica, the 2014 bronze medallists, finished fourth with a season&rsquo;s best of 3:06.02.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF

The men’s 4x400m team closed the most successful World Indoor Championships ever for the United States with a memorable performance in front of another sell-out crowd at the Oregon Convention Center.

Report: men's 4x400m final – IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016

Omar McLeod won Jamaica&rsquo;s only gold medal of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 with a commanding win in a national record and equal world-leading time of 7.41.
McLeod burst out of the blocks and took the lead from the first hurdle. Flanked by the French duo Pascal Martinot-Lagarde and Dimitri Bascou in lane five, McLeod sailed through the five hurdles to become the first male sprint hurdler from Jamaica to win a global title, 12 years after Maurice Wignall took bronze in Budapest.
Martinot-Lagarde finished second in a season&rsquo;s best of 7.46 to repeat his silver medal from 2014. World leader Bascou finished third in 7.48 to make 2-3 for France for the second consecutive World Indoor Championships.
It was the first time since the inaugural edition of the World Indoor Championships in 1987 that the United States was left out of the podium in the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF

Omar McLeod won Jamaica’s only gold medal of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 with a commanding win in a national record and equal world-leading time of 7.41.

Report: men's 60m hurdles final – IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016

World leader Marquis Dendy lived up to expectations to take his first senior global title in the long jump, but the competition was a lot closer than expected.
South Africa&rsquo;s Rushwal Samaai was the first to jump beyond eight metres, leaping 8.14m with his opening effort.
Dendy opened with 8.05m but then flew out to 8.26m with his next attempt to take the lead. Samaai then improved his best to 8.18m, a South African indoor record, but USA&rsquo;s Jeff Henderson bumped him out of second place by one centimetre with his second-round leap of 8.19m.
China&rsquo;s Huang Changzhou was the next to move into a podium position. The 21-year-old equalled his PB of 8.19m to move into third place on count-back. Moments later, Britain&rsquo;s Dan Bramble also moved up the leaderboard with 8.12m.
It was then Fabrice Lapierre&rsquo;s turn to show his cards. The Australian sailed out to an Oceanian indoor record of 8.25m &ndash; farther than his winning mark from the 2010 World Indoor Championships &ndash; but here in Portland it was one centimetre adrift of Dendy&rsquo;s leading mark.
Henderson produced jumps of 8.14m and 8.17m in the fourth and fifth rounds to strengthen his count-back record against Huang, but the Chinese athlete saved his best for last and leaped 8.21m to take the bronze medal.
Lapierre appeared to pick up some slight pain in his leg during his fifth attempt, so he aborted his final effort half way down the runway, leaving Dendy as the champion.
With six men beyond 8.14m, it was the best-quality world indoor long jump final &ndash; and USA&rsquo;s first gold in the event &ndash; for 12 years.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

World leader Marquis Dendy lived up to expectations to take his first senior global title in the long jump, but the competition was a lot closer than expected.

Report: men's long jump final – IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016

Matthew Centrowitz electrified the capacity crowd in the Oregon Convention Center with an impressive finish to become the first US man to win the world indoor 1500m title.
&ldquo;I was trying to stay comfortable. I knew the crowd would take me there and I just needed to put myself in a good position,&rdquo; said Centrowitz, who made it to the top of the podium at a global event after a World Championships bronze medal in 2011 and a silver in 2013 outdoors.
Centrowitz overtook New Zealand&rsquo;s 2008 Olympic silver medalist Nick Willis in the last 20 metres as the sold-out crowd erupted in joy to welcome him home in 3:44.22. Fast-finishing Jakub Holusa (3:44.30) of Czech Republic also overtook Willis in the final strides to take second in 3:44.30 and repeat his 800m silver from Istanbul four years ago.
Willis erased the disappointment from two disqualifications in his previous World Indoor Championships appearances with a 3:44.37 effort for the bronze medal.
Djibouti&rsquo;s defending champion Ayanleh Souleiman took the pack through the first 800m in a slow 2:07.88, at which point the group started to accelerate and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Dawit Wolde moved to the front with three laps to go.
Willis upped the pace and took the lead with two laps remaining, taking Centrowitz and the Ethiopian duo Aman Wote &ndash; the 2014 silver medallist &ndash; and Wolde with him as Souleiman dropped back and eventually finished last.
Willis hit the bell in 3:30.45 and remained in the lead until the final bend, but Centrowitz found an extra gear in the home stretch to claim the most important title of his career.
USA&rsquo;s Robby Andrews overtook the Ethiopian runners to finish fourth in 3:44.77. It was the first time in 23 years since African runners were left off of the podium.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF

Matthew Centrowitz electrified the capacity crowd in the Oregon Convention Center with an impressive finish to become the first US man to win the world indoor 1500m title.

Report: men's 1500m final – IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016

Barring an accident, this was always likely to be a rout for the US quartet, and that&rsquo;s exactly what it was as the home nation streaked to victory in 3:26.38, coming home well clear of Poland (3:31.15) and Romania (3:31.51).
The accident, as it turns out, befell their chief rivals Jamaica, with Patricia Hall crashing to the track on the second lap of the first leg, where she lay for several minutes as the race continued.
Natasha Hastings, who with this victory claimed her tenth gold medal at a global championship, got the US team off to a good start with a 51.89-second leg, handing over to Quenera Hayes, who extended their advantage with a 51.02-second leg.
&ldquo;We said earlier this week that we would get in front and stay in front,&rdquo; said Hastings. &ldquo;We came out here and got the job done.&rdquo;
The fastest run of the day, however, was clocked by their third leg runner Courtney Okolo, who handed the baton over to Ashley Spencer after a 50.71-second leg. At that point, Spencer was able to enjoy what was essentially two victory laps, and she clocked 52.76 on the final leg to bring them home in 3:26.38.
&ldquo;It was so special,&rdquo; said Spencer. &ldquo;I am sure I speak for everyone when I saw we are so excited to get this one.&rdquo;
The Polish team held second place throughout, and their anchor runner Justyna Swiety did well to hold off the late challenge of Romania&rsquo;s Bianca Razor to take the silver medals in 3:31.15.
&ldquo;I definitely was tired after the rounds of the individual 400m,&rdquo; said Swiety. &ldquo;I had a good race and I&rsquo;m happy we won the silver. I knew we could do it.&rdquo;
Romania were just a fraction behind in third with 3:31.51, while Nigeria came home fourth in 3:34.03.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

Barring an accident, this was always likely to be a rout for the US quartet, and that’s exactly what it was as the home nation streaked to victory in 3:26.38, coming home well clear of Poland (3:31.15) and Romania (3:31.51). 

Report: women's 4x400m final – IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016

Vashti Cunningham became the youngest ever women&rsquo;s winner at the World Indoor Championships, the American's first-time clearance at 1.96m being decisive.
Eight women attempted 1.96m and four went clear but only the 18-year-old Cunningham &ndash; jumping last of the 11 women in the straight final &ndash; much to the delight of the local crowd, went over at the first time of asking, just as the Las Vegas school girl had done at her three previous heights: 1.84m, 1.89m and 1.93m.
She was soon joined by Poland&rsquo;s defending champion Kamila Lickwinko and Spain&rsquo;s two-time European champion Ruth Beitia, who went over on their second attempts while Lithuania&rsquo;s Airine Palsyte needed all three of her attempts to progress.
However, when the bar went up to 1.99m none of the four women could go any higher.
At the other end of the age spectrum from the prodigious 2016 champion, Beitia &ndash; aged 36 and more than twice Cunningham&rsquo;s age &ndash; took the silver medal by virtue of not having any failures prior to 1.96m and became the oldest ever medallist in this event.
The 2014 joint-winner Licwinko had to settle for third this time after failures at both 1.84m and and 1.93m proved to be costly while Palsyte finished out of the medals in fourth.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Vashti Cunningham became the youngest ever women’s winner at the World Indoor Championships, the American's first-time clearance at 1.96m being decisive.

Report: women's high jump – IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016

Jamaica&rsquo;s Omar McLeod and France&rsquo;s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde won their respective semifinals with identical times of 7.52 to set the stage for the final in two hours.
Martinot-Lagarde, silver medallist two years ago in Sopot, edged USA&rsquo;s Jarret Eaton in a photo finish in the first semifinal. Both ran 7.52, a season&rsquo;s best for the American.
Despite a slight stumble out of the blocks, McLeod easily won the second semifinal ahead of France&rsquo;s world leader Dimitri Bascou, who ran 7.63.
Hungary&rsquo;s Balazs Baji, Barbados&rsquo;s Shane Brathwaite, US Virgin Islands&rsquo; Eddie Lovett and USA&rsquo;s Spencer Adams complete the list of medal contenders in what will be their first final at a senior global event.
Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF

Jamaica’s Omar McLeod and France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde won their respective semifinals with identical times of 7.52 to set the stage for the final in two hours.

WORLD ATHLETICS INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Portland goes green at every turn

Shot diva Carter finally getting a leading role

Lapierre leaps back into the long jump limelight

After surprise silver in Portland, Hill ponders future possibilities

Portland heralds a turning point for Rojas and Venezuela