Beijing: American Christian Taylor produced the second-longest triple jump in history as he soared 18.21 metres to take gold in a high-quality World Championship competition on Thursday.
In a week of outstanding head-to-heads in the Bird's Nest Stadium, the men's triple jump final always promised to be among the best and it did not disappoint.
Taylor and Cuba's Pedro Pichardo came to Beijing having between them produced the 10 best marks of 2015, with the Cuban leading the way with 18.08m.
Taylor delivered the coup de grace with his sixth and final jump, landing just short of the 18.29m world record that has stood to Britain's Jonathan Edwards since the 1995 World Championships.
Edwards, who was watching the contest at the stadium, later tweeted to Taylor: "You gave me a scare my friend!! Brilliant performance."
Jumping last, Pichardo too had his best jump in the sixth round but his silver medal-winning 17.73 seemed modest compared with what the packed stadium had just witnessed.
The bronze medal was also won by a last-round jump as Nelson Evora, of Portugal, the Olympic gold medallist in the Bird's Nest Stadium seven years ago, cleared 17.52 to snatch third place from Omar Craddock, the American who had moved into medal positions with a 17.37 effort in the penultimate round.
The event had been competitive from the beginning. Taylor took the outright lead for the first time with his fourth-round jump before achieving a U.S. national record with his final leap.
Taylor, 25, from North Carolina, who had previously won the world title in 2011, said: "It was a great fight. When you're that close to a record, it just makes you even hungrier for the next time you compete. This is all just gearing up to Rio."
Pichardo, 23, the world No. 1 going into the final, was desperately disappointed. "I feel so upset and disappointed," he told reporters. "I did not feel 100 percent OK and I could not get into my speed. I really expected longer jumps and even attacking record marks. I thought I was going to get it together, but I was just not fast enough."
For Evora, it was a third World Championships medal, following a silver in 2009 and winning gold in 2007.
In hammer throw, Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk summoned up the second longest hammer throw of all time to dominate the in the same way she has her event all season and win the title for a second time.
The 30-year-old is the only woman to throw the hammer beyond the 80 metre mark and she did it twice on Thursday, winning gold with her fourth effort of 80.85 metres.
The only throw better in the history of the event was the 81.08 Wlodarczyk, who also won the world title in 2009, notched to improve her own world record at the start of this month.
Allyson Felix of the United States won her ninth World gold medal and first at 400 metres with a dominating performance. The Olympic 200 metre champion set off by far the quickest of the eight women finalists to hold a commanding lead by 150 metres.
Off the final bend she was four metres clear of her nearest rival, Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, who could not close the gap down the final straight.
(reuters)
