Olympic silver medallist Yipsi Moreno took her fourth World Athletics Final title this afternoon.  This was a simple, solo affair in all respects. Moreno started the four round competition with 73.99m, improved to 74.09, and after fouling her third, backed up with a 73.66 release.

The two-time World champion in 2001 and 2003 has been accumulating silver medals at major championships ever since her last World title in Paris, with second place finishes in the last two Olympics and the 2005 and 2007 World championships.

Moreno won the inaugural World Athletics Final title in 2003, and its $30,000 pay day has been Moreno’s consolation prize in 2005, 2007 and now this year, after missing out on the main prize in the global championship/Games of those seasons.

“The rain and the cold weather didn’t affect me, that’s no problem for me,” said Moreno. “The competition was really smooth and easy for me, it was not difficult to win.”

Only last Tuesday in Zagreb (9 Sep), Moreno had improved her Area record to 76.62 making her the eighth best thrower of all-time, and after today’s competition the 27-year-old Cuban also talked about her ambitions for next year:

“For 2009 I dream about winning the World Championships and in every competition I want to break the World record.”

Behind Moreno’s unopposed display today, Slovakia’s Martin Hrasnova threw 71.40 for second and Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, 70.97, for third. The Pole’s throw came in the last round and in the process relegated Croatia’s Ivan Brkljacic, who was the only other woman over 70m today (70.00m exact in round one), to fourth. World champion Betty Heidler of Germany was fifth (69.72).

Chris Turner for the IAAF