The long hard slog of the men's Heptathlon at the 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships here in Birmingham began with a test of outright speed, the 60 metres.
And Tom Pappas - the son of a former holder of the world land speed record - showed that he is in top gear as he blazed out a personal best 6.89sec to give himself a 22-point lead at the outset of the two-day competition.
Pappas, of the United States, led home Lev Lobodin, from Russia, who clocked 6.95 for 900 points, with Roman Sebrle, the defending champion, from the Czech Republic and Erki Nool, Estonia's Olympic gold medallist, locked together on 854pts after running 7.07 and 7.08 respectively.
Tomas Dvorak, the decathlon triple world champion, looked to be a little out of sorts, coming home eighth of eight in 7.17 for 823pts.