Osaka 2007 - HIGHLIGHTS, Day 6

While the men's Long Jump, one of four finals on the Day Six programme, didn’t quite reach the heights  - or should that be the lengths - of the jump final the last time these IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Japan, it certainly matched it for drama.

Yet another dramatic Long Jump competition in Japan

In one of the most sensational competitions ever, Powell leaped a World record 8.95m in Tokyo 16 years ago, and while his record remained intact, the competition was as fierce as his battle with Carl Lewis.

Going into the final round, Irving Saladino of Panama was leading, as he had been since his second round jump of 8.30m equalled Dwight Phillips of the USA, the two-time defending champion. Saladino then took the outright lead with 8.46m on the third attempt, with Phillips second and European champion, Andrew Howe third with 8.20m. That’s how it stayed until round six.

Then it all happened! First, Olexiy Lukashevych of Ukraine displaced Howe with an 8.25m leap, then Howe displaced everyone, with an Italian national record of 8.47m. Both he on infield and his mother, Renée, in the stands celebrated deliriously. Watched by coach Carl Lewis – who had produced the finest series in history here in 1991, and finished second – Phillips gave his all, but fell short at 8.22m.

Then there was an interminable wait for Saladino while a medal ceremony interrupted. Then, with the most controlled, and seemingly slow-motion run-up your correspondent has ever witnessed, the Panamanian got perilously close to the plasticine with his take-off, to a personal best, national and South American Area record of 8.57m.

Gay completes third-ever double dash sweep

Tyson Gay of the USA laid down another marker for being named Athlete of the Championships, when he added the 200m title to the short sprint gold of Sunday evening. After his training partner Wallace Spearmon false started, co-favorite Usain Bolt of Jamaica tried all he could to get away from Gay in the lane inside. It didn’t work. Even as Bolt unwound in the straight, Gay held then passed him, and won going away, compounding Jamaica’s misery at the loss of Asafa Powell to Gay, whose 19.76 here was a championship record. Bolt, like Howe immediately after Saladino’s final leap, was the first to congratulate fulsomely the champion. Bolt ran 19.91 for silver, and Spearmon just held off a diving colleague, Rodney Martin for bronze, 20.05 to 20.06.

Pittman repeats in 400m Hurdles

When Jana Pittman won the 400m Hurdles world title in Paris 2003, she became the first athlete to win a title at youth, junior and senior level in IAAF competition. She has had a sketchy career since then, winning only the Commonwealth title at home in Australia last year before taking maternity leave. But there was little doubt that she would win her second world title on Day Five in Osaka. Now Jana Rawlinson, after marriage to Chris, Britain’s Commonwealth champion in the same event in 2002, she led all the way, rebuffing a late challenge from World record holder, Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia, to win in 53.31, a season’s best. Pechonkina also ran a season’s best of 53.50 in second, with Anna Jesien of Poland third in 53.92.

Inspired by Dietzsch, Heidler takes close Hammer competition

Germans are taking a lock on the women’s ‘heavy’ events. Following Franka Dietzsch’s win in the Discus Throw the previous night, Betty Heidler won a very competitive women’s hammer competition, with 74.76m on her first legal throw, her second attempt. It was a good job she did it then, because she didn’t get over 74m again, while silver and bronze medallists, Yipsi Moreno of Cuba, the champion in 2001 and 2003, and Zhang Wenxiu of China both bettered it twice, with Moreno failing by just two centimetres with her final throw to dislodge Heidler from the top of the podium. Zhang wasn’t far behind either, with 74.39m in the fifth round.