American teenager Tianna Madison won the world women's long jump title yesterday setting a personal best of 6.89 metres.
In pouring rain 19-year-old Madison, who recorded the longest jump in qualifying, took the lead from Olympic bronze medallist Tatyana Kotova of Russia in the penultimate round.
"The long jump hasn't belonged to the US for a long while, so it feels great to bring it back," said Madison with a smile. "I'm still young. In the future the sky's the limit for me."
Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the last American woman to win gold in the long jump at the worlds in 1991 in Tokyo and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Madison added: "I didn't even notice the weather, the only thing I was concerned about was the control of myself... My mental capacity goes beyond it, I'm from Ohio where it's cold."
Kotova took the silver medal with 6.79 metres and France's defending champion Eunice Barber won bronze with 6.76.
Kotova looked in control until Madison's winning attempt as she first held the lead with 6.76 on her opening jump and 6.79 with her third attempt before eventually having to settle for a third consecutive world championship silver.
"I knew I could get a better jump..." said Madison. "When I hit the board (in the fifth attempt), I just stretched for it."
Barber again missed out on gold at this year's championships after finishing a disappointing second to Sweden's Carolina Kluft in the heptathlon on Sunday.
Olympic champion Tatyana Lebedeva had opted not to take part in the long jump to concentrate on the triple jump.
World leader and Olympic runner-up Irina Simagina had also pulled out of the event with a hamstring injury.
American Bryan Clay won the decathlon to deny Roman Sebrle of the only major title he has never held.
Clay scored a total of 8,732 points over the 10-discipline, two-day competition, setting personal bests in the shot put, 400 metres and javelin.
Olympic champion and world record holder Sebrle of the Czech Republic trailed by 14 points overnight and faded on the second day to finish on 8,521.
Hungary's Attila Zsivoczky grabbed the bronze medal with his performance in the final event, the 1,500 metres, for a total of 8,385.
Clay, who was second to Sebrle at last year's Olympics, sealed victory with a personal best of 72 metres in the penultimate event, the javelin. Sebrle was way down on the 25-year-old with a top throw of 63.21.
Although Sebrle was some 14 seconds quicker than Clay over 1,500 metres it was too little too late.
In the first of yesterday's decathlon events, the 110 metres hurdles, Clay clocked 14.43 seconds to win the heat with Sebrle finishing fourth.
The American then launched the discus to 53.68 metres while Sebrle, 30, recorded two no-throws and could only muster a best effort of 46.85.
Clay also came out on top of Sebrle in the pole vault competition, clearing 4.90 metres in miserable conditions to his rival's 4.80.
Sebrle also won the silver at the 2003 world championships behind Tom Pappas of the US, who did not compete in Helsinki because of injury.
Ramzi hands Bahrain's first medal
Pre-race favourite Rashid Ramzi won Bahrain's first world championships medal yesterday when he sprinted to victory in the men's 1,500 metres.
Ramzi clocked three minutes 37.88 seconds in a race deprived of defending champion Hicham El Guerrouj who has been ill and Kenya's Olympic silver medallist Bernard Lagat who has moved to the United States.
Moroccan Adil Kaouch took second place and Portuguese Rui Silva, third in last year's Athens Olympics, again won the bronze.
Ramzi won the 1,500 silver medal for Morocco at the African junior championships in 1999 before moving to Bahrain at the end of 2001.
Defending world 100 metres hurdles champion Perdita Felicien of Canada failed to reach the final.
The 24-year-old finished fourth in the first of three heats, with the first two in each race only guaranteed a place in today's final.
Felicien's time of 12.94 was not good enough to grab one of the two fastest losers' spots.