Bekele makes history, Russia top medals tally

Russia scooped five gold medals on the final day of the world indoor championships yesterday but Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele stole the show, becoming the first person to win global titles on three surfaces.

The hosts topped the final medals table with eight golds, matching their previous best showing, to the delight of the first near-capacity crowd of the three-day championships at the Olympiysky Stadium.

The US finished second with seven golds, well clear of Ethiopia and Ukraine who both won two.

World and Olympic 10,000 metres champion Bekele pulled away from 3,000 metres medal rivals Saif Saaeed Shaheen of Qatar and Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge with one and a half laps to go to win in seven minutes 39.32 seconds. He now holds world titles indoors, outdoors and over cross-country.

"After winning titles outdoors and in cross-country, indoors is like a fun-run for me," Bekele told reporters.

His victory somewhat overshadowed Maria Mutola's unprecedented seventh world indoor title in the 800 metres.

The 33-year-old from Mozambique gave a powerful display of front-running and threw her arms aloft as she crossed the line in one minute 58.90 seconds.

Russia Yuliya Chizhenko made up for her disqualification from the world 1,500 outdoor final last year by winning the indoor title ahead of compatriot Yelena Soboleva.

Germany's Andre Niklaus caused an upset in the heptathlon, snatching the title from world decathlon champion Bryan Clay by five points.

Grenada's Alleyne Francique retained his 400 metres crown while Olesya Krasnomovets held on to win the women's crown in a championship record of 50.04 - the fifth fastest time in history.