Soboleva steals the show with 1,500 record

Russian middle distance runner Yelena Soboleva stole the show on the final day of the world indoor championships when she smashed her own indoor world record to take gold in the 1,500 metres.

The 25-year-old Russian left the rest of the field trailing in her wake as she crossed the line in a time of three minutes 57.71 seconds, 0.34 quicker than the record she set in Moscow last month.

Fellow Russian Yuliya Fomenko was second in 3:59.41, while Gelete Burka of Ethiopia grabbed the bronze.

United States heptathlete Bryan Clay, Australian 800 metre runner Tamsyn Lewis, African runners Tariku Bekele and Abubaker Kaki Khamis and British triple jumper Phillips Idowu also shone on the final day in which 14 titles were decided.

Clay, world decathlon champion in 2005 and twice runner-up in the world indoors, claimed gold in the multi-event competition with an outstanding set of performances over the two days.

The American amassed a personal best total of 6,371 points, just 105 short of Dan O'Brien's 1993 world record, as he won four of the seven events to finish ahead of Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus and Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Karpov.

Lewis spoiled Maria Mutola's hopes of winning an eighth indoor world title when she produced an impressive last-lap burst to hurtle past the 35-year-old and Tetiana Petlyuk to take gold.

The Australian crossed the line in two minutes 2.57, with Petlyuk taking the silver and Mutola the bronze.

Bekele took advantage of older brother Kenenisa's absence to storm his way to victory in the men's 3,000m in 7:48.23.

Kaki Khamis became Sudan's first world indoor gold medallist at the age of 18 as he held off South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi in the 800 metres.

Triple jumper Idowu won Britain's first gold of the championships with a massive leap of 17.75 metres, just eight centimetres off Allecer Urrutia's 11-year-old world record.

Blanka Vlasic deprived Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of a hat-trick of indoor titles when she won the high jump.

The Croatian cleared 2.03 metres, while the Russian could only manage 2.01, the same height as bronze medallist Vita Palamar.

Canada's Tyler Christopher found an extra gear in the final straight of the men's 400m to snatch the gold from Johan Wissman, of Sweden, in a time of 45.67, the fastest mark in the world this year.

As expected, the women's 400m was an all-Russian affair with Olesya Zykina equalling her world leading time of the year of 51.09 as she managed to hold off Natalya Nazarova by one hundredth of a second in the lunge for the finishing line.

Portugal's Naide Gomes, the world pentathlon champion in 2004, took the honours in the long jump with a leap of seven metres exactly, with Brazilian Maurren Maggi taking silver ahead of Russian favourite Irina Simagina.

New Zealander Valerie Vili added the world indoor crown to her outdoor title with victory in the women's shot with a new area record of 20.19 metres.

In the pole vault Evgeniy Lukyanenko beat defending champion Brad Walker with a clearance of 5.90 metres while the American had to settle for a new personal best of 5.85 ahead of Steven Hooker of Australia.

Russia won their eighth consecutive gold in the women's 4 x 400m relay ahead of Belarus and the US won their seventh title in the men's race.