Lagat leads US charge as Isinbayeva flops

Bernard Lagat's history-making victory in the men's world 3,000m yesterday set the scene for the US team's best indoor championship outing in 17 years.

The Americans finished the three-day competition in the Qatari capital with 17 medals (eight gold, three silver, six bronze), well ahead of second-placed Ethiopia (3-0-2) and arch-rivals Russia in third (2-4-3).

It was the team's best performance since the 1993 Toronto world indoors when they also bagged eight golds in a 17-medal haul.

On a day of high drama which saw Frenchman Teddy Tamgho set a new indoor record of 17.90m in the triple jump, only one of the seven reigning champions on show reclaimed their title - Sudan's Abubaker Kaki in the men's 800m.

Perhaps the biggest shock in a packed Aspire dome was that of Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva, who had looked out of sorts in qualification and again failed to shine in the final.

The 27-year-old Russian, far from even going close to claiming a 28th world record, bombed out at 4.75m after only one successful vault at 4.60, allowing Brazil's Fabiana Murer in for gold - her country's first indoors for 23 years.

"I really do not know what happened," lamented Isinbayeva.

"Maybe I was too tired emotionally, but this is sport and it sometimes happens."

Other reigning champions to fall by the wayside were Ethiopian duo Gelete Burka (1,500m) and Tariku Bekele (3,000m), New Zealand's Valerie Vili (shot put), Portugal's Naide Gomes (long jump) and China's returning star Liu Xiang (60m hurdles).

Liu had also looked out of sorts in his first global meet since pulling out of his heat at the Beijing Games and complained of a sore achilles tendon as Cuban Olympic 110m hurdles champion Dayron Robles dipped at the line to pip favoured American Terrence Trammell.

"Many people at home were expecting this gold. I did it here with the world's best hurdlers so I am very happy," said Robles.

In the 3,000m, Kenyan-born American Lagat rolled back the years to win the title six years after his last gold in the event - when he was running for the country of his birth.

Lagat, a double gold medallist at the 2007 Berlin worlds and a three-time Olympian - for Kenya in 2000 and 2004 and the United States in 2008 - produced a final-lap kick that killed off defending champion Bekele.

"I was the first Kenyan to win in this event and now the first American. I wanted to make history," said the 35-year-old.

Jamaica left it late for their only gold, two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown the surprise winner of the women's 60m ahead of US Virgin Islander Laverne Jones-Ferrette and American Carmelita Jeter.

In the relays, Russia lost their women's 4x400m crown which they had held for the last eight editions of the world indoors to a strong US team anchored by three-time world 200m champion Allyson Felix.

The US men's team, with Bershawn Jackson running the last leg, won their event.