Torneus, winner of the bronze medal at last year's International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships in Sopot, finished 20 centimetres clear of home athlete Radek Juska on the first full day of the Championships in the Czech Republic.

Fellow Swede Andreas Otterling took the bronze medal with a personal best of 8.06m.

In Gothenburg two years ago Torneus had missed out, despite setting successive Swedish records of 8.27m and 8.29m as Russia's Aleksandr Menkov managed 8.31m.

Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson took her first major international title as she finished with exactly 5,000 points in the pentathlon, more than 300 points clear of Belgium's Nafissatou Thiam, who recorded a personal best of 4,696, and bronze medallist Eliska Klucinova of the host nation, who set a national record of 4,687.

But the 22-year-old, winner of the world junior title in 2012 and the World Indoor silver last year at long jump, was disappointed not to have beaten the world record of 5,013 points set in 2012 by Ukraine's former Olympic champion Natalya Dobrynska.

Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson talks to television after her pentathlon win at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Prague ©Getty Images

Johnson-Thompson needed a concluding 800 metres of 2min 11.86sec to eclipse Dobrynska's mark, and was on course with a lap to go.

But she faded to 2:12.78.

"It was so close," she said.

"I could have run faster..I've thrown it away."

Following his dominant performance in the previous evening's qualifying, it was no surprise that Germany's double world shot put champion David Storl secured his first major indoor international title with an effort of 21.23m, exactly matching his previous evening's best throw.

Now that is consistency for you.

France's predicted clean sweep in the men's 60m hurdles came to pass - with Pascal Martinot-Lagarde taking gold with a season's best of 7.49sec ahed of compatriots Dimitri Bascou in 7.50 and Wilhem Belocian, who ran a personal best of 7.52.

Pascal Martinot-Lagarde celebrates after leading a French clean sweep in the men's 60m hurdles in Prague's 02 Arena ©Getty Images

Alina Talay of Belarus took the women's 60m hurdles title in a national record of 7.85 ahead of two young Britons recording personal bests, Lucy Hatton with 7.90 and Serita Solomon 7.93.

There were mixed emotions for the home crowd in the 02 Arena as two of their leading athletes, back in action after the injuries which prevented them defending their European Athletics outdoor titles in Zurich last summer, experienced differing outcomes.

Pavel Maslak, seeking to defend his 400m title here, came through his opening heats and semi-finals without distress ahead of tomorrow's final, winning his second race of the day in 46.46.

The Czech athlete leads this year's world listings with 45.27 and looks a clear favourite for gold

But Zuzana Hejnov, the world 400m hurdles champion, was unable to impress over her experimental distance of 800m, failing to qualify for tomorrow's semi-finals, where Britain's 33-year-old 2011 champion Jenny Meadows will compete with confidence after her heat win in 2:02.59.

The first morning almost produced an almighty surprise of the non-wished-for variety as France's world pole vault record holder Renaud Lavillenie failed on his first two efforts to qualify with 5.70m.

Thankfully the 2014 World Athlete of the Year cleared at his final attempt to book his place in tomorrow's final.

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