The pole which broke was the same one which had carried this Lisek to a national record of six metres last month and established him top of the 2017 world rankings.

But, with scars of that mishap still evident, this powerful 24-year-old secured his first major gold medal with a first-time clearance of 5.85m.

“I didn't have the best preparation in the last couple of weeks - I've broken about three poles and that was very difficult to cope with mentally,” Lisek said.

“Today I used old poles and I borrowed some from Pawel [Wojciechowski]. 

"I've tried to jump high and I managed to. I am very pleased with this gold medal and it means a lot to me.”

Despite the absence of France’s world record holder Renaud Lavillenie – denied the opportunity to win a fifth consecutive title by a hamstring injury – the final was compelling and open, with five men in with a chance of gold after clearing 5.80m.

Apart from Lisek, the only ones to clear 5.85 were Greece’s Konstadinos Filippidis, the 2014 world indoor champion, who thus registered a national record, and his fellow Pole Wojciechowski, the surprise world champion of 2011.

Wojciechowski’s had gambled audaciously by passing at 5.75m and 5.80, but his tactic paid off when he re-entered the competition by clearing 5.85 at his third attempt.

Lisek himself had gambled by moving up to 5.80 after an initial failure at 5.75, but this was to prove his only blemish, which was enough to earn him gold ahead of his two rivals.  

Earlier, Jan Kudlicka of the Czech Republic, Germany’s 2013 world champion Raphael Holzdeppe and 21-year-old Axel Chapelle, flying the French flag in the absence of Lavellenie had all cleared 5.80.

The women’s 60m hurdles final, won by Germany’s European outdoor champion and world silver medallist Cindy Roleder in 7.88sec, was presaged by two false starts and a reversed disqualification which prompted many in the cavernous Kombank Arena to whistle and boo the officials.

There had been intermittent problems with the starting throughout the opening day, but the uncertainties before the women’s sprint hurdles final bordered on becoming an embarrassment as a harassed female official twice showed the green card to all the competitors and a very distressed Isabelle Pedersen of Norway was disqualified and then reinstated.

Roleder was followed home by defending champion Alina Talay of Belarus, who clocked 7.92, and fellow German Pamela Dutkiewicz, who took bronze in 7.95.

Last but never remotely least was Sweden’s 36-year-old Susanna Kallur, whose world indoor record of 7.68, set in 2008, was followed by five agonising years trying to recover from a serious stress fracture which required the temporary insertion of a 33cm titanium pin in her right shin.

Win, lose or draw, the European Indoor champion of 2005 and 2007 planned to retire here, and it was fitting that she should sign off in a final, where she recorded 8.14.   

Great Britain’s Andrew Pozzi, favourite to take the men’s 60m hurdles title after going top of the season’s lists with his 7.43 victory at last month’s Birmingham meeting, lived up to his billing – despite a terrible start.

The 24-year-old left himself with plenty of work to do, but got his nose in front at the line to edge defending champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde of France by a hundredth of a second, 7.51 to 7.52.

In a blanket finish, the Czech Republic’s 2011 European Indoor champion Petr Svoboda took bronze in 7.53, with France’s Garfield Darien fourth in 7.54.

“Before I even took my first stride I saw that everyone had got out ahead,” said Pozzi.

“So my heart stopped but my head kicked into overdrive.

“It wasn’t pretty and it was very messy, but from a poor start I thought I fought through quite well.”

Olympic heptathlon champion Nafissatou Thiam, who made a late decision to take part in these Championships following restricted winter preparations, was rewarded with a pentathlon personal best of 4,870 points as she added gold to the European Indoor silver she had won two years earlier in Prague.

After winning the first three events, setting personal bests in the 60m hurdles and high jump - where she cleared a Championship best of 1.96m - Thiam looked briefly on course for the Championship record of 5,000 set by Britain’s Katerina Johnson-Thompson in 2015.

However, she faltered to third place in the long jump and was clearly struggling as she came home last in her concluding 800m race. 

But there was a smile of satisfaction as she had still done more than enough to be assured of a second senior international gold.

Silver went to Austria’s 23-year-old European bronze medallist Ivona Dadic, who set personal bests in the first three events and won the concluding long jump and 800m to secure a national record of 4,767.

“I had a lot of doubts before coming here,” Thiam said. 

“Because after Rio people were expecting a lot from me and I only wanted to come here if I was well prepared.

“I did my thing and in the first four events everything went great. I feel a little bad about the 800m, but I won and that’s what matters. 

"I train to compete at championships and of course it is great to deliver a win.”

Anita Marton of Hungary took the first gold medal of the Championships as she defended her shot put title with a best of 19.28m, which tops the 2017 world lists.