The British men’s team captain Andrew Pozzi, who missed a 60 metres hurdles medal at these Championships by one place four years ago, ensured the final individual event would be a memorable one for the bulk of the flag-waving fans as he held his form to win in 7.46sec.

Pozzi, who thus emulates the fellow Briton who still holds the world indoor record of 7.30, 1999 world indoor champion Colin Jackson, whacked the second hurdle but maintained his discipline thereafter to finish one hundredth of a second ahead of the United States Jarret Eaton and add a global gold to the European indoor one he won in Belgrade last year.

The American looked odds on to win until he clattered the final hurdle, but managed at least to stay ahead of France’s Aurel Manga, who took the bronze medal in 7.54.

"I bought 29 tickets for friends and family," Pozzi said.

"I literally had to win to be able to pay off my credit card bill."

An inspired final surge from anchor leg runnerJakub Krzewina earned Poland the men’s 4x400m gold in the final event in a world record of 3min 01.77sec

The US had to settle for the silver medal in 3:01.97, boosting their final total at these Championships to 18, including six golds, which clearly established them at the top of the medals table.

Ethiopia, with four golds and a total of five medals, were second, ahead of Poland, who had five medals, including two golds, and the hosts, who finished with seven medals, two of them gold. 

While the track racing was bedevilled by an epidemic of disqualifications - a total of 22 by the time the action halted - the field events in the past four days have, literally, taken centre stage.

The men’s pole vault followed the plot developed earlier in the narrative as rising talents emerged to dramatic effect.

Australia’s 20-year-old Kurtis Marschall, one of the sport’s most engaging young performers, was briefly in sight of medals with a first-time personal best clearance of 5.80 metres; Greece’s 18-year-old Emmanouil Karalis also reached that personal best mark.

In the end, however, Marschall had to settle for fourth, and Karalis joint-fifth, as the old guard prevailed.

France’s world record holder Renaud Lavillenie gambled and delivered, delaying his arrival into competition until 5.70m, which he cleared first time before re-engaging when the bar arrived at 5.85m.

Last year these gambles were not paying off for the 31-year-old, whose year was undermined with injury.

Now the old calculations were fully operative once more, and when world champion Sam Kendricks of the US - who takes the opposite view on skipping heights to the Frenchman - matched him with his own first-time clearance, as did Poland’s Piotr Lisek, Lavillenie produced the coup de grace with a second time clearance at 5.90m.

Elsewhere on the infield, a fifth round leap of 6.96m – the furthest seen this year - by Serbia’s European Indoor champion Ivana Španović earned her victory, with silver going to multiple world champion Brittney Reese of the United States, who had a best of 6.89m.

Germany’s Sosthene Moguenara-Taroum took the bronze medal with 6.85m.

Yomif Kejelcha, 20, successfully defended his 3,000m title, coming home in 8min 14.41sec ahead of another formidably talented young Ethiopian, 18-year-old Selemon Barega, who took the silver medal in 8:15.59 ahead of Kenya’s Bethwell Birgen, third in 8:15.70.

Burundi’s Rio 2016 silver medallist Francine Niyonsaba retained her women’s 800m title in the fastest time run this year, 1:58.31.

Ajee Wilson of the US tried everything to stop her but had to settle for the silver medal in a personal best of 1:58.99 ahead of Britain’s Shelayna Oskan-Clarke, the British women’s team captain, who took bronze in a personal best 1:59.81.

For both the British team captains, it was a day of leading by example.

Samuel Tefera of Ethiopia won the men’s 1500m in 3:58.19 ahead of Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski, who clocked 3:58.39, and Morocco’s Abdelaati Iguider, who recorded 3:58.43.

The women’s 4x400m title went to the US in a Championship record of 3:23.85, and the disqualification of second-placed Jamaica - who lost what would have been a Commonwealth record because one of their runners moved into an incorrectly ordered position while awaiting the incoming baton - meant Poland took silver in a national record of 3:26.09 and Britain moved up to bronze after finishing in 3:29.28.