Dobrynska, fittingly, was a spectator on the night and she witnessed a towering contest that concluded with Belgium's 28-year-old Olympic, world and European double champion securing one of the few remaining adornments available to her.

Earlier, Norway’s 22-year-old Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen secured the first part of his intended double as he retained his 1500m title in a Championship record of 3min 33.95sec before setting his sights on a successful defence of the 3,000m title on Sunday.

Another Championship record was equalled in the women's 60m, where Switzerland's world indoor champion Mujinga Kambundji clocked 7.00sec, while Germany’s Hanna Klein won the women’s 3,000m.

Portugal claimed two of the three field event golds as Olympic, world and European men's triple jump champion Pedro Pichardo produced a 2023 world-leading effort of 17.60m and Auriol Dongmo dominated the women’s shot put with a best throw of 19.76m.

Roman Weir claimed the men's shot put title with an Italian record of 22.06m.

Dobrynska, who saw her world record being broken, said she was expecting it.

"I had a feeling that my record would be broken today," she said.

"That’s why I’m here.

"But two athletes!

"I am very happy about this because my record lasted for 11 years and my sport has moved on and fantastic athletes have made a great result."

Before these Championships, the 23-year-old Pole had spoken boldly about beating the world record.

She lived up to her words, setting personal bests in four events and equalling it in another, and for a few moments it seemed as if her ferocious front-running effort over the final two laps of the concluding 800m, where she looked likely to collapse over the final agonising 20m, might have tipped the contest against all odds.

But after clocking 2:07.17, well inside her best of 2:09.56 from last year, she had to settle for silver as Thiam, as she had done throughout what was her first contest of the season, responded to her challenge and produced a final sprint to reduce her indoor personal best from 2:18.80 to 2:13.60.

When confirmation of the result came through both athletes were still prostrate with the efforts expended in an epic competition in which Sulek, for all her efforts, could never exert significant pressure on a defending champion who was operating at a different level.

Sulek had been the world record holder for just short of seven seconds - until Thiam crossed the line.

Bronze went to Belgium’s Noor Vidts, who had beaten her compatriot’s national record in winning the 2022 world indoor title, and who finished here with 4823 points having recovered from a recent viral illness.

"Coming here, I felt very confident," Thiam said. 

"I have done a lot of good work and of course, the record was in my mind. 

"But you need a good competition, to feel good and to perform well. 

"It is a good information for me that I managed to show this result despite the fact that not all events were perfect today. 

"The jump - the long jump, high jump could have been better. 

"So I can still build on this. 

"It is a big motivation for me to move further.

"After the 60m hurdles I already felt like, 'Oh, this can be my day.' 

"When you have good competitors like we had today, they just push you to show your best. 

"At the 800m, I did not watch anyone, I knew I have to get a good time and I will be first."

Sulek said: "I really wanted to have a world record and I have done everything. 

"I didn't expect that Nafissatou would be fighting in this style today. 

"I have ambitions. 

"I will still work. 

"It's my litlle fail today. 

"I hope that in the future I will be the best in the world."

After equalling her 60m hurdles personal best of 8.23, Thiam had moved clear as the only high jumper to clear 1.92 and a personal best of 15.54m in the shot put gave her a lead of 144 points going into the evening session.

Sulek had set personal bests of 8.21 in the 60m hurdles and 13.89 in the shot and had equalled her personal best of 1.89 in the high jump.

The Pole trimmed Thiam’s lead in the first of the evening’s events as she set a personal best of 6.62m in the long jump, but Thiam marginalised the impact with a third-round effort of 6.59.

Going into the 800m, the Belgian led by 134 points and was looking for a time of 2:15.60 to get inside Dobrynska’s mark. 

By the close, her margin was just 41 points - but it was enough to tick all the boxes.

Ingebrigtsen, who had raced only once this season before competing here after missing more than a month’s training with a viral infection, held off the challenge of Britain’s Neil Gourley around the final bend to secure victory.

Neil Gourley, whose British indoor record of 3:32.48 in Birmingham last month was only 0.10sec shy of Ingebrigtsen’s season’s best in Lievin, shadowed the defending champion from the point where he accelerated to the front after the field had dallied and bunched for the first 100m.

On the final back straight, the Scot sought to replicate the move which had enabled his compatriot Jake Wightman to defeat Ingebrigtsen in last year’s world 1500m final, attempting to pass him on the outside.

But Ingebrigtsen was not going to be caught twice in a row and he accelerated in response before crossing the line with a single forefinger raised in triumph.

Gourley claimed silver in 3:34.23, with bronze going to Azeddine Habz of France in 3:35.39.

Kambundji headed Poland’s Ewa Swoboda of Poland, who ran 7.09, with bronze going to Britain’s Daryll Neita in 7.12.

The women’s 3,000m final saw Klein outkick her compatriot Konstanze Klosterhalfen, the European outdoor champion, to win the first track gold of the Championships in a personal best of 8min 35.87sec.

Klosterhalfen, overtaken by her domestic rival at the end of the final back straight, took silver in 8:36.50, with Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant, who had accompanied her German rivals in breaking clear of the main field over the second half of the race, took bronze in 8:41.19.