By Mike Rowbottom at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow

Ukraine's Bohdan Bondarenko celebrates his victory in the high jump at the IAAF World Championships in MoscowAugust 15 - Two days after Yelena Isinbayeva had a captive audience here as she made three world record attempts after winning gold, the Ukraine's Bohdan Bondarenko found himself in the same position after seeing off all his rivals in an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championship high jump final of the highest quality.


Like Isinbayeva, Bondarenko found that final ask a little too much - but after his third unsuccessful attempt, the man who had stared at the bar with the gaze of a lunatic suddenly emerged as a joyful bounding figure.

A clearance of 2.41 metres had proved too much for the two rivals who had tracked him all the way to 2.38m - silver medallist Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, and Derek Drouin of Canada, for whom the height was a national record.

Tracking the Ukrainian proved tricky on the night, however, as he skipped heights audaciously, missing out 2.32m and 2.38m, confident in his ability to jump higher when the time required, although as he explained afterwards, part of the reason was to do with pain.

Ukraine's Bohdan Bondarenko narrowly failed to set a world record after winning a high quality high jump competition at the World Championships in MoscowUkraine's Bohdan Bondarenko narrowly failed to set a world record after winning a high quality high jump competition at the World Championships in Moscow

"I skipped 2.38 just because my foot was hurting, I couldn't do much jumping," he said. #

"Of course, that was a bit of adventurism, I had to stake my all.

I still hope to jump the world record, but I don't have a specific time or meeting in mind."

In the end 2.46m, a centimetre higher than the 20-year-old record set by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor, proved beyond him.

Behind the medallists, Russia's Olympic champion, lifted by the crowd, put in a big if unavailing challenge for a medal as he cleared 2.35, and three men managed 2.32 – Erik Kynard of the United States, Donald Thomas of the Bahamas and Aleksandr Shustov of Russia.

As a measure, Britain's Robbie Grabarz managed 2.29.

Last summer that earned a three-way share of bronze at the London 2012 Games.

Here it merited eighth place.

Ezekiel Kemboi matched fellow Kenyan Moses Kiptanui by taking a third successive world title in 8min 06.01sec.

The 31-year-old double Olympic champion drew away from Kenya's rising star, 18-year-old Conseslus Kipruto, at the final water jump, but the youngster almost caught him near the line before claiming silver in 8:06.37.

Bronze went to France's Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, who clocked 8:07.86 to prevent a Kenyan clean sweep, with Paul Koech fourth in 8:08.62.

Initially exhausted, Kemboi soon gathered enough energy to provide the Stadium with one of his trademark wiggly-dancing celebrations.

Kenya's Ezekiel Kemboi celebrated in his own fashion after winning his third consecutive world title in the 3,000 metres steeplechase, matching the record of Moses KiptanuiKenya's Ezekiel Kemboi celebrated in his own fashion after winning his third consecutive world title in the 3,000 metres steeplechase, matching the record of Moses Kiptanui

As expected, the triple jump title went to the Colombian athlete who has been unbeaten this season, Caterine Ibarguen, who achieved 14.85m, the best so far in 2013.

But she was pushed by Russia's Ekaterina Koneva, who jumped 14.81m, and Ukraine's defending champion Olha Saladuha, who recorded 14.65m.

Zuzana Hejnova lived up to her billing as favourite in the 400m hurdles with a smoothly controlled performance that earned the 26-year-old from the Czech Republic not just her first global gold - to go with the world bronze she won two years ago - but the fastest time run this season, 52.83sec.

Defending champion Lashinda Demus went off very fast but faded in the final straight, being passed by US team-mate Dalilah Muhammad, who took silver in 54.09, and Hejnova, who flowed over the two final flights to finish almost 10 metres clear.

Demus took bronze in 54.27.

Britain's Perri Shakes-Drayton suffered a knee injury at the first hurdle and faded to seventh in 56.25.

Hejnova put her new level of success down to changing coaches after the London 2012 Olympics and joining Dalibor Kupka in Prague, where she regularly trains with male athletes, including European 400m champion Pavel Maslak.

Czech Republic's Zuzana Hejnova wins the world 400 metres hurdles title with a dominant display in Moscow, beating America's defending champion Lashinda Demus




Trinidad and Tobago's Jehue Gordon and Michael Tinsley of the United States ran in parallel, three lanes apart, over the last 50 metres of the 400m hurdles final, matching each other stride for stride and even falling at the same time after they crossed the line.

But a final dip gave the Trinidad and Tobago athlete gold, in a 2013 best time of 47.69, with the American having to settle for silver and a personal best of 47.70.

Behind them, pushing all the way, the huge figure of Emir Bekric claimed bronze and a second Serbian record, lowering the mark of 48.36 he set in the semi-finals to 48.05.

Olympic champion Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic had to settle for fifth place in 48.22 after being overtaken by the halfway point.

The final gold of the night went to Sweden's adopted Ethiopian Abeba Aregawi, who won the 1500m in 4min 02.67sec, chased home by defending champion Jennifer Simpson of the United States, who clocked 4:02.99, and bronze medallist Hellen Obiri of Kenya in 4:03.86 with Britain's 2011 silver medallist Hannah England just missing the podium with a time of 4:04.98.

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