DOHA, Qatar - Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva's career took another turn for the worse after her second straight failure at a major event Sunday when she finished out of the medals at the world indoor championships. At 35, Bernard Lagat was going as strong as ever to win gold in the 3,000 metres.
The championships ended on a high note when France's Teddy Tamgho set a world record of 17.90 metres on his last attempt in the last event to win the triple jump and overcome Cuba's Yoandris Betanzos. The old mark belonged to Christian Olsson of Sweden, who jumped 17.83 at the world indoors in Budapest in 2004.
The results of Isinbayeva and Lagat also reflected their nation's success, with the United States riding high with eight gold and 17 overall medals, while Russia had two gold and nine medals.
Olympic champion Isinbayeva failed three times at 4.75 metres and was left with just a clearance of 4.60. Instead, Fabiana Murer and Russia's Svetlana Feofanova both cleared 4.80, but the Brazilian took gold on a countback. Outdoor world champion Anna Rogowska took bronze.
Isinbayeva suffered her first major loss at the Berlin world outdoor championships last year when she failed to clear a height and had counted on bouncing back in Doha, where she was the triple defending champion. At 27, she said she needed to reassess her future after she dominated her sport for more than half a decade.
"It's some difficulties I have to step over again. Maybe after Berlin, I didn't analyze well," she said.
"Maybe it was just mental problems. Maybe I'm tired a little bit mentally. All the time I feel pressure. All the time I feel like I have to be the best, win the medals."
Even the outdoor season looks uncertain.
"If I would need rest, maybe I will pass the whole season," she said.
Lagat knows that a comeback is always around the corner. After a bad Beijing Olympics two years ago, he seemed on the way out, but he bounced back now to claim his first global gold since his world outdoor 1,500-5,000 double in 2007.
Sunday was a perfect tactical race for Lagat. He long hung back in the pack, then leaned on the shoulder of defending champion Tariku Bekele for a few laps before making his move with a devastating kick some 250 metres from the line.
"That last lap was like: I'm taking it home baby," he said.
His kids got up especially early back in the United States to see daddy run.
"I needed to show them something," he said.
The gold gave him enough of a kick to continue until the 2012 Olympics in London.
"You'll be seeing more of me for a long time," he said. "I can see myself running longer than even I imagine."
Lagat finished in his season's best of seven minutes 37.97 seconds, for a big 1.58-second gap over Spain's Sergio Sanchez. Over the last lap, Sergio Sanchez of Spain also overtook Bekele to claim silver and Kenya's Sammy Alex Mutahi was third.
With the first gold of the day, he put the United States on a roll. Soon Brittney Reese added the indoor title to the outdoor world long jump title when she edged defending champion Naide Gomes with a 6.70-6.67 metre edge. Both men's and women's relays also took gold.
There were setbacks too. Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba won the 60 metre hurdles, edging favourite Terrence Trammell at the line.
Defending champion Liu Xiang of China finished seventh, still suffering from an ankle injury that has hampered him over the past two years and kept him out of the Beijing Olympics.
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown added an indoor title to her two Olympic 200 golds when she surprised everyone by setting a personal best of seven seconds to win the 60 metres ahead of LaVerne Jones-Ferrette and American champion Carmelita Jeter.
But the Americans were on top in the women's 4x400 relay, its first victory in an event Russia had won every time since 1993. Anchor Allyson Felix received the baton in the lead, and with her seemingly effortless stride she easily kept ahead to break the Russian stranglehold. With silver, 30-year-old Russian Natalya Nazarova did join Maria Mutola as the most decorated world indoor athlete with nine medals overall. Both have seven gold.
It also was a day for youth to shine. The 20-year-old Tamgho was second after his first jump, and everyone seemed to have settled for Betanzos to take the gold. Tamgho thought otherwise, when he set the crowd alight with his stunning world record.
The junior world champion had a personal best of 17.58.
In the women's 3,000, 18-year-old Kalkidan Gezahegne of Ethiopia emerged from the shadows of defending champion and compatriot Gelete Burka to become the youngest female world indoor champion.
When everyone was expecting Burka, it was Gezahegne who had the strongest kick to claim the title. Burka faded to third as Spain's Natalia Rodriguez nipped her for silver at the line.