Soboleva breaks record to take 1,500m gold

Yelena Soboleva smashed her own indoor world record to take gold in the 1,500 metres at the world indoor championships in Valencia.

The 25-year-old Russian crossed the line in a time of three minutes 57.71 seconds, 0.34 quicker than the record she set in Moscow last month.

Fellow Russian Yuliya Fomenko was second in 3:59.41, while Gelete Burka of Ethiopia grabbed the bronze.

Soboleva, the world indoor silver medallist in 2006, has been in stunning form this season, also setting national records in the 800 metres and the mile.

United States heptathlete Bryan Clay and Australian 800 metre runner Tamsyn Lewis also emerged triumphant on the final day.

Clay, world decathlon champion in 2005 and twice runner-up in the world indoors, claimed gold in the multi-event competition with an outstanding set of performances over the two days.

The American amassed a personal best total of 6371 points, just 105 short of Dan O'Brien's 1993 world record, as he won four of the seven events to finish ahead of Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus and Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Karpov.

Lewis spoiled Maria Mutola's hopes of winning an eighth indoor world title when she produced an impressive last-lap burst to hurtle past the 35-year-old Mozambiquan and Tetiana Petlyuk and take gold.

Lewis crossed the line in two minutes 2.57, with Petlyuk taking the silver and Mutola the bronze.

Canada's Tyler Christopher, third in the world outdoors in Osaka last year, also found an extra a gear in the final straight of the men's 400m to snatch the gold from Johan Wissman of Sweden in a time of 45.67,

Chris Brown of the Bahamas picked up the bronze.

As expected the women's 400m was an all-Russian affair with Olesya Zykina equalling her world leading time of the year of 51.09 as she managed to hold off Natalya Nazarova by one hundredth of a second in the lunge for the finishing line.

Portugal's Naide Gomes, the world pentathlon champion in 2004, took the honours in the long jump with a leap of seven metres exactly, with Brazilian Maurren Maggi taking silver ahead of Russian favourite Irina Simagina.

Phillips Idowu smashed the British triple jump record to win gold.

Idowu leapt a huge world-leading mark for the year of 17.75 metres in the second round, which was never approached by David Giralt and Nelson Evora, the silver and bronze medallists.