Yelena Isinbayeva was not competing yesterday but Russia’s newly-crowned pole vault queen remained firmly in the world championships limelight as she ignited fresh debate over her country’s anti-gay propaganda law.
Isinbayeva entranced her adoring crowd again during a tearful medal ceremony and is popular throughout the world but she will have lost some admirers after voicing her support for the new law and condemning Swedish high jumper Emma Green-Tregaro for painting rainbows on her nails in support of gay rights.
Her outburst, and the wave of subsequent condemnation, will ensure that the controversial law will continue to cast a shadow over the event and next year's Sochi Olympics, but for the athletes competing in the Luzhniki Stadium it was the furthest thing from their minds.
Thrilling 400 metre hurdles
Trinidad and Tobago's Jehue Gordon pipped American Michel Tinsley by 100th of a second to take a thrilling 400 metres hurdles gold while Zuzana Hejnova won the women's version in a Czech national record.
Ezekiel Kemboi maintained his and Kenya’s stranglehold on the 3,000m steeplechase with his third successive world title while Abeba Arewgawi, the Ethiopian-turned Swede unbeaten all season, won a brilliant women’s 1,500m.
Bohdan Bondarenko won a gripping men’s high jump final while Caterin Ibarguen took Colombia’s first-ever world gold in the women’s triple jump.
It is Isinbayeva, however, who is likely to hog the headlines. “We consider ourselves, like normal, standard people, we just live boys with women, girls with boys . . . it comes from the history,” she said in an interview in English after describing Green-Tregaro as disrespectful.
“I hope the problem won’t ruin our Olympic Games in Sochi,” she added, in the wake of some calls for a boycott of next year’s winter Olympics.
American 800m silver medallist Nick Symmonds responded by telling BBC Radio 5-Live: “It blows my mind that a young, so well-educated woman can be so behind the times.
“Guess what Yelena – a large portion of your citizenship are normal, standard homosexuals,” added Symmonds, who said he wanted to compete with a rainbow sticker but was told he could potentially face jail if he did.
Back on the track, the race of the night came in the men’s one-lap hurdles as Olympic silver medallist Tinsley took it out early and was leading by two metres coming into the home straight.
Olympic champion Felix Sanchez, in a remarkable seventh successive world championship final 12 years after winning the title in Edmonton, could not live with the pace this time but 21-year-old Gordon maintained his form superbly to close the gap.
Timed charge perfectly
In a dramatic surge for the line both men dipped and crashed to the track but Gordon had timed his charge perfectly as he was timed at 47.69 to the personal best 47.70 of Tinsley to take his country's first gold since Ato Boldon's 200m win in 1997. "I Kept patient, I kept calm and I executed the best race of my life today," said Gordon. The women's version went to script as Hejnova, unbeaten all season, powered clear to win in 52.83.
Americans Dalilah Muhammad, more than a second behind, and 2011 world champion Lashinda Demus took the minor medals.
There was also a familiar look about the steeplechase, not only during the race where four Kenyans controlled it from the start, but in the finishing positions.
Kenyans, including one who switched allegiance to Qatar, have now won 12 of the 14 world steeplechase titles and 31-year-old Kemboi, who has two Olympic golds in the event, has taken the last three.
Usain Bolt is back on the track today in the first round and semi-finals of the 200 metres.
