The US quartet dominated the women’s 4x400m as expected, flying to a championship record of 3:23.85 to secure their third straight victory.

Andrew Pozzi whipped the British crowd into a delighted frenzy, as the local athlete stormed to a popular and frantically-tight victory in a dramatic final over the USA’s Jarrett Eaton, for Britain’s first gold medal on the men's side at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018.

With the bar at 5.90m and three men clear at 5.85m, Renauld Lavillenie stood on the runway as the final man to make a second attempt, knowing that a clearance would likely secure him a third world indoor title.

At the last IAAF World Indoor Championships, in Portland in 2016, Ivana Spanovic had the title in her grasp until the penultimate jump of the competition. The Serb was sitting pretty in gold medal position with a 7.07m jump – until Brittney Reese, the US jumper known as The Beast since her collegiate days as an all-conquering sporting all-rounder, unleashed a 7.22m championship record.

On the day the track and field world bade a sad goodbye to the man who achieved the most celebrated middle distance feat of all time, Sir Roger Bannister, it seemed fitting that a new talent should emerge into the global spotlight.

Not since the days of the Maria Mutola has there been a successful title defence in the women’s 800m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha successfully defended his 3000m title with a powerful display of front running over the final kilometre of a tactical final.

The men’s 60m hurdles finalists were decided at the opening of the sixth and final session of these championships, and as in the first round, it was Britain’s Andrew Pozzi who emerged as the fastest qualifier.

Welcome to day four of the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018.

Three championship records, two other world leads and drama aplenty: just another night at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018.

Still the wait goes on for Katerina Stefanidi. The 28-year-old might have come to Birmingham as the Greek with the Midas vaulting touch – on a role of European outdoor, Olympic, European indoor, and world indoor titles – but, when it came to the world indoor final, the one gold missing from her Fort Knox collection proved beyond her grasp once again.

It was another record-breaking 60m blast from Christian Coleman, and a first global gold medal for the burgeoning 21-year-old US sprint talent from the USA.