The men's 60m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Sopot (© Getty Images)
Great Britain's Richard Kilty went from third at the 2014 UK Championships to first on the global stage when he rose to the occasion and flew to a 6.49 lifetime best to capture the men’s 60m gold medal.
The key to the 24-year-old's surprise win was his blistering start, with a reaction time of just 0.120. His breakthrough season continued in fine style, having registered personal best marks in each of the rounds here with an equal PB of 6.53 in the first round and 6.52 in his semi- final.
Following in the footsteps of Britain’s 2004 winner Jason Gardener and 2010 champion Dwain Chambers, Kilty upstaged his more established rivals such as the USA’s pre-race marginal favourite Marvin Bracy, who had to settle for silver.
Clocking 6.51, the US champion edged Qatar’s Femi Ogunode in a tight battle as the three men in contention for the bronze medal had to be separated by thousandths of a second as the next three men were all given 6.52.
Bronze medallist Ogunode, a 2011 World Championships 400m finalist, clocked 6.513 and pushed China’s Su Bingtian into fourth place by 0.003 with the 2013 Asian champion having the consolation of a national record.
Zambia’s US-based Gerald Phiri also set a national record of the same time, after being 0.003 further back, while Chambers finished sixth with 6.53.
Nesta Carter of Jamaica could not replicate the form which saw him capture the silver medal two years ago. After running 6.50 in his semi-final, he finished seventh with 6.57.
Nicola Bamford for the IAAF
