Hansen jumps for joy after taking Britain's first title

Ashia Hansen staged yet another of her dramatic late, late shows to snatch victory in the triple jump and clinch Great Britain's first gold medal of these championships. In a repeat of the eleventh-hour heroics that brought her last-gasp victory at last year's Commonwealth Games in Manchester and the European Championships, she again relied on pulling out the stops when she had to.

Trailing in second place from the first round, and out of sorts with an irritating ankle injury, the Birmingham athlete delighted her home-town crowd by jumping a huge 15.01 metres with her penultimate attempt to overtake Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone, drawing huge cheers from the noisy sellout 8,000 crowd inside the National Indoor Arena.

It was the latest in a succession of late revivals that 31-year-old Hansen seems to be making her speciality. She had taken an early lead in the event by jumping 14.77 with her first leap, a distance that some observers thought would be enough to earn the gold. But her lead lasted barely 10 minutes. With her first effort, Mbango Etone moved into first position by jumping 14.88 and did not look likely to lose it, until Hansen's mighty effort.

Hansen seemed out of sorts, perhaps ruffled by the niggling injury to her right heel that needed an anaestetic yesterday to allow her to compete at all, and will require surgery this week. Before her second jump, she became embroiled in an agitated conversation with two event officials as she vented her annoyance that someone had moved her marker. The competition was delayed for several minutes as she retraced her steps and composed herself again.

After a lap of honour carrying the Union Flag, Hansen said: 'I can't believe it. I've had so many problems. It's been one thing after the other. It's been so hard to stay focussed. To be world indoor champion with a 15-metre jump is fantastic. I always knew that it was there, but it was making it come out when it mattered.'

Hansen seemed to sense that her fifth leap would be crucial. Beforehand, she clapped her hands above her head for the first time to urge the crowd to back her. As the PA announcer said: 'Ashia Hansen needs your help.' She got it, their cheers helping power her astonishing jump, the joint third-longest in history. The wild applause and her ecstatic grin showed that she had pulled it off yet again.

For Mbango Etone, it was déjà vu after another enthralling duel with Hansen. At the Commonwealth Games, the Cameroonian had overtaken Hansen to claim the lead with the penultimate jump in the event, with an African record leap of 14.82, only for her rival to respond at the death with a winning 14.86. Yesterday produced similar drama. Her achievement is even more notable given that she has been suffering with a bone spur injury in her right Achilles tendon since Christmas. Until yesterday, that had restricted her to one indoor event this season. An operation on Tuesday should cure the problem and leave her clear to aim for the other major events in the months ahead.