HELSINKI, Aug 11: American teenager Tianna Madison won the world women’s long jump title on Wednesday setting a personal best of 6.89 metres. In pouring rain 19-year-old Madison, who recorded the longest jump in qualifying, took the lead from Olympic bronze medallist Tatyana Kotova of Russia in the penultimate round.

“The long jump hasn’t belonged to the U.S for a long while, so it feels great to bring it back,” said Madison with a smile. “I’m still young. In the future the sky’s the limit for me.”

Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the last American woman to win gold in the long jump at the worlds in 1991 in Tokyo and at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Madison added: “I didn’t even notice the weather, the only thing I was concerned about was the control of myself... My mental capacity goes beyond it, I’m from Ohio where it’s cold.”

Kotova took the silver medal with 6.79 metres and France’s defending champion Eunice Barber won bronze with 6.76.

Madison, the U.S. collegiate champion competing for the University of Tennessee, had recorded her previous personal best of 6.83 in qualifying for the final.

Kotova looked in control until Madison’s winning attempt as she first held the lead with 6.76 on her opening jump and 6.79 with her third attempt before eventually having to settle for a third consecutive world championship silver.

Barber again missed out on gold at this year’s championships after finishing a disappointing second to Sweden’s Carolina Kluft in the heptathlon on Sunday.

Olympic champion Tatyana Lebedeva had opted not to take part in the long jump to concentrate on the triple jump.

World leader and Olympic runner-up Irina Simagina had also pulled out of the event with a hamstring injury.

Favourite Rashid Ramzi, won Bahrain’s first world championships medal when he sprinted to victory in the men’s 1,500 metres.

Ramzi clocked three minutes 37.88 seconds in a race deprived of defending champion Hicham El Guerrouj, who has been ill, and Kenya’s Olympic silver medallist Bernard Lagat, who has moved to the United States.

“I’m very happy about this race and winning the world championships,” Ramzi said after another rainy night. “The race was difficult because of the bad weather.”

Moroccan Adil Kaouch took second place and Portuguese Rui Silva, third in last year’s Athens Olympics, again won bronze.

Ramzi won the 1,500 silver medal for Morocco at the African junior championships in 1999 before moving to Bahrain at the end of 2001, gaining citizenship by joining the armed forces.

The 25-year-old world leader, found himself trailing Alan Webb after 800 metres as the American tried to sprint away from the bunched pack of runners but he was soon reeled in.—Agencies