Sevilla '99

Michael Johnson had been chasing the 400m world record for almost a decade and in Seville he finally succeeded, the American winning in 43.18 to take his fourth consecutive gold in the event.

Championship records fell to Moroccan runners in the 1500m and 5000m with Hicham El Guerrouj and Salah Hissou winning in 3:27.65 and 12:58.13 respectively while Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie won his fourth 10,000m gold, triumphing after a thrilling duel over the last lap with his perennial rival, Kenya’s Paul Tergat.Star performers in the women’s events included Gail Devers smashing the US record when winning the 100m hurdles in 12:37, Australia’s Cathy Freeman defending her 400m title a year prior to her famous Olympic triumph and USA’s Stacy Dragila taking the inaugural pole vault title with a world record 4.60m.