It was the 21-year-old Samuels first major title and a personal best after she threw 65.44 meters in her fifth attempt on Friday. Yarelis Barrios of Cuba walked away with silver again with her last effort of 65.31 meters after coming in second at last year's Beijing Olympics, while Romania's Nicoleta Grasu earned bronze for her 65.20 meter throw. Germany's Nadine Mueller finished in sixth place, while her fellow countrywoman Dietzsch missed the final after not qualifying on Wednesday.

In the men's high jump final Yaroslav Rybakov won gold, clearing a height of 2.32 meters. Kyriakos Ioannou of Cyprus won silver while Germany's Raul Spank and Poland's Sylwester Bednarek tied for bronze. All of the athletes cleared 2.32 meters, but the medals were determined on a countback.

Mixed results for American runners

Allyson Felix restored some American sprint pride by beating Olympic champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica for a third straight 200-meter world title while LaShawn Merrit did his part by dethroning defending world champion Jeremy Wariner in the men's 400-meter race. Both athletes dedicated their gold medals to the memory of their compatriot Jesse Owens, the African-American who won four gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in the same stadium in Nazi Germany 73 years ago.

Felix said Owens was an inspiration to her. "It's really special to win a third world title," she said. "I wanted to do it in this stadium, represent my country and make Jesse Owens proud."

The United States 4x100-meter men's relay team had a disappointing day, however, after being disqualified from Saturday's final for an illegal baton exchange. They originally won their heat in 37.97 seconds, but the British team protested that the final handoff between Sean Crawford and Darvis Patton was made outside the exchange zone. The final will take place Saturday evening and the favored Jamaicans have already qualified.

hf/AFP/AP/dpa
Editor: Nathan Witkop