Yomi Omogbeja (12/03/2006)

Mozambique's Maria de Lurdes Mutola has successfully defended her indoor 800m title for the fourth consecutive time and a record seventh overall at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Moscow.

Mutola won in a season's fastest time of one minute and 58.90 seconds, to continue the domination she started in Toronto in 1993.

Jamaican Kenia Sinclair was second in a national record of 1:59.54, with Morrocco's Hasna Benhassi settling for third in 2:00.34.

After having missed the podium at the 2004 Olympic Games and at last year's World Championships in Helsinki, Mutola was obviously relieved to have answered the critics who wrote her off.

"My seventh title is something special, but it was tough," she said.

"To me this win means a lot because it proves that once again I'm still there. With the problems I had, I tried, I tried to run good, but I just could not.

"But it's good to know that when I'm healthy I can still run like I used to," she added.

Mutola, 33, arguably the greatest women's 800m runner in history, has also won the 800 metres at the annual Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon for a record 13 consecutive times.

Fondly called the 'Maputo Express', she's the 2000 Olympic 800m Champion and a three-time outdoor World Champion.

Ethiopia’s double World record holder and Olympic 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele took the 3,000m crown in 7:39.32 to become the first man to win world titles on three surfaces - outdoors, indoors and in cross country.

Click here for IAAF World Indooor Championships Day 3 highlights and reports