PARIS – Tom Pappas took on the title of “world’s greatest athlete”, traditionally given to the best decathlete in the world, by winning the decathlon Wednesday night at the 2003 World Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The 2003 World Indoor champion and a three-time U.S. champ, Pappas (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored 8,750 points in the two-day, 10-event contest at the Stade de France to defeat defending world champion and world record holder Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, who was second with 8,634 points. Dmitry Karpov of Kazakhstan finished third with 8,374.

Pappas led Sebrle by 179 points entering the final event of the decathlon, the 1,500 meters. Pappas ran conservatively early on in the race, gradually passing runners and finishing 11th in 4 minutes, 44.31 seconds for 653 points. Seberle finished ahead of Pappas in seventh (4:34.45/716 pts), but it wasn’t enough for the Czech to overtake the American.

With the win, Pappas becomes the only American other than the legendary Dan O’Brien to win World Championships gold. The former world record holder and 1996 Olympic gold medalist, O’Brien won gold in 1991, ’93 and ’95. Chris Huffins won bronze in 1999.

Pappas was in second place behind Dmitry Karpov of Kazakhstan entering day 2. He began the day in event 6 with a time of 13.99 seconds (976 points) in the 110m hurdles, then threw 46.94m/154-0 in the discus (46.94).

It was in the eighth event, the pole vault, that Pappas made his biggest gains, vaulting 5.10m/16-8.75 (941) to take over first, followed by Seberle. In the ninth event, the javelin, Sebrle gained just 59 points on Pappas, with Pappas throwing a near-personal best 65.90m/216-2 for 827 points while Sebrle threw 69.69m/228-11 for 886 points. It gave Pappas the cushion he needed for the 1,500m, where Sebrle typically finishes roughly 10 seconds ahead of Pappas. Paul Terek (Livonia, Mich.), endured disappointment in the decathlon when he was disqualified in the 110m hurdles for allegedly knocking down hurdles intentionally. Team USA multi-events coach Ed Miller noted that Terek’s hurdling style and relative inflexibility in his legs resulted in the felled hurdles. USATF appealed the judge’s decision, but the appeal was denied. He continued the competition, throwing 45.72m/150-0 in the discus (782), clearing 5.30m/17-4.5 in the vault (1004), throwing a personal best 61.14m/200-7 in the javelin (755), and running 4:30.77 in the 1,500 meters (740). He finished with a nine-event total of 7,503 points.

Miesha McKelvy (San Diego, Calif.), a three-time U.S. runner-up and the 1999 Pan Am Games champion, won her first World Championships medal Wednesday with a bronze in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. McKelvy rallied in the second half of the race to move into third in 12.67 seconds in a race won by Perdita Felicien of Canada in a national record 12.53 seconds. Brigitte Foster of Jamaica was second in 12.57, and American Jenny Adams placed sixth in 12.77.

In the day’s other Team USA final event, Curt Clausen (Chula Vista, Calif.) was disqualified from the men’s 50 km race walk before the 15 km mark.

Kelli White (Union City, Calif.) and Torri Edwards (Los Angeles, Calif.) once again will meet in a women’s sprint final. On Wednesday night the duo ran their way into Thursday’s 200-meter final. White did so by winning the first semi in 22.50 and Edwards, who as in the 200 showed an excellent start and early-race speed, placed third in the second section in 22.44.

The United States also will have two athletes in the final of the men’s long jump as Walter Davis (Baton Rouge, La.) was third in qualifying with a mark of 8.14m/26-8.5 and 2003 World Indoor champion Dwight Phillips had the fourth-best mark at 8.12m/26-7.75. 2001 World Championships silver medalist and new father Savante Stringfellow (Ridgeland, Miss.) tied for 19th in qualifying with a jump of 7.83m/25-8.25.

Joey Woody (Cedar Falls, Iowa) used a strong charge in the final 100 meters to move on to the final of the men’s 400-meter hurdles. Woody placed second in the first semi with a season-best time of 48.24 seconds. U.S. champion Eric Thomas (Houston, Texas) was fourth in the third semifinal at 49.00 and did not advance.

The first two qualifying rounds of the men’s 200 meters went off with nary a hitch as all three athletes advanced to Thursday’s semifinals. In the first round, Darvis Patton (Fort Worth, Texas) won his heat on 20.27, John Capel (Gainesville, Fla.) was second in his heat in 20.59, and J.J. Johnson (Garland, Texas) had a third-place finish 20.56. The second round went even better, with Patton (20.40) and Capel (20.30) both winning their heats, with Johnson second in his race in 20.22 to advance.

Kristin Heaston (Palo Alto, Calif.) was 22nd in qualifying in the women’s shot put (16.70m/54-9.5) and did not advance.

For Team USA quotes and complete results from the 2003 World Outdoor Championships, visit www.usatf.org