PARIS – Team USA’s biggest night of the 2003 World Championships Friday provided two gold medals, two silver medals, and drama aplenty at the Stade de France.

John Capel and Darvis Patton finished 1-2 in the men’s 200 meters, marking the first time since the inaugural World Championships in 1983 that the U.S. has won gold and silver in the event; Dwight Phillips won a dramatic victory in the men’s long jump to win his second world title of 2003; and Joey Woody pulled off a dramatic silver in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.

Capel (Gainesville, Fla.) got out to a slim, early lead and maintained it to win the 200 in 20.30 seconds, while. Patton (Fort Worth, Texas) rallied to nearly nip Capel at the finish, taking the silver in 20.31. Shingo Suetsugu of Japan placed third in 20.38, and J.J. Johnson (Garland, Texas) was sixth in 20.47.

Phillips (Mesa, Ariz.) won the first world title of his career in March at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, but on Friday he added the more prestigious World Outdoor title to firmly declare himself the world’s top long jumper. Phillips took the lead on his first jump of 8.09m/26-6.5, then increased his jump to 8.22m/26-11.75 in the third round.

In the fifth round of jumping, world leader Yago Lamela of Spain moved from third to first with his own jump of 8.22m, taking the lead by virtue of having a better second mark than Phillips. Two jumpers later, James Beckford leapfrogged from third to first with a season-best jump of 8.28m/27-2. Phillips was the next man on the runway, and he responded with a leap of 8.32m/27-3.75, posting the mark that ultimately would win the competition and performing a captivating celebratory dance.

Joey Woody (Cedar Falls, Iowa) closed off the night with a nail-biting, silver-medal finish in the 400-meter hurdles. As he had in the rounds, Woody used a strong stretch run to move into medal contention. The third-place finisher at the USA Outdoor Championships was in third heading over the final hurdle, when second-place runner Llewellyn Herbert of South Africa crashed the hurdle and fell to the track. Woody instantly found himself in second, finishing in a season-best time of 48.18 seconds. U.S.-raised and trained Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic won easily in a world-leading time of 47.25, with Periklis Iakovakis of Greece third in 48.24.

All four American men’s 110m hurdlers advanced to Saturday’s final, led by three-time champion Allen Johnson’s (Irmo, S.C.) win in heat 2 with a time of 13.19 seconds. Terrence Trammell was first in heat 3 in 13.34 seconds, with Chris Phillips (Maumelle, Ark.) overcoming a slow start to place third in 13.48 and advance on time. Larry Wade (Canoga Park, Calif.) was second in the first heat in 13.55 to advance as well. It is the first time four athletes from the same country are in the final.

The women’s 4x100m relay team of Angela Williams (Ontario, Calif.), Chryste Gaines (Lithonia, Ga.), Inger Miller (Van Nuys, Calif.), and Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.) dominated the first semifinal heat of the relay, winning in 42.04. Also in the U.S. relay pool for Saturday’s final are 100 and 200m gold medalist Kelli White (Union City, Calif.) and double medalist Torri Edwards (Los Angeles, Calif.)

In other qualifying, Amy Acuff cleared 1.93m/6-4 to automatically advance to Sunday’s final of the women’s high jump.

Not advancing out of their rounds were David Krummenacker (Tucson, Ariz) and Khadevis Robinson (Santa Monica, Calif.) in the men’s 800 meter semifinal. Robinson was eighth in the first semi in 1:50.60, and Krummenacker was sixth in 1:47.25 in the second semi. Also failing to advance were Regina Jacobs (Oakland, Calif.), sixth in her semifinal of the women’s 1,500m (4:06.92), and Breaux Greer (Athens, Ga.), who threw 76.82m/252-0 in men’s javelin qualifying.

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