BUDAPEST, Hungary – Two gold medals, two American records, and one silver medal capped a banner day for Team USA Saturday at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Allen Johnson won his third world indoor gold medal in the men’s 60m hurdles, tying Greg Foster’s American record and posting the #2 time in history with his winning time of 7.36. Only world record holder Colin Jackson of Great Britain has run faster, with his 7.30 run 10 years ago to the day, on March 6, 1994.

Leading from the gun Saturday evening, Johnson defeated Xiang Liu of China (7.43) and Maurice Wignal of Jamaica (7.48).

Johnson was not the lone American on the medal stand Saturday, as Savante Stringfellow came from behind to win the men’s long jump (8.40m/27-6.75), and Stacy Dragila broke her own American record to win a silver medal in the women’s pole vault (5.81m/15-9.25) at Budapest Sportarena. Also highlighting the competition were world records in the women’s pole vault and triple jump by Russian women.

A four-time world champion outdoors, Johnson could not contain a wide smile after adding the 2004 world indoor hurdles title to his wins in 1995 and 2003. And he had reason to smile – he had been off his form all day, running 7.68 in the first round and 7.58 in the semifinals, where he had to rely on his time to qualify him for the final.

“The final was good,” Johnson said. “When the gun went off, I just ran as hard as I could. The semifinals were a total disaster – when the gun went off, my legs were dead. Honestly, I was scared to death [entering the final]. I hadn’t had my rhythm all day long. I faced a lot of adversity today, but I was able to pull it out and run a new personal best. It gives me confidence that no matter how bad I feel, I can still find a way to win.”

Stringfellow also found a way to win. The 2001 world outdoor silver medalist and 2002 World Cup gold medalist started the competition uncharacteristically slowly, with modest first two jumps of 8.07m/25-5.75 and 8.08/26-6.25. Feeling the pressure of being the favorite, Stringfellow responded by leapfrogging from sixth to first on his third attempt, with his winning mark of 8.40m/27-6.75. James Beckford of Jamaica placed second with 8.31/27-3.75, and Vitaliy Shkurlatov of Russia was third with 8.28/27-2.

“After the first couple of jumps, I was a little nervous,” said Stringfellow, who celebrated his victory by performing a back flip in the middle of the infield. “I saw that everyone else was jumping excellent. I had to pull a rabbit out of my hat. That was a bomb – a big jump.”

There were big jumps aplenty in the women’s pole vault. They included a return to form for Dragila, the 2000 Olympci gold medalist who claimed her first medal in world championships competition since winning the 2001 World Outdoor title. Dragila had a best clearance Saturday of 4.81m/15-9.25 to break her own American record and the existing world indoor meet record. It took a world record of 5.86/15-11.25 by Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia to relegate her to second.

Dragila engaged in a battle royale with Isinbayeva, the world outdoor record holder entering the meet, and fellow Russian Svetlana Feofanova, the indoor world record holder. When the bar reached 4.60m/15-1, only that trio – as well as American Jillian Schwartz, who set a new personal best and placed fourth with her effort – successfully negotiated the height.

The three heavyweights then cleared 4.70/15-5 on their first attempts, keeping Isinbayeva and Feofanova perfect on the day. Dragila’s only miss had come at her first height of 4.40m/14-5.25, which put her at a disadvantage as the bar continued to rise. But then Feofanova faltered once at 4.76/15-7.25, opening the door for Isinbayeva and Dragila as they both cleared on their first attempts. Feofanova then passed to 4.81 and missed both her attempts, relegating herself to third.

Isinbayeva cleared 4.81 on her second attempt and Dragila on her third. It was to be as high as Dragila could go on the day, but Isinbayeva – looking virtually invincible throughout the competition – made a world record 4.86/15-11.25 on her first attempt.

“It was a good day,” said Dragila, who used the biggest pole of her career on her American record clearance. “I couldn’t get past Isinbayeva. She looked fresh all day, and I felt like I had to fight through tired legs a couple of times. I’m pleased with 4.81 – it’s a confidence builder, and a great way to end the indoor season. I’ll be contending outdoors.”

It was a busy day for Americans in final and qualifying rounds. Milton Campbell (46.74) and Joe Mendel (47.34) went 5-6 in the men’s 400 meter final behind winner Alleyne Francique of Grenada (45.88). Julian Clay made the women’s 400m final by virtue of a personal-best, third-place performance of 52.35 in the semifinals, then placed fifth in the final with a time of 52.82.

In the men’s high jump final, Jamie Nieto jumped 2.20m/7-2.5 for a ninth-place finish.

Bryan Clay enjoyed a very strong day in the men’s heptathlon, finishing the day in second place, after four events, with 3,673 points. He trailed only decathlon world record holder Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic (3,718) and had a big cushion over Lev Lobodin of Russia in third (3,519). Clay ran a personal record 6.65 seconds to win the 60m by .35 seconds. He jumped 7.78m/25-6.25 in the long jump to remain in first place after two events, then threw 14.84m/48-8.25 in the shot put, where Sebrle overtook him. Clay finished the day with a personal best of 2.08m/6-9.75 in the high jump. The heptathlon concludes Sunday with the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters.

Christian Cantwell automatically qualified for Sunday’s final in the men’s shot put with his third and final throw of 20.77m/68-1.75. The 2004 world leader in the event with a best of 21.95m/72-0.25, the University of Missouri grad is a gold-medal favorite. Reese Hoffa will join Cantwell in the final, thanks to a throw of 20.28m/66-6.5, and also will be a medal contender.

Advancing out of her women’s 800m semifinal was double 2004 USA indoor champion Jen Toomey. The American record holder for 1,000 meters was able to run a controlled race, moving to the lead at the 400m mark (64.22) and cruising to second place in her semifinal in 2:03.40, behind world champion Maria Mutola (2:03.50). World indoor record holder Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia won the first semifinal in 1:59.26.

Jimmie Hackley advanced to Sunday’s final of the men’s 200 meters by placing second in his semifinal heat. Running in the tight turns of lane 3, Hackley was second in 20.94 to advance. He had run 20.95 in his first-round race. Teammate Coby Miller made it out of the first round with 21.32, but was fourth in his semi (21.95) and did not advance.

Crystal Cox (23.23) and Rachelle Boone (23.59) both made it out of the women’s 200m rounds but did not advance to the final – like Hackley and Miller, they ran from lane 3. Cox ran 23.55 in her semi, placing fifth, while Boone ran 23.53 in her semi for fourth.

Competing in qualifying rounds, but not advancing on Saturday, were Grace Upshaw in the women’s long jump (6.49m/21-3.5), Michael Stember in the men’s 800m semifinals (1:48.68, 8th in his heat), Charlie Gruber (11th in heat 1 in 3:50.29) and Rob Myers (7th in heat 2 in 3:43.73) in the men’s 1,500m, and Jeff Hartwig and Toby Stevenson in the men’s pole vault, both clearing 5.55m/18-2.5 in qualifying.

In other finals Saturday, Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia took tied or broke the world record in the women’s triple jump on three of her four attempts. On her first jump, she tied the record (15.16/49-9), then broke it on her second attempt (15.25/50-0.5). She passed her third attempt, went 15.15/49-8.5 on her fourth; passed her fifth attempt and finished with another record 15.36/50-4.75 on the last jump of the competition.

Duane Ross was removed from the track on a stretcher during the first round of the men’s 60m hurdles. Ross lost his balance coming off the first hurdle and ran headlong into the second hurdle. After being taken to a local hospital, he was diagnosed with a fracture at the base of his right thumb, most likely the result of breaking his fall.

Concluding competition for Team USA in Sunday finals are Hackley in the men’s 200, Gail Devers and Joanna Hayes in the women’s 60m hurdles, Toomey in the women’s 800m, Cantwell and Hoffa in the men’s shot put, Shayne Culpepper in the women’s 3,000m, the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays, and Clay in the heptathlon.

For Team USA coverage, rosters and athlete quotes, visit www.usatf.org. For a complete schedule and results from the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships, visit www.iaaf.org

TEAM USA QUOTES Saturday, March 6

Allen Johnson, men’s 60m hurdles (1st – 7.36): “The final was good. It was a personal best and another world title. When the gun went off, I just ran as hard as I could. The semifinals were a total disaster – when the gun went off, my legs were dead. Honestly, I was scared to death [entering the final]. I hadn’t had my rhythm all day long, until the final. In the final I was thinking ‘how can you reach in your back of tricks and pull something out?’ This is a good stepping stone for me heading into outdoors. I faced a lot of adversity today, but I was able to pull it out and run a new personal best. It gives me confidence that no matter how bad I feel, I can still find a way to win.”

Savante Stringfellow, men’s long jump (1st – 8.40m/27-6.45 ): “After the first couple of jumps, I was a little nervous. I saw that everyone else was jumping excellent. I had to pull a rabbit out of my hat. That was a bomb – a big jump. [On why he did a backflip to celebrate] I saw Beckford do it after he got second, and I had been trying to top him all night.”

Stacy Dragila, women’s pole vault (2nd – 4.81m/15-9.25 American record): “It was a good day. I couldn’t get past Isinbayeva. She looked fresh all day, and I felt like I had to fight through tired legs a couple of times. I’m pleased with 4.81 – it’s a confidence builder, and a great way to end the indoor season. I’ll be contending outdoors.”

Julian Clay, women’s 400m (5th - 52.82): “It’s been a long day. I’ve never run two 400s in the same day before. The semis were great, when I PR’d – it was only my fourth race of the season. In the final, I just put it out there. They went out really hard and I tried to stay with them. I’m pleased.

Milton Campbell, men’s 400m (5th -46.74): “In the semifinals, my legs felt kind of out of it. In the final, I never developed a game plan. That’s critical for me, because I’m a front runner. [Campbell ran in 5th throughout the race]. I’ll regroup and get ready for the 4x400.

Joe Mendel, men’s 400m (6th – 47.34): “Obviously I would have liked to run a lot faster. This is my first international experience, and I’m pleased. It’s a building block. It’s been a different experience besides the obvious [running 2 races in one day] – just eating, sleeping. [On whether he is a different athlete now] “Definitely. Respect has a lot to do with it. Not a lot of people knew my name, and now hopefully they do.”

Jen Toomey, women’s 800m semifinal (2:03.40Q): “I felt good, nice and easy. It was my goal this year to make the world championships finals, which I’ve never done before, so I’m already ahead of the game. I think the thing that has surprised me most [in Budapest] is I feel like a different person. I just feel very fit.”

Christian Cantwell, men’s shot put (20.77m/68-1.75 Q): “Well, it took three throws. I warmed up good at the practice area, then they gave us more throws when I got here. My first throw was good, but it was a foul. [Throwing out of the sector.] I got through, and that’s what matters.”

Reese Hoffa, men’s shot put (20.28m/66-6.5): “I did a lot of arming, but overall it was a good day. I fouled three times at World Outdoors last year, so to get that first mark, I knew at least I wouldn’t foul out. I’m going to go back, get a good dinner, and get ready for tomorrow.”

Michael Stember, men’s 800m semifinal (1:48.68): “I decided to kind of hold back a bit, because yesterday I made the mistake of going out too fast, with [Osmar Barbosa] Dos Santos [of Brazil]. I just didn’t have the zip I expected. You learn. If I had to do it all over, I would have done what I did yesterday. I got back there, and just never felt part of the race. I love kicking from 300 meters out, but at this level, everybody has good, strong speed. I put too much emphasis on that [his kick].”

Jimmie Hackley, men’s 200m (2nd in semifinal 3, 20.94Q): “My plan was to get out and try to make up ground, and I did that.” Crystal Cox, women’s 200m (fifth in semifinal 1, 23.55): “I couldn’t get out. It’s kind of hard. I tried not to let their resumes get to me. Of the two [semifinal] heats, I think mine was the toughest. I gave it my all.” Rachelle Boone, women’s 200m (4th in semifinal 2, 23.53): I definitely didn’t run as fast as I had planned. I’m still having fun. This is my first time out of the country, and it’s an experience.”

Rob Myers, men’s 1,500m semifinals (3:43.73): “I took an elbow to the chest right off the line. I tried to work my way up [moving to 2nd at the 1,100m mark], and I think I spooked them. When they went, I think I collapsed mentally more than physically. But I’ll learn from it, and next time I’ll make it through to the finals.”

Charlie Gruber, men’s 1,500m semifinals (3:50.29): “I never got knocked around like I did in that race. There wasn’t a lap that I wasn’t elbowed or bumped. I’ve just never been in an international race. My goal was to get in the mix. Next time I’ve just got to get out faster.”

Jeff Hartwig, men’s pole vault (5.55/18-2.5): “I didn’t have one good jump the whole day. I just never got going. I accomplished what I wanted to this indoor season, unfortunately I didn’t get much of a chance to get going today.”

Grace Upshaw, women’s long jump (6.49m/21-3.5): “It did not go well. It’s time to go home and regroup. I’m not ready … but I will be.”

Duane Ross, men’s 60m hurdles: “I did not hit the hurdle, it was my hips that caused the problem. My hips and back have given me trouble all season, I was unstable and coming off the hurdle I just lost my balance.”