Mariya Savinova of Russia crosses the finish line ahead of Briton Jenny Meadows during the women's 800m final at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha on Sunday.

Mariya Savinova fulfilled many pundit's predictions that she would take the World Indoor Championships 800m gold medal last weekend and now the Russian runner has outdoor success in her sights.

"But first I'm now going to take three weeks off before starting to prepare for the outdoor season and, of course, the European Athletics Championships," said Savinova, who is also the reigning European indoor champion over four laps of the track.

Savinova clocked 1:58.26 in Doha to take her first global title, the fastest time in the world this year. She used her renowned finishing speed to get in front of Jenny Meadows 20 metres from the line at the end of a thrilling race, after the British woman had made a long-range bid for glory by taking the lead 300m from home.

"Until the very last metre, I could not believe that I was going to win," reflected Savinova.

"I did not think that the girls were going to run so fast from the start, but the American (Alysia Johnson, who was to eventually finish third) got in front and then raced away. Thank God, everything ended well for me.

"In principle, in these sort of situations, I'm in control. I felt that I could move up gear at any moment. At 150 metres before the finish, I picked up my legs. I believed that I had a stronger sprint than Meadows, although that's not to say that I'm invincible. In a race at that sort of pace it's quite possible that Meadows could have won, and I know that I won by the skin of my teeth," added Savinova.

Behind her, Meadows set her second national indoor record of the winter with 1:58.43 and the stage is set for them to duel again at European Athletics Championships in Barcelona this summer.

"Looking back, winning (the European indoor 800m title) Torino, was harder than here, although my foot still aches," she joked.

"I've now been working with my current coach for just over a year, I've been training almost all that time without any break and, after Torino, I acquired the confidence that I could win. I've been working more on speed endurance and have even raced over 1500m this winter. It is all this background work that has helped me win (in Doha)."

Russia finished third in the medal table in Doha, as the top European team with two gold medals, four silver and three bronze, a tally which will also serve as a gentle reminder to rivals at the SPAR European Team Championships this summer that they will be serious contenders to take the crown at the second edition of the event, which will be held in the Norwegian city of Bergen on June 19-20.

However, it was Savinova who had the honour of getting Russia's first gold medal at the 2010 World Indoor Championships.

"Yes, I did. I wanted so much to win the first gold for the team and it was just incredible! The constant suggestion that I should be the first winner was an additional pressure, which I tried to distance myself from, but everything went right. I went out there and did what I had to do," added the delighted Savinova.

Many thanks to Natalia Maryanchik of the All Sport agency (Russia) for her help with this article.