There was just one throw left in the javelin at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing today - and the woman who took to the runway was in third place.
Kathrina Molitor did not look pressured, she just unleashed herself into her stride and with it launched the greatest throw of her life.
The lead was held by China’s Huihui Lyu with 66.13m but Molitor’s spear sailed into the cool night air and landed at 67.69m.
She was the champion and there could not have been a greater handover of the title as the first person to congratulate her was fellow German Christina Obergföll.
It was a decade ago in Erfurt that Molitor last made the podium at a major event when she won silver at the European Athletics U23 Championships.
Since then she has been close to making the top three and what a way to end that barren run, with a personal best throw, a world-leading throw and with this final throw on the final day of the championships.
Molitor, 31, and Obergföll, who finished fourth (64.61m), embraced before the champion picked up a German flag as the pack of photographers surrounded her.
It was an amazing finale to the competition which had seen Molitor lead at halfway with 64.74m from the third round after two earlier throws of 60.84m and 61.37m.
European champion Barbora Spotakova, of the Czech Republic, failed to make the cut after a best of 60.08m but Obergföll remained a threat.
Then in the fourth round South African Sunette Viljoen took over in front with 65.79m before Lyu’s produced a fifth-round 66.13m, to the delight of the home crowd, as it looked like she had sealed gold.
Molitor came back to break her personal best by a superb 2.02m and win a title that will stay in Germany for another two years.
Silver for Bondarenko
Bohdan Bondarenko may not have competed that much this year but he looked superb today as he shared high jump silver with China’s Guowei Zhang.
Ukraine’s defending champion proved a major presence throughout the whole event which could not have been closer as it went to a three-man jump off between Canada’s Derek Drouin, China’s Guowei Zhang and him.
They all failed to go over with their one jump at 2.36m before Drouin became the only man to achieve it as the bar dropped to 2.34m.
All three of the medallists had a clear run-in up to 2.36m in the event itself ahead of the drama of the jump-off.
It is another fine success for Bondarenko after his world title in 2013 and European crown last year.
Oh baby! Rooney delivers a bronze
Great Britain captain Martyn Rooney completed an amazing week by charging down the home straight to snatch third in the 4x400m relay.
Back home, Rooney’s wife Kate, a former British pole-vaulter, gave birth to their first child, a son, during the championships and he wanted to celebrate in style.
As the USA won (2:57.82) from Trinidad & Tobago (2:58.20), Rooney was in fourth with 50m behind Jamaican Javon Francis but he battled home, with a last lap of 44.00, to beat him on the line as both nations were given the same time (2:58.51).
When the British the quartet of Rabah Yousif, Delanno Williams, Jarryd Dunn and Rooney were introduced to the crowd, they all did a ‘rocking-baby’ routine and the captain cannot wait to do it for real.
He said: 'I had to take the medal back for him. My baby, my first child, it has been a special week for me and I could not go home empty handed.
'I had to bring something back to my wife to make it worthwhile. I am very proud of what she has done and I hope she is very proud of what I have done tonight.
'When I crossed the line I knew I had got it as I was coming through quick.'
It was a brilliant 20 minutes for Britain as their women also won 4x400m bronze.
The team of Christine Ohuruogu, Anyika Onuora, Eilidh Child and Seren Bundy-Davies combined to finish in 3:23.62 as Jamaica won (3:19.13) and the USA took silver (3:19.44.).