He has rarely looked so pumped up - but it was understandable.
The long jump scoreboard had just flashed up the distance of 8.41m and even with two rounds left, Great Britain’s Greg Rutherford knew he was the world champion.
No wonder his fists were clenched in delight, even at this stage of the event.
With an inch-perfect take-off, Rutherford, who had led the competition with 8.29m from round two, had delivered the second best jump of his life to achieve his aim of winning all four major outdoor gold medals.
Three years ago he rose to fame by winning the Olympic Games in London (8.31m) before his double glory last summer, with victory at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (8.20m) and European Athletics Championships in Zurich (8.29m).
How he wanted this fourth title and how he landed it, delivering under this immense pressure for gold at these IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
'It is unbelievable,' said Rutherford, as tears flowed. 'It is my best ever performance.
'I am a bit lost for words. What an incredible night. It has been unreal. I am so happy- and to jump a season’s best in a major final.'
The athlete whose father built him a long jump runway in his own back garden to prepare triumphed in style.
His winning jump was just 10 centimetres shy of his personal best, it was a European lead and it showed that he is the ultimate championship competitor as he beat Australian Fabrice Lapierre (8.20m) and China’s Jianan Wang (8.18m).
Having begun with a foul, he took the lead with that second round 18.29m, he fouled on the third before his winning leap. He did not even jump again, because no-one in the field threatened his golden day.
Kudryavstev’s record glory
A year on from his bronze at the European Athletics Championships in Zurich, Russia’s Denis Kudryavstev produced a sizzling performance on Tuesday to smash the long-standing national record as he won 400m hurdles silver in Beijing.
Kudryavstev showed amazing power from the start of a brilliant final after a championships where he had already twice run personal best times.
At the home turn he was just ahead but could not hold off the challenge of Kenya’s Nicholas Bett who triumphed in a world-leading time (47.79).
But Kudryavstev stayed on in style to finish second in 48.05, to just break the national mark of 48.06 which Ruslan Maschenko set in 1998, as Jeffery Gibson, of the Bahamas, was third (48.17).
Medal triumph for Kszczot and Tuka
Poland’s Adam Kszczot, the European champion, and Amel Tuka, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, produced superb performances to win silver and bronze respectively in a thrilling 800m final.
World record-holder David Rudisha was always going to be such a tough act to beat but how the Europeans came close.
Rudisha won in 1:45.84 but Kszczot was closing and looked superb off the bend as he finished in 1:46.08 with Tuka writing his name into athletics history by winning his country’s first ever world championship medal in 1:46.30.
Sifan Hassan, the Netherlands’ European 1500m champion, won bronze (4:09.34) as Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba (4:08.09) took gold and Kenya’s Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (4:08.96) took silver in a tactical final that was decided on a fast final lap.
Europe’s discus double
Defending discus champion Sandra Perkovic left it to the last round to seal a medal as she won silver - replacing Germany’s Nadine Muller in second place.
The competition itself was all but over from the first round when Cuban Denia Caballero threw 69.28m to take the lead with an effort that was enough for gold.
And Muller’s opening throw (65.53m) also proved her best, with 60.85m and 62.67m her only other legal attempts.
Perkovic, who had thrown 65.35m in round two and 65.37m in round four, had slipped back into fourth place before her final effort which took her to that second step on the podium.
Guliyev is a national hit
It has been a fine summer for Türkiye’s Ramil Guliyev and it could be about to become even better after his impressive performance in the opening heat of the first round of the 200m.
Having broken the national record with 20.21m in Viljandi last month, Guliyev could not have asked for a better start in Beijing as he lowered that mark to an impressive 20.01 as he won in style with a European-leading time.
Breaking the 20-second barrier is now within reach of the 2009 European Junior champion, and it would be no surprise if he achieves that in the semi-finals on Wednesday.
Europe will have strong representation in those semis as Britain’s Zharnel Hughes (20.13) and Daniel Talbot (20.35), Greece’s Likourgos-Stefanos Tsakonas (20.14), Netherlands’ Churandy Martina (20.22) and France’s Christophe Lemaitre (20.29) all made it through.
Ohuruogu leaves it late as usual
Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu kept to her trademark style of making her move with 100m left in the semi-finals of the 400m, and once more it worked for the defending champion.
In 2008 she won the Olympic title at this Bird’s Nest and in Moscow 2013 she regained a world title she had first won in Osaka six years before.
And with each triumph, she came through in the latter stages, saving enough energy to time her finish to perfection.
“I am just trying to do my job,” said Ohuruogu, after finishing first in the second heat in a European best this year of 50.16, coming through to overtake leader Patience George, of Nigeria, on her outside.