BEIJING (Reuters) - Mariya Kuchina won the women's high jump with a clearance of 2.01 metres on Saturday to become Russia's second gold medallist at the Beijing world championships. The 22-year-old from Moscow had a blemish-free card to that height, her lifetime best performance. In silver and bronze positions were medal winners from this event in the Bird's Nest Stadium at the Beijing Olympics seven years ago -- 31-year-old Croatian Blanka Vlasic and 33-year-old Russia Anna Chicherova.
Both also cleared 2.01 but had failures earlier in the final. "I can't believe that I am the champion," said Kuchina, who won the world indoor title last year.