Athletics: Sanders hits afterburners to give relay bronzed look

Christine Ohuruogu, Nicola Sanders, Marilyn Okoro and Lee McConnell do a lap of honour

This time Christine Ohuruogu and Nicola Sanders occupied the same step of the medal podium in Nagai Stadium. At the closing session of the track and field World Championships yesterday, though, it was Sanders' turn to steal the spotlight. Four days on from their epic battle down the home straight in the individual 400 metres final, and all the fuss that followed, it took a flying finish from the 9st slip of a lass from Amersham to bring a medal-winning, record-breaking flourish to the nine days in Japan for the overachieving Great Britain team.

Taking the baton a semi-detached fourth on the anchor leg of the women's 4x400m relay final, some five metres down on Natalya Antyukh of Russia in third, Sanders closed the gap marginally before turning on the afterburners with a vengeance in the home straight. With 15m to go, she was in the medal frame once again.

So was Ohuruogu, who ran the first leg, clocking a split time of 50.05 seconds, Marilyn Okoro, who ran the second (50.08), and Lee McConnell, who ran the third (49.80). The United States sped to victory in 3min 18.55sec, turbocharged by a blistering 48.0sec second leg by Allyson Felix, and Jamaica took silver in 3:19.73.

Sanders and Co snatched bronze from the Russians by 0.21sec and also stole the first British record of the championships. Their combined efforts added up to a time of 3:20.04 – an improvement of 1.97sec on the national record set by Lorraine Hanson, Phylis Smith, Sally Gunnell and Linda Keough in fourth place the last time the World Championships were down this way, in Tokyo's Olympic Stadium back in 1991.

For Sanders, 25, who lost out to Ohuruogu by 0.04sec in the individual event, there was also the satisfaction of the fastest ever relay split time by a British woman, 48.8sec. "We knew the British record was within reach, but to run that much faster is absolutely fantastic," she said. "It's been a great week. At the beginning of the season I didn't even think I would be here, let alone coming home with two medals."

Like Ohuruogu, who was serving her one-year suspension for three missed drug tests until just four weeks ago, Sanders has triumphed against the odds in the World Championships. The stunning form the Buckinghamshire woman showed en route to the European indoor 400m title in Birmingham in March looked to have been stymied for the summer by an Achilles tendon injury. Until she stepped on the track in Japan, that is.

McConnell has had her problems, too – with a nerve injury that affects her hip and her left leg and which has required a series of painkilling injections to ease. "Nine or 10 since I got out here," she said.

Sadly, there were no medal-winning heroics from the men's 4x400m quarter, although they finished a highly creditable sixth. There were also notable performances by the three Britons competing in individual events yesterday.

Mo Farah hit the front with 650m left of a pedestrian 5,000m final and remained in pole position until 200m to go. As Bernard Lagat of the United States sped to victory, the 24-year-old from Twickenham faded to sixth, clocking 13:47.54. He was, however, the first European finisher.

Mara Yamauchi also went for broke in the women's marathon, pushing the pace at the front until the effort took its toll in the stifling heat and humidity with six of the 26 miles to go. Still, the Oxford woman, who lives in Tokyo with her Japanese husband, was the second European to finish, placing ninth in 2hr 32min 55sec. Tracey Morris was 19th in 2:36:40 – not bad for a woman who turns 40 on Friday.

The race was won by a 35-year-old, Catherine Ndereba regaining the title she lost to Paula Radcliffe in Helsinki two years ago. The Kenyan crossed the line in 2:30:37, the slowest winning time in the 24-year history of the World Championships. "It was so hot out there, if I had been able to run naked I would have," she confessed. "Unfortunately, I could not because I knew my 10-year-old daughter was watching."

End of championships brings first sign of failed drugs test

It took until the ninth and final day, but the World Championships drew to a conclusion yesterday with the whiff of a potential failed drugs test in the air. Officials of the sport's governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, revealed that a record 1,060 tests had turned up one questionable result.

"It might not end up being positive," said Nick Davies the governing body's communications director. "It means something that has to be checked into – something suspicious, doubtful."

The IAAF president, Lamine Diack, added: "We are not able to confirm the name or nationality of the athlete. We should be able to make an announcement by next week."