Stacy Dragila regained the women's world pole vault record when she cleared 4.78 metres on her second attempt at the U.S. indoor championships on Sunday.
The performance eclipsed Russian Svetlana Feofanova's world record of 4.77 metres on February 1 at Birmingham, England, and set the stage for another showdown between the pair at the world indoor championships in Birmingham, England, from March 14-16.
Dragila, the world outdoor record holder and Olympic champion, had watched Feofanova break the world indoor record seven times since the American had leaped what was then a world record 4.70 metres in 2001.
"As soon as I cleared the bar, my stomach dropped. I knew the record was back in my hands. It's been a long time coming," said Dragila, who was hampered by illness and a foot injury last year.
"I'm really looking forward to the world indoor championships, where Svetlana and I can go head-to-head," Dragila said. "We'll have a great competition, which will be great for the sport."
Dragila narrowly edged Feofanova on misses in a dramatic competition at the 2001 world outdoor championships in Edmonton as both cleared 4.75 metres.
Dragila's world outdoor record is 4.81 metres.
The 31-year-old American attempted to surpass that height on Sunday with three unsuccessful leaps at 4.88 metres.
Dragila had set the American record of 4.71 metres on the same Boston track on February 1 and raised it to 4.72 metres six days later in New York City.
Feofanova, meanwhile, broke her world record twice, vaulting 4.76 at Glasgow on February 2 and 4.77 at Birmingham, England, three weeks later.
This time, Dragila said she was ready to take the world record back.
"I've performed well here in the past and I was really confident that I would jump high today," Dragila said. "I really expected this to happen."
World indoor 200-metre champion Shawn Crawford was pipped by John Capel, who clocked 20.69 to Crawford's 20.77 in the event, while world indoor shotput champion John Godina, also finished second at the U.S. championships.
Godina was beaten by Kevin Toth, who threw 21.30 metres on his first attempt. Godina's best was 20.86 metres.
Both Crawford and Capel will be able to defend their world titles since the two top finishers at the U.S. championships qualify for the worlds provided they have met the qualifying standard.
Regina Jacobs completed a women's double by running the 3,000 metres in 8:52.57. She won the women's 1,500 metres on Saturday.
