There were some wobbles at the 2.16m opening height for some of the pedigree jumpers in the field.

Right from the very first jump of the competition, the gold medal was nominally in Li Jinzhe s possession. The 24-year-old Chinese athlete set out his stall with an 8.19m effort and improved to 8.23m in the third.

The US quartet improved the world lead by more than a second in speeding to 3:29.06 to establish themselves as the favourite for the gold medal in Sunday s final.

It was mission accomplished for Sally Pearson on leg two of the Australian s bid to become only the second back-to-back winner of the event at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Ashton Eaton continues as the clear leader in the men s heptathlon and after a successful shot put, still has the world indoor record in his sights.

Jamaica s world indoor silver medallist Nesta Carter found his best form at exactly the right time and laid down a fine 6.50 season s best marker to confirm that he is intent on capturing the gold medal this time around.