Elle St Pierre ran a perfectly judged race to win the women’s 3000m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24, outsprinting Ethiopia’s world indoor 1500m champion and outdoor 10,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay to set a North American and championship record of 8:20.87.

A performance that took almost five seconds off her personal best saw her step up to the top of the podium having won silver in this event two years earlier in Belgrade.

St Pierre (nee Purrier), who gave birth to a son almost exactly a year ago on 4 March 2023, tailgated the lead group of four for most of the race before making her move on the final bend as she came past the leader on the outside and held her form to the line.

St Pierre’s win bucked the trend of this event at the World Indoor Championships, in which nine of the past 10 gold medals had gone to Ethiopia.

Gudaf Tsegaye, the world 5000m record-holder, came within a whisker of the world indoor 3000m record with 8:17.11 in Lievin on 10 February, but here she had to settle for silver in 8:21.13.

Bronze went to Kenya’s steeplechase world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech, who had taken the race off at a brisk early pace. She clocked a national indoor record of 8:22.68, with Australia’s Jess Hull just missing out on a medal as she clocked an Oceanian record of 8:24.39.