Spain’s double bronze in Moscow beats 2011 tally

The medal table at the close of the World Athletics Championships in Moscow threw up few surprises, with the host nation pipping the USA to top spot and Jamaica, Kenya and Germany accounting for the rest of the top five.

Spain’s expectations were set low ahead of the tournament; six finalists was the official target. But a pair of bronzes added a little gloss to the panorama for a team that is not so much in transition as running backwards. Ruth Beitia, the captain and reigning European champion, set her personal bar higher than most at last year’s Olympics, coming fourth with a leap of 2.00 meters. In Moscow, she cleared 1.97 meters at the first attempt to share bronze with Anna Chicherova for her first World Championships medal.

Along with Miguel Ángel López’s third-place finish in the 20km race walk, Beitia again carried the not inconsiderable weight of a nation that has, in the past, been a heavy hitter, especially in the middle-distance events. Two years ago in Daegu, Natalia Rodríguez scored the country’s only medal success but she was unable to reach the final in the Russian capital.

Eusebio Cáceres recorded the best effort in qualifying for the long jump final but fell short of third place by an agonizing centimeter.

The men’s 4x100 relay team broke the national record by running 38.46s but was denied a place in Sunday's final by five-hundredths of a second.

In the men's marathon on Saturday, Javi Guerra was the first European across the line in 15th place.