Athens - Joanna Hayes of the United States won a dramatic Olympic Games women's 100m hurdles gold medal here on Tuesday breaking the 16 year-old Olympic record held by Bulgaria's Yordanka Donkova.
The 27-year-old timed 12.37 seconds to make her the sixth fastest performer of all time while Olena Krasovska of Ukraine won silver in 12.45 and Melissa Morrison of the United States took bronze in 12.56.
However, the race was turned on its head as race favourite and world champion Perdita Felicien fell heavily at the first hurdle and in a vain attempt to cushion her fall the Canadian's right arm caught Russia's Irina Shevchenko, bringing her down as well.
A distraught Felicien said it would take a long time for her to rid herself of the psychological scars.
"The first hurdle came and I reached for it," she said. "Before I knew it I was on the ground. It is going to take four years before it sinks in.
"I have been praying for the race but I did not ask for gold I asked just to finish it. However it is also going to be a motivating factor for me," she added.
Hayes, ignorant of the carnage, carried on leading from start to finish and collapsed in surprise on realising she had won.
Hayes, who turned to 100m hurdles after reaching the quarter-finals of last year's world championships in the 400m hurdles, said she had achieved both her goals.
"I am just so happy and so excited to have pulled this off," she said.
"I had planned on winning and I went out and there and did it.
"I had two goals one to win and one to set the Olympic record and I did both," added Hayes, who unusually for an American is going to try her hand at cricket after the Games as her father owns a club in Los Angeles.
Krasovska added Olympic silver to European silver while Morrison had to settle for her second successive bronze in the Olympics.
Krasovska was dazed by the fact she had won a medal.
"At the moment I feel nothing but emptiness," said the 28-year-old.
"I think happiness will come later but right now I feel free and the stress has gone. I realise now that I have achieved the greatest day of my athletics career."
Felicien, who will be 24 in 10 days time, made a lonely walk back to the changing rooms flinging her shoes behind her onto the track and then lay weeping.
