Gail Devers, with a burst of raw power from her ageless legs, completed a hat-trick of world indoor 60 metre titles on Friday and secured the first leg of what would be an historic double.
The 37-year-old American, the greatest ever female sprinter-hurdler, lit up the first day of the championships in the Hungarian capital with an electric performance which was matched minutes later when Briton Jason Gardener claimed his first global title in the men's dash.
Devers can boast an array of titles, including two Olympic and three world golds, but her popularity is reinforced by the way she celebrates each as if it were her first.
She will now bid to become the first athlete to win both sprint and hurdles in the 17-year history of the championships and said she was already focused on her goal.
"It's over, as soon as I leave this room its over," she told reporters after being asked how long she would celebrate her success. "My focus now is to get over 15 hurdles and see what happens."
The victory was never in doubt once she had reeled in the fast-starting Yuliya Nesterenko and Torri Edwards, who flanked her inside and out. She won in 7.08 seconds with Belgian Kim Gevaert coming through for second in 7.12 and Nesterenko of Belarus grabbing bronze in the same time.
Gardener's title was a much-needed boost for British athletics following the two-year doping ban handed to European champion Dwain Chambers last month.
The 28-year-old, a 60 metres specialist known as the "Bath Bullet", won bronze in 1999 and 2003 but came to Budapest as favourite having set seven of the top 10 quickest times in the world this season, including a best of 6.46.
Gardener lived up to his billing by taking gold in 6.49, ahead of American Shawn Crawford (6.52) and Greek Yeoryios Theodoridis (6.54).
"To come here ranked as number one and to leave as world champion is fantastic ... getting it right when it really mattered," said Gardener, who has always struggled to replicate his indoor form outdoors. "Now I really want to fulfill my potential over 100 metres, that's really important to me."
Mozambique's Maria Mutola opened her bid for a record sixth world indoor 800 metres title in impressive fashion by treating her opening heat like a final.
The Olympic and world champion, who has dominated the two-lap discipline for over a decade, ran hard from the opening gun and beat her rivals by almost 50 metres.
Her time of 1:57.72 would have been good enough to win gold at three of the last four championships. World indoor record holder Jolanda Ceplak from Slovenia eased through in a more pedestrian 2:01.48.
OLDEST RECORD
Athletics' oldest world record stood the test of time yet again as Vita Pavlysh won the women's shot put. The 35-year-old Ukrainian, who also won the event in 1997, blasted out 20.39 metres in the second round and 20.49 in the fourth.
But the world mark of Czech Helena Fibingerova -- 22.50, set 27 years ago -- remained as elusive as ever.
Kenyan Bernard Lagat set the fastest qualifying time in the men's 3000 metres to confirm his favourite status for gold in the absence of Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele.
Ethiopian teenager Markus Geneti underlined his fine form, he beat Gebrselassie last month, by winning his semi-final.
Ethiopia's depth of talent was underlined when 20-year-old Meseret Defar, the world junior 5000 metres women's champion, won her heat to join compatriot Berhane Adere, the defending 3000 metres champion, in Sunday's final.
