His chances of leaving the sport with one final gold look far from certain, given the form of his US rivals Allen Johnson and Terence Trammell, who head this year's rankings with 7.39sec and 7.42 respectively. Jackson's best this year is 7.51, although he clocked 7.49 in Karlsr?two weeks ago before being retrospectively disqualified for a false start in the heats. Cuba's Olympic champion Anier Garcia, with a 2003 best of 7.47 is also in the mix.Jackson's coach, Malcolm Arnold, reckons his man needed to gain another tenth of a second in speed to be within striking range of what he describes as "the usual suspects". But the 36-year-old has trained well in Tenerife, and has never wanted to win more.Although Jackson won the world indoor title in 1999, the only defending champion Britain boasts from Lisbon two years ago is Caines, the law graduate from the leafy avenues of Solihull. But she's no worse than she was before the Norwich Union grand prix."That sounds like reasonable news for Britain, given that Hansen won there in her season's best of 14.71m after having pain-killing injections in her problematic foot. Like Caines, however, she will need to be at the top of her game to win against challengers including Romania's Adelina Gavrila, who has a 14.76 to her credit this year, Russia's 2001 bronze medallist Tatyana Lebedeva and Italy's former Cuban Magdelin Martinez, who has reached 14.61 this year. Bulgaria's Olympic champion Tereza Marinova is also competing after returning from an Achilles tendon injury.Britain's hopes of a gold in the men's triple jump look healthy, but far from certain.

Since last month's victory over Christian Olsson, the 23-year-old Swede who beat him to the European title, Edwards has been replaced at the top of the 2003 lists by the surprise winner of the US Trials, Tim Rusan, who bettered the Briton's mark of 17.44cm by 1cm.While middle distance events will centre around Haile Gebrselassie's return to the arena where he broke the world two miles record last month, Britain's Kelly Holmes and Jo Fenn have medal possibilities at 1500m and 800m respectively. High-fliers: Six to follow at the World Indoor Athletics ChampionshipsSvetlana Feofanova (Russia) This 22-year-old Muscovite clearly regards it as obligatory to break the world record when pole vaulting in Britain. She raised the indoor mark to 4.76m in Glasgow on 2 Feb, and added another centimetre at Birmingham on 21 Feb. Now has a big point to prove in regaining the record from Dragila.Stacy Dragila (United States)The 31-year-old Olympic champion from Auburn, California, has had her position as the world's best pole vaulter challenged by Feofanova in the past year. After regaining the world indoor mark in Boston last month with 4.78 m, she said: "I'm really looking forward to going head-to-head with Svetlana."Tyree Washington (US) World's fastest 400m runner in 2001 (44.28sec) lost two seasons through asthma, injuries and personal troubles ­ he had to testify at a murder trial that saw his sister and her boyfriend jailed for 25 years to life.

Talked his way into US Trials without qualifying mark, and, in borrowed kit, won.Anier Garcia (Cuba)The Olympic high hurdles champion has already won this event once, in 1997, and although more suited to 110m rather than 60m, his indoor form this season, with wins in Lievin, Karlsr?and Linz, indicate he will make life very hard for the leading Americans Allen Johnson and Terence Trammell, not to mention home hope Colin Jackson.Tim Rusan (US)Surprised everyone except himself by winning the US Trials triple jump in 17.45m, the furthest recorded in the world this season and one centimetre beyond the mark achieved by Britain's Jonathan Edwards "I knew I had a jump like this in me," said Rusan. Edwards, and European champion Christian Olsson, are wondering if he has another.Maria Mutola (Mozambique)This former footballer has won all but one of the last five World Indoor 800m titles ­ she took silver in 1999 ­ and after training in South Africa with Britain's Kelly Holmes, she will seek to extend that astonishing record. Those who crab the concept of the Stayers' Hurdle becoming a Festival centrepiece when the meeting expands to four days in 2005 would be on thin ice if the three-miler regularly unfolded as compellingly as yesterday's 31st edition, both in the build-up and execution. The contest featured the chalk-and-cheese running styles of the two genuine giants of the marathon scene and a fairytale was in the air but in the end the capricious brilliance of last year's winner, Baracouda, from France, was too much for the out-and-out grit and honesty of Ireland's folk hero Limestone Lad. The Lad, having his 61st start and going for his 36th win, set out with Paul Carberry on board, as usual, to break the hearts of the opposition He succeeded in all but two cases. Baracouda, trained by Fran?s Doumen for J P McManus, is a horse of massive talent but one with an individual attitude. His rider Thierry, Doumen fils, is oft criticised on his forays to Britain for his lack of tactical vision – on this horse's two prep runs at Ascot he all but got him beat on the first occasion and did so on the second – but there is more to race-riding than jockeyship and, on Baracouda, horsemanship matters.Doumen put the gelding in front going to the last and persuaded him to do enough to hold the spirited challenge of the novice Iris's Gift by three-quarters of a length, with Limestone Lad five lengths back.

It made him the first to win consecutive runnings of the youngest of the four senior championships since Galmoy 15 years ago."He always needs niggling to stay interested but the pace was so fast for the two laps that I needed to be at him just to stay in contact," Doumen said. "On the last bend I finally said to him 'come on, give me some help' and he at last picked up."The first two days of the meeting were notable for the fact that every horse returned safely but that, unhappily, was not the case yesterday. Old California died instantly when he fell in the Triumph Hurdle and Comex Flyer broke his back in the County Hurdle. But most poignant was the loss of the marvellous veteran Dorans Pride, who shattered a hock in the Foxhunter Chase won by unbeaten six-year-old Kingscliff.Dorans Pride, who had won three point-to-points at the age of 14 this year after returning from retirement, had his finest moments here – he won the Stayers' Hurdle in 1995 and was placed in two Gold Cups – and although his death rounded off a bad day for Michael Hourigan after Beef Or Salmon's Gold Cup fall, the Irish trainer kept it in perspective with the reminder that the old horse's former rider Shane Broderick is paralysed from the neck down after a fall."Being in a field did not suit Dorans, he was at the gate the whole time asking to come in and do things," he said. "We say in Ireland that death is always outside the door and perhaps it was fitting that it should happen here, where he gave us such great times.