Vlasic wins the battle of the Beauties

Croatia's Blanka Vlasic went some way to making up for her Olympic disappointment when she retained the women's high jump title with a leap of 2.04 metres.

"I was expecting it to go much higher, but I was concentrating on my own heights and on staying calm," Beijing Olympics silver medallist Vasis said.

"2.04m means nothing to me, I would have been happy with a new personal best."

It was not smooth sailing for Vlasic during the championships after she suffered a freak head injury during the qualifying rounds and had to be given six stitches.

"These championships are perfect and I was ready to give everything I had to win," she said.

Russia's Anna Chicherova took the silver with 2.02 metres, her personal best for the season.

"This second world silver is very important to me. I had to be very patient to come back from surgery. I didn't expect a medal and actually nobody thought about me either," said Chicherova, winner of the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics last year.

European indoor champion and local favourite Ariane Friedrich could only manage bronze after she narrowly failed clearing 2.06 metres.

"It was unbelievable, I had so much pressure. I am so proud to have won this medal. It means everything to me and I will celebrate it," the German said.

"It was a fantastic competition. I missed the 2.06m only by a hair's breadth," Friedrich added.