Liu Xiang stormed to victory in the 110 metres hurdles with a world-record-equalling performance before long distance runner Xing Huina overcame a strong Ethiopian challenge in the women's 10,000m.

But elsewhere it was a different tale for athletics' former pin-up girl Marion Jones, who failed to land a medal of any colour in her two finals, the long jump and 4x100m relay.

There was heartache too for British icon Paula Radcliffe, who bombed out of the 10,000m days after flopping in the marathon.

There was, though, a golden farewell for legendary Polish walker Robert Korzeniowski as the 36-year-old won his fourth Olympic title and third successive 50km crown.

America, however, did not go away empty handed as Timothy Mack led a US 1-2 -- Toby Stevenson taking silver -- in the pole vault in an enthralling competition that saw the winner set a new Olympic record of 5.95 metres.

Liu became the first man from China to win an Olympic athletics gold medal after scorching to victory and matched Colin Jackson's 11-year-old world record of 12.91 seconds set at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart.

The 21-year-old Shanghai student's time could even be regarded as better than the Briton's as the wind was 0.3 in the Olympic final compared to the 0.5 when Jackson set it.

"My victory has proved that athletes with yellow skin can run as fast as those with black and white skin," said Liu.

"This is a miracle, but I believe a lot more miracles will take place in China," he said, as a new generation of his compatriots signalled they will be a force to be reckoned with on the track in 2008.

Silver medallist Terrence Trammell explained why he thought Liu was so good.

"He is just consistent and consistency is the key to hurdling," said the 25-year-old silver medallist at both the 2000 Olympics and 2003 World Championships.

Xing, 20, timed a personal best of 30 minutes 24.36 seconds to become only the fourth ever Chinese female athlete to take gold.

"This is unbelievable," beamed Xing, who showed her potential when she broke the world junior record in the 10,000m world championship final last year.

Radcliffe was already in the tunnel well before Xing's moment of glory having ended her futile bid eight laps from home.

"It is not the same thing as the marathon," the 31-year-old said.

Tatyana Lebedeva led a Russian 1-2-3 in the women's long jump final.

Lebedeva, who cried tears of sorrow after winning only bronze in her favoured triple jump on Monday, made amends with a winning leap of 7.07 metres in the second round.

Compatriots Irina Simagina and Tatyana Kotova took silver and bronze respectively. Both jumped 7.05 but Simagina had the next best effort of 7.02.

By contrast Jones' best of 6.85 metres was distinctly average by her standards, leaving her fifth.

Lebedeva was desperately disappointed to finish third in the triple jump when she was the clear favourite for gold having won both the long and triple jump titles at the world indoor championships in March.

After fouling her first effort on Friday she got it right with her second attempt, sailing just past the mark of her two compatriots.

The leap of 7.07 was well short of her season's best of 7.33 but in a mediocre competition it proved enough and this time the 28-year-old wept tears of joy.

"After the triple jump my coach said to me that I must relax and not be afraid to compete. I have the complete set of medals now -- gold, silver and bronze," beamed the Russian, who was second in the triple jump four years ago in Sydney.

Jones then completed made a tearful exit after being the golden girl of the Sydney Games when 28-year-old was involved in a baton change blunder in the 4x100 metres relay which left a United States women's quartet out of the medals for the first time since 1980.

It completed a miserable year for Jones, who has found herself at the centre of an ongoing drugs scandal investigation that has already wrecked the career of sprinter boyfriend Tim Montgomery.

Asked about her whole experience at this Olympics, Jones said: "It was a rough one," before breaking down in tears and vowing to return.

"There is no way this is my last race," she said.

American 100m champion Latasha Colander, her former training partner with controversial coach Trevor Graham who Jones has left, sprang to her defence.

"You have all been on her back from the beginning to the end. This journey has been very hard for her. The US team has been behind her," said Colander.

For Korzeniowski there will be no return after bowing out in the best possible fashion.

"That was my last step as a walker," said Korzeniowski, who had been badly affected by the serious injuries suffered by Irish training partner Jamie Costin in a car crash in Athens shortly before athletics competition began.

"It was the title that I wanted the most and dreamt about the most," added the Pole.