August 27, 2007, 11:41 AM CDT

OSAKA, Japan -- Five minutes after a race that lasted 11 seconds, no one knew who had won.

The women's 100-meter final Monday night at the World Track and Field Championships was that close, with Veronica Campbell of Jamaica finally declared the gold medalist by less than one-hundredth of a second.

"It was nerve-wracking,'' Campbell said. "I wasn't sure.''

How could she be, the way the results appeared on the scoreboard at Nagai Stadium?

The board first showed Torri Edwards of the United States as the winner, even though the only clear thing about the finish, as viewed both live and on replays, was that Edwards was fourth.

"I knew I didn't have first or second,'' Edwards said. "I thought I had third.''

Then the board put U.S. runner Lauryn Williams, the defending champion, in second place below Edwards.

"I was watching the replay, and I couldn't decide who had won it,'' Williams said. "I was really hoping God would shine down on me, and I would be the gold medalist again.''

Then the board went blank for two minutes.

"When I saw the photo (of the finish), I took it as Veronica, Lauryn and someone else. I didn't think I was in it,'' said the third U.S. finalist, Carmelita Jeter.

Finally, the officials got it right: Campbell first, 11.01 seconds. Williams second, 11.01. Jeter third, 11.02. Edwards fourth, 11.05.

Such decisions are made by studying computer-generated photos of the finish, which pictures the runners in relation to a timeline calibrated in thousandths of a second. Officials connect the position of the torso as each runner crosses the finish to the timeline.

It was the smallest margin between first and third in a women's 100 meters at the biennial world meet. The difference between first and second was so slight USA Track and Field officials considered a protest that the photo had been misread but dropped the idea after further study of both the photo and the video.

"An ear, a nose, a chin can get you second or third,'' Jeter said.

A second look at the replay convinced Williams she was second.

"I realized I leaned a little too early,'' she said.

Campbell, 2004 Olympic champion in the 200 meters, had been second to Williams in the 100 at the 2005 worlds.

Her victory made Lance Brauman the first person to coach the men's and women's world champion at worlds.

That is even more remarkable given Brauman's situation.

He begins a month in a Florida halfway house Tuesday, ending a year and a day in a Texas federal prison. Brauman was convicted on embezzlement, theft and mail fraud charges related to using student assistance funds at Barton Community College in Kansas to pay athletes, including men's champion Tyson Gay of the United States, for work they didn't do.

Campbell, like Gay, trained this season using a program Brauman had written out before going to jail and updated in occasional telephone conversations. She also turned to a friend, injured Jamaican sprinter Omar "Teacup'' Brown, for help on technique and "keeping me focused.''

"He (Brauman) should be very proud,'' Campbell said.

Williams, who has struggled the past two seasons with injuries, and Jeter, whose time was a personal best, each could feel equally proud of her finish. Edwards, who had returned from a doping suspension to win the U.S. championship, simply felt let down when the long wait for the results ended.

"All I can remember is standing there and not getting the medal,'' Edwards said. "I'm really disappointed.''

Miler Alan Webb nearly became the biggest disappointment of the meet. Webb had to come from last in the final 400 meters of Monday's 1,500-meter semifinal to assure himself of the fifth-place finish that would put him in Wednesday's final.

"I knew it was really close,'' Webb said. "I was trying to count guys.''

Fifth is exactly where Webb finished, and he was much closer to eighth than he was to the semifinal winner, defending champion Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain.

When the runners bolted away from the gun, Webb never reacted.

"I wasn't aggressive enough,'' he said.

Webb, who has the fastest 1,500 time in the world this year, ran last for the first 1,100 meters. He seemed unable to decide when to make a move that could put him back in the race.

"I tried to do something I don't like -- be in the back for almost the whole time,'' Webb said. "It almost cost me a spot.''

That Webb still is callow in championship meet 1,500s, with their bumping and boxing out, was made clear by how his veteran teammate, Bernard Lagat, escaped several apparent traps to win the other semifinal.

Lagat, 2004 Olympic silver medalist, was boxed into ninth place as the final lap began but moved every time he saw a little space and then ran clear in a chaotic home stretch where two runners fell.

Mehdi Baala of France, the 2003 world silver medalist, was disqualified for the push that led Youssef Baba of Marocco to tumble and finish last. Baba was given a place in the final.

Copyright (c) 2007, The Chicago Tribune

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