Phillips Idowu finally showed his mettle as well as metal on the big stage. With red hair, white socks and a belated banishing of the blues, the triple jumper claimed his biggest title yet and said, almost dumbfounded: “I’m the king of the world.”

After Jessica Ennis’s success in the heptathlon, it meant that Great Britain had secured two gold medals at a World Championships for the first time since 1993, a healthy return on the pessimism of most predictions. It also enabled Idowu to go some way to getting the monkey off his back as he emerged from the shadow of Jonathan Edwards, twice a world champion and for ever a sandpit legend.

“What happened last year?” Idowu said in answer to a question about the disappointment of losing Olympic gold by five centimetres in Beijing. “I had to move forward. I couldn’t dwell on the negativity.”

Hence, retirement is not an option at 30. “I still have a dream of being the Olympic champion,” he said.

Idowu’s third-round leap and lifetime best of 17.73 metres was enough to see off the persistent threat of Nelson Évora, from Portugal. When the Olympic champion jumped 17.55 metres in the last round, Idowu had his gold. He wept, went down on one knee and said a silent prayer.

“I’ve worked so hard,” he said. “I knew I had a big jump in me and I’m just grateful it came out at the right time. I didn’t think it was going to be enough, but it’s a good day, man.”

Last year Idowu claimed he felt like Superman, but in superhero terms, he has often been more like Robin, an impressive figure with unusual dress sense often made to play second fiddle. Not any more.

Idowu is still a resplendent presence, with multiple piercings — eight at the last count — and a penchant for Union Jack tongue studs. His hair has been most colours and he sported crimson sideburns last night. He also has a “1978” tattoo, his birth year, not triple jump target, and, now relocated from Hackney, East London, cuts a distinctive dash in Birmingham as he walks his Japanese Akita dog named Angel on a pink lead.

He believes his rivalry with Évora may drive them both beyond the 18-metre benchmark. Only Edwards, whose record is 18.29 metres, and Kenny Harrison, the American, have topped it.

“I think I will have to do that at the European Championships in Barcelona next year because Nelson’s going to be hungry now,” Idowu said.

Losing to Évora is no shame and the Portuguese opened with 17.54 metres, only six centimetres shy of Idowu’s best this year. The gauntlet was down. Idowu responded with 17.51 metres and you wondered whether this was going to be another of those horrible near-misses. But this time there was no pit of doom.

Idowu responded with a consistent series of three jumps, topped off by one mighty leap of faith for the God-fearing Commonwealth champion, and Évora’s last effort was 18 centimetres adrift.