Germany's Martin Buss has won the high jump gold medal at the World Championships in Edmonton.

The winning leap of 2.36 metres came at his second attempt and ended the challenge of world record holder, Javier Sotomayor.

The Cuban had applied pressure to the field when he cleared 2.33m.

Only the formidable Russian pair of Yaroslav Rybakov and Vyacheslav Voronin were immediately able to follow him.

But Buss, who had passed at that height after one failure, sprang back to make his winning clearance and celebrated his first major title.

The first major casualty of the competition was American Charles Austin.

The former Olympic champion could only clear 2.20 metres, some 20 centimetres short of his personal best.