Jamaica's Maurice Smith during the shot put event of the men's decathlon.- Reuters

A NATIONAL record performance by decathlete Maurice Smith landed Jamaica their first medal in the event at a world meet - the 11th IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

Smith's silver-medal effort easily saw him claim The Gleaner's Top Performer of the Week award.

The Jamaican finished just behind Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic, who added the one majortitle missing from his illustrious collection to become the first man since England's Daley Thompson to simultaneously hold the World, Olympic and European titles.

Holding a 44-point advantage, approximately worth six and a half seconds, on the emerging Jamaican star, Sebrle ran a canny race, tracking his main rival in heat two of the final event, the 1500m.

suffered from sore arm

Smith, who has suffered from a sore arm this year, had earlier faltered in the javelin, the penultimate event, which he entered with the lead.

However, in the final event, Smith crossed the line in a season best of 4:33.52 with Sebrle, arms outstretched in triumph, one place behind in 4:35.32.

The Czech had held on for a narrow 32-point victory with 8,676 points to Smith's 8,644, a Jamaican record.

Smith bettered his Jamaican record of 8,349 points.

"I really surprised myself with the overall results. I feel like a winner," said Smith.

- Anthony Foster