EDMONTON, Canada Russia's Natalya Sadova won her first world championship gold medal in the discus on Saturday with the longest throw of the year.

Sadova, who took bronze in Athens in 1997 and placed fourth two years ago, won with her fourth attempt -- 68.57 meters.

Belarussia's Olympic champion Ellina Zvereva won the silver medal, throwing 67.10 meters, and Romania's Nicoleta Grasu won the bronze with 66.24.

Once she had the gold, Sadova, 29, draped in the Russian flag, hugged long-time rival Zvereva.

Zvereva, 40, became the oldest woman in track and field history to win a gold medal in Sydney last September.

She briefly retired after her win and was the lead qualifier heading into the final.

Sadova won silver at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and is a four-time European Cup winner. She has had a consistent season, throwing more than 64 meters in five competitions, Reuters reported.

"I knew that my time was going to come because I believed in myself. It finally came," Sadova said.

Grasu, who had the best throw of the year ahead of the championships, grabbed her back after her first attempt on Saturday. She was visibly in pain for the duration of the competition but persevered to produce a bronze medal-winning throw on her fifth attempt.

Grasu, who had won 12 out of 13 competitions ahead of the championships, said she came to Edmonton expecting to win.

Her fifth throw pushed world and Olympic silver medalist Anastasia Kelesidou of Greece into fourth place despite a season's best of 65.50 in the second round.

Defending champion Franka Dietzsch finished fifth.

Zvereva sighed when asked about her future.

"I really want to compete in a couple more Olympics but the youngsters are pushing and I can hear them coming. Slowly I will cease," she said.

Sadova and Zvereva said they believed it would take about two years to break the world record of 76.80, set by the former East Germany's Gabriele Reinsch in 1988.