One race, two athletes, a merciless wait and then a bronze medal. For those reasons Irish 400-metre running won't ever be the same again. Talk about a revolution. Ian O'Riordan reports from Birmingham.

So Birmingham and the World Indoor Championships is where Paul McKee took the green vest into new territory. He had to endure a harsh mix of emotions - and some extraordinary miscalculation by the organisers - before actually getting his medal, but it hardly matters now.

The last Irishman to get the same in a sprint event was Bob Tisdall, gold medallist in the 400 hurdles back in the 1932 Olympics.

And in taking fifth David McCarthy was not far behind McKee. Still only 19, and in his first senior championships, McCarthy is not just a star of the future - he has arrived. And together he and McKee have helped establish a new order in Irish athletics.

Indoor 400-metre running is normally about high drama, but yesterday that extended long after the athletes crossed the line. That US champion Tyree Washington won gold was at least certain; he had led the two-lap race from the gun and run 45.34 seconds - the fastest in the world this year.

Behind him was defending champion Daniel Caines, Britain's poster-boy of these championships and on this day satisfied with silver, running a personal best of 45.23.

But in judging third place the Birmingham officials had to refer to their rule book, and thought they could decide on bronze on the basis that the athlete's torso is the true measure for placing.

McKee had clearly hit the finish in a direct line with Britain's Jamie Baulch, another former champion. Both athletes lounged about for five nervous minutes, and then the scoreboard named Baulch in third. Both men were timed at 45.99 - a season's best for Baulch and an Irish record for McKee.

"I honestly thought I'd out-ducked him," said McKee before heading off with the Irish team management to examine the photo finish.

A half-hour later only three athletes were called to the medal podium. But the scoreboard then displayed McKee in joint third - the first indication that the Irish appeal had been successful. After examining the photo-finish from both angles the judges admitted it impossible to separate the two. In fact from one side Baulch was third, from the other it was McKee. And so both athletes deservedly got the bronze, and the $10,000 prize

So McKee returned to the medal podium alone, some three hours after the race had finished. The Irish flag was raised in the bronze medal position.

"I honestly thought that I'd got at least joint third all along," admitted McKee. "Maybe I ran a bit wide on that second lap but I knew there was nothing in it."

Before yesterday no Irish athlete had even made the final of a world championship 400 metres. And what a memorable scene: As expected two British, an American and an Australian. Plus two Irish, standing out like gatecrashers at a black-tie event.

McKee was always well positioned on the shoulder of Baulch, before closing on the line, while McCarthy slipped past Daniel Batman of Australia in the final straight. Fifth place for him was worth $6,000.

For McKee, the 25-year-old from Belfast in this his first season of indoor racing, the weekend merely confirmed his outstanding potential. Last summer he improved the outdoor national record to 45.58, then decided to take a year off teaching at La Salle (his old alma mater) and go full time.

Like McCarthy, the one with the postcard Irish looks, McKee can hardly wait for the outdoor season to begin.

This plan to establish a new order in Irish athletics was hastily arranged on Saturday evening. Already the two Irishmen had pioneered a place in the world championship semi-final, but McKee wanted more, and won his semi-final in 46.24 - the first of his two Irish records of the weekend.

Just minutes later McCarthy lined up for the second semi-final, and though coming into the race his personal best of 46.66 ranked him the slowest on paper of the six starters, with the coolest of moves he eased into third around the final bend, and crossed the line with a raised fist. His best was now 46.61 seconds.

McKee joins the short and distinguished list of Irish medal-winners at the World Indoor championships - Frank O'Mara, Marcus O'Sullivan, Paul Donovan and Sonia O'Sullivan.