Kenya's Pamela Jelimo became the first sole winner of the $1 Million (Sh70, 000, 000) prize jackpot since Tatyana Lebedeva went six-for-six in 2005, with a win on Friday night at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels.

When the AF Golden League jackpot disciplines got underway last December, high jumper Blanka Vlasic of Croatia was in the middle of what would become the longest unbeaten streak in the sport.

And Jelimo, a virtually unknown quantity, had yet to contest her first 800m race.

Yet when the six-meeting series concluded on Friday night, it was Jelimo who would survive the gruelling 14-week battle to win athletics' biggest prize.

"I am happy, I realised my dream," said Jelimo. "This is the same happiness as in Beijing," she added.

So dominant was the precocious 19-year-old this year that perhaps the most difficult part of her jackpot chase was waiting for the conclusion of the women's High Jump, where Vlasic, her co-contender after five meetings, was struggling in one of the most compelling field event competitions of the year.

In the 800m, Jelimo went fast from the gun, tailing pacesetter Svetlana Klyuka from the outset.

By 400m, Klyuka, fourth at the Olympic Games, was already labouring to keep a step ahead of the Kenyan who sailed home in 1:55.16, more than three-and-a-half seconds clear of runner-up Janeth Jepkosgei.

Conversely, the wet surface made for a dramatic competition as soon as the bar was raised to a relatively modest 1.94m.

At that height which probably last gave her problems during her days a junior, Vlasic would need all three efforts before sailing clear.

But she would fall at the final hurdle, failing to clear the bar at 2.02m after three attempts.

"I sympathise for her, but that is the nature of this sport," Jelimo said of her jackpot chase rival.

"Today you lose, but tomorrow you can do your best and be a winner again. And that is what I wish for her," she added.

In the meantime, Jelimo will have a more immediate concern- how to spend her prize.

"I will have to help my family," she said. "I will invest intelligently because this money will help me and my family in the future."