SAINT-DENIS, France -- Until three weeks ago, Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus was a common drug cheater. On Saturday, he was crowned a world champion.

Adding yet another dubious chapter to an event riddled with doping, Mikhnevich became the first non-American in a decade to win the shot put world title -- just 19 days after completing a two-year drug ban.

American Adam Nelson matched the silver medal he won at the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, but his best toss was not as good as any of Mikhnevich's four best throws.

When asked whether it was frustrating to lose to a man who came off a drug ban on Aug. 4, Nelson took a deep breath and paused before speaking.

"As long as he's clean here, that's fine," Nelson said in a measured voice. "He was tested during the whole suspension and was clean."

Nelson's jaw then tightened.

"There's nothing I can do," he said. "You can read my face."

Mikhnevich said he tested positive for a gonadotropin and blamed it on a mistake by his doctor. Gonadotropins are protein hormones naturally produced by the pituitary gland and are essential to women during pregnancy. They can impair the production of sperm by men.

"The first year (of the suspension) was very difficult, because I don't consider myself guilty and psychologically it was very hard. The second year was a bit better because my objective was the World Championships," he said. "Well, I wasn't exactly resting for two years. I worked flat out."

The 27-year-old Mikhnevich won with a toss of 71 feet, 2 inches. He also had throws of 70-4½, 70-4 and 70-1. Nelson's best was 69-9.

Nelson said he hopes Mikhnevich learns from his suspension and will "be responsible in the future."

"I'm extremely proud of all the decisions I've made and the decisions my teammates have made. We know the difference between right and wrong," Nelson said. "What I will say about this particular young gentleman is that he certainly has a lot of talent and potential. His future in the sport will be determined by the choices he makes."

The U.S. team had hoped for a sweep of the shot put medals. But three-time champion John Godina failed to reach the last three rounds, and Kevin Toth came in fourth -- behind Ukrainian Yuriy Bilonog.

Defending champion Godina seemed to have a long toss on his third throw, but was called for a foul. His eyes bulged and his mouth opened wide. He appealed to officials, but a video replay showed he indeed had a foot foul.

That left him ninth after the first three throws, and only the top eight advance to the last three throws of the final.

"I would have been in the final easily. It's my fault," Godina said. "It was just a bad day."

The three Americans did better than pre-meet favorite Carl Myerscough, who failed to make it out of the qualifying round earlier in the day. Myerscough, from Britain, won the NCAA title in June for Nebraska with the second-longest throw in the world this year.

Myerscough, who served a two-year doping suspension from 2000-2002, is banned from the Olympics for life by the British Olympic Association.

The opening day of the nine-day world meet also featured an Afghan woman making history -- very slowly -- in the 100 meters. Lima Azimi, wearing sweats to hide her legs, finished her first-round heat a whopping seven seconds behind U.S. champion Kelli White.

Azimi, 23, is the first Afghan woman to compete in the World Championships. She wore silver nail polish on her left hand, but not her right -- as a Muslim, she is required to keep that hand clean.

"It's the first time I am out of the house wearing a T-shirt," Azimi said. "This is the first time I've been outdoors with nothing on my arms and my hair."

White had the fastest 100 time of the day, winning her second-round heat in 10.96 seconds. The only other competitor under 11 seconds was Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas. The semifinals and final are Sunday.

The reigning Olympic champion in the 100, Marion Jones, sat in the stands doing TV commentary on the race. Jones, who gave birth to a son on June 28, also is in Paris to support boyfriend Tim Montgomery, who begins his bid for the men's 100 title on Sunday.

In Saturday's other two finals, Jefferson Perez of Ecuador won the men's 20-kilometer walk and Adere Berhane of Ethiopia won the women's 10,000.

Two-time defending champion Stacy Dragila qualified for the final of the women's pole vault, as did her main challengers -- Russians Svetlana Feofanova and Yelena Isinbayeva.

One of Dragila's U.S. teammates, Jillian Schwartz, escaped injury when her pole shattered as she went up for a jump. But she failed to reach Monday night's final.

Also competing Saturday was Saif Saeed Shaheen of Qatar, who until earlier this summer was Stephen Cherono of Kenya. Shaheen not only competed against his former country in the steeplechase heats, but ran against his older brother -- Abraham Cherono -- as well.

Shaheen, who won the heat while his brother finished fourth, said he will be paid $1,000 a month for the rest of his life by Qatar, the oil-rich nation that has never earned a medal at the world meet.