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Golden Gala: Powell posts season best
Asafa Powell marked his return from a groin injury by posting his season-best 9.90 seconds in winning the 100 meters at the Golden Gala on Friday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: July 15, 2007 06:11 PM IST
Read Time:4 min
Rome:
The hunt for the Golden League jackpot was reduced to three athletes following a javelin accident. Also, Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius warmed up for a world-class, able-bodied race this weekend by finishing second in a 400-meter B sprint.
Powell, the 100-meter world record-holder at 9.77, improved on the 9.94 he won with at the opening Golden League meet in Oslo, Norway last month.
This was Powell's first 100 since he was injured at the Jamaican championships on June 23. Powell led all the way, slowing as he crossed the line.
"I am happy with the time and the way I ran the race," he said. "I eased up at the finish. I did not want to put pressure after the injury."
Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, who won at the Golden League meet in Paris last week with Powell absent, finished second in 10.02. Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles was third in 10.10.
Tyson Gay still has the year's fastest time of 9.84, set at the US trials last month.
"The clash between me and Tyson Gay in Osaka will be one of the showdowns of the year," Powell said, referring to next month's world championships in Japan.
Tero Pitkamaki of Finland was eliminated from the jackpot after finishing second in the javelin to Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway. Thorkildsen won with 88.36 meters to Pitkamaki's 86.09.
Errant javelin
Pitkamaki appeared rattled when his errant throw hit French long jumper Salim Sdiri in the side.
Sdiri was conscious as he was loaded into an ambulance on the track and taken to a local hospital with what organizers described as a three-centimeter external wound.
Yelena Isinbayeva (pole vault), Sanya Richards (400) and Michelle Perry (100 hurdles) remained in contention for the jackpot of $1 million - awarded to competitors who win their event in each of the series' six meets.
Isinbayeva cleared 4.90 but failed on three attempts on improving her world record by one centimeter to 5.02.
Richards won the 400 in 49.77, keeping up her form after failing to qualify in the event at the US trials.
Perry posted the fastest time this year in the 100 hurdles - 12.44 seconds.
"The Golden League hunt is still on. At the start I felt the blood pumping because I felt the pressure," Perry said. "I started well, I executed it well in the middle, and I finished strongly."
Pistorius, a double-amputee who races on carbon fiber blades attached below his knees, charged from behind in the final straight to time 46.90 seconds against local 400 runners, well off his personal best of 46.56.
"I am not very happy about my time, but it's still nice to be out on the track," Pistorius said. "These past three weeks have been very tiring so I guess my time was to be expected."
Pistorius impresses
Pistorius has been under an intense media spotlight since he was given permission to race in top able-bodied races by the International Association of Athletics Federations last month. He has competed in able-bodied races in South Africa for the last three years.
On Sunday, the 20-year-old will run the top-tier 400 at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Sheffield, England in a field that includes Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.
Andrew Howe leaped 8.12 to win the long jump, maintaining his concentration after watching Pitkamaki's javelin glide by him and hit Sdiri.
"It was very frightening, I saw it go straight past my face and then into him," Howe said. "But then I had to concentrate again and try and do my best."
Dwight Phillips, the world and Olympic champion, finished ninth at 7.66.
While several of Ethiopia's long-distance runners were pulled out of the meet by their national federation to compete in the All Africa Games, Sileshi Sihine remained and posted the fastest time this year to win the men's 5,000 in 13:01.46. Eliud Kipchoge, the 2003 world champion, was second in 13:02.10.
Adil Kaouch followed up his win at the opening Golden League meet in Oslo by taking the men's 1,500. The Moroccan, the silver medalist at the last worlds, timed a personal-best 3:30.77.
There are three more Golden League meets in September in Zurich, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium; and Berlin.
Asafa Powell marked his return from a groin injury by posting his season-best 9.90 seconds in winning the 100 meters at the Golden Gala on Friday.The hunt for the Golden League jackpot was reduced to three athletes following a javelin accident. Also, Paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius warmed up for a world-class, able-bodied race this weekend by finishing second in a 400-meter B sprint.
Powell, the 100-meter world record-holder at 9.77, improved on the 9.94 he won with at the opening Golden League meet in Oslo, Norway last month.
This was Powell's first 100 since he was injured at the Jamaican championships on June 23. Powell led all the way, slowing as he crossed the line.
"I am happy with the time and the way I ran the race," he said. "I eased up at the finish. I did not want to put pressure after the injury."
Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, who won at the Golden League meet in Paris last week with Powell absent, finished second in 10.02. Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles was third in 10.10.
Tyson Gay still has the year's fastest time of 9.84, set at the US trials last month.
"The clash between me and Tyson Gay in Osaka will be one of the showdowns of the year," Powell said, referring to next month's world championships in Japan.
Tero Pitkamaki of Finland was eliminated from the jackpot after finishing second in the javelin to Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway. Thorkildsen won with 88.36 meters to Pitkamaki's 86.09.
Errant javelin
Pitkamaki appeared rattled when his errant throw hit French long jumper Salim Sdiri in the side.
Sdiri was conscious as he was loaded into an ambulance on the track and taken to a local hospital with what organizers described as a three-centimeter external wound.
Yelena Isinbayeva (pole vault), Sanya Richards (400) and Michelle Perry (100 hurdles) remained in contention for the jackpot of $1 million - awarded to competitors who win their event in each of the series' six meets.
Isinbayeva cleared 4.90 but failed on three attempts on improving her world record by one centimeter to 5.02.
Richards won the 400 in 49.77, keeping up her form after failing to qualify in the event at the US trials.
Perry posted the fastest time this year in the 100 hurdles - 12.44 seconds.
"The Golden League hunt is still on. At the start I felt the blood pumping because I felt the pressure," Perry said. "I started well, I executed it well in the middle, and I finished strongly."
Pistorius, a double-amputee who races on carbon fiber blades attached below his knees, charged from behind in the final straight to time 46.90 seconds against local 400 runners, well off his personal best of 46.56.
"I am not very happy about my time, but it's still nice to be out on the track," Pistorius said. "These past three weeks have been very tiring so I guess my time was to be expected."
Pistorius impresses
Pistorius has been under an intense media spotlight since he was given permission to race in top able-bodied races by the International Association of Athletics Federations last month. He has competed in able-bodied races in South Africa for the last three years.
On Sunday, the 20-year-old will run the top-tier 400 at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Sheffield, England in a field that includes Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.
Andrew Howe leaped 8.12 to win the long jump, maintaining his concentration after watching Pitkamaki's javelin glide by him and hit Sdiri.
"It was very frightening, I saw it go straight past my face and then into him," Howe said. "But then I had to concentrate again and try and do my best."
Dwight Phillips, the world and Olympic champion, finished ninth at 7.66.
While several of Ethiopia's long-distance runners were pulled out of the meet by their national federation to compete in the All Africa Games, Sileshi Sihine remained and posted the fastest time this year to win the men's 5,000 in 13:01.46. Eliud Kipchoge, the 2003 world champion, was second in 13:02.10.
Adil Kaouch followed up his win at the opening Golden League meet in Oslo by taking the men's 1,500. The Moroccan, the silver medalist at the last worlds, timed a personal-best 3:30.77.
There are three more Golden League meets in September in Zurich, Switzerland; Brussels, Belgium; and Berlin.
Topics mentioned in this article
Athletics
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