Former world record holder Asafa Powell grabbed a second pre-Olympics 100m win in three days on Friday when he cruised to victory at the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace.
The Jamaican clocked 9.94 seconds to win ahead of Trinidad’s Marc Burns (9.97 seconds) in a race which had been originally billed as a clash with world champion Tyson Gay.
However, the American pulled out after failing to recover from the hamstring injury he suffered during the Olympic trials last month.
PHOTO: AP
Powell had defeated compatriot and world record holder Usain Bolt in Stockholm on Tuesday in a time of 9.88 seconds, but a tough headwind compromised the Jamaican’s attempts to press faster on Friday.
“It wasn’t as quick as it could have been, but I’m ready,” Powell said.
America’s double world champion Allyson Felix left the stadium refusing to discuss her limp 200m performance, which so enraged her that she did not take her place in the 4x100m relay.
Felix was fourth in the 200m in a time of 23.00 seconds.
The event was won by Jamaica’s Sherone Simpson in 22.70 seconds.
Two weeks after setting her 23rd polevault world record in Rome, Russia’s Yelena Isinbaeva narrowly failed in her bid to make it 24 when she attempted to clear 5.04m.
America’s Jenny Stuczynski, Isinbayeva’s closest rival, only cleared 4.81m and looks powerless to prevent the Russian from successfully defending her Olympic title.
World 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu of Britain won her race, her only outing before Beijing.
Britain’s Phillips Idowu, the world indoor champion, won the triple jump with a distance of 17.42m.
In the absence of world 110m hurdles record holder Dayron Robles, David Oliver of the US took victory in 13.20 seconds.
Russia’s Andrey Silnov, who missed out on selection for the Olympics, won the men’s high jump with a season best leap of 2.38m.
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