Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica won the 100m at a Paris Golden League meeting on Friday in 9.79 seconds, recording his best time of the season despite a poor start in damp, chilly conditions.
His time was only marginally slower than the 9.77 seconds ran by US rival Tyson Gay in Rome recently — the fastest mark of the year so far.
Bolt, who holds the 100 record with 9.69 seconds set at the Beijing Olympic Games last year, was slow out of the blocks on Friday but pulled clear of the field after the first 50m.
“It was not the perfect race, but it was good enough for me. I had a bad start in bad weather so it’s a good result,” he said afterwards, adding that he had played it safe. “I was careful because I didn’t want to be injured ... You don’t want to be injured at this time in the season just before the World championships so you just have to be cautious.”
He chalked up his previous best of the year of 9.86 seconds last month and Bolt said he would only take part in one more meeting, in London next week, before the Berlin World championships next month.
“The World championships are very important to show the world that last year was not a joke,” said Bolt, who also set world records in winning the 200m and 4x100m relay at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Bolt is the favorite to steal Gay’s 100m and 200m crowns in Berlin and he did not face any of his main rivals in Paris. Daniel Bailey of Antigua came second on Friday in 9.91 seconds and Jamaican Yohan Blake third in 9.93.
The unseasonal cold cast a pall over all the events at the Paris meeting with few athletes able to shine in the gloom.
However, it was a good evening for the quartet of athletes still in the running for a cut of the US$1 million jackpot that will be shared out between those who win at all six Golden League meetings this year. Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia completed his 4th consecutive victory in the galas, winning the 3,000m in 7 minutes, 28.64 seconds.
US World 1,500m and 5,000m champion Bernard Lagat came second in 7:33.15.
The other three contenders for the US$1 million jackpot — Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart (100m), American Sanya Richards (400m) and Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva (Pole Vault) — all maintained their 100 percent records with relative ease.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping