Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell recovered from a poor start to win the men’s 100m on Friday with a wind-aided time of 9.81 seconds at the inaugural Diamond League meet in Doha.
Powell was slow out of the blocks and stepped out of his lane three times before blowing past the field near the end. He ran an even faster wind-aided 9.75 seconds in his qualifying heat and said that time should be a warning to his rivals.
“I’m satisfied. It was the first race of the season,” Powell said. “It’s the first I’ve opened so well in my career, so I’m happy. The 9.75 should open a few eyes.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
The win was made easier by the fact that fellow Jamaican and Olympic champion Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay of the US skipped the meet, but Powell said he was looking forward to facing his main rivals later in the season.
“This year will be very exciting because all the guys are waiting to run against each other,” Powell said. “Tonight I did well, so the next race should be a lot of better.”
Asked how he can beat Bolt, Powell smiled and said: “Just run, just run. That is what I have to do.”
Americans set the tone in many of the other elite events, with Lolo Jones and Bershawn Jackson winning their hurdles events.
Allyson Felix of the US came from the middle of the pack to claim the women’s 400m in 50.15 seconds, though compatriot Debbie Dunn finished a disappointing fourth.
Christian Cantwell won the men’s shot put with a season best throw of 21.82m, which was also a stadium record.
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Jones held off a challenge from Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada to win with a time of 12.63 seconds. Jones also had a slow start and clipped the first two hurdles before taking control of the race, beating Lopes-Schliep by 0.04 seconds.
“I hit two hurdles, so midway through the race I said there is no way I’ll win,” Jones said. “Then I started pulling things together. I was completely shocked I won. That I was able to get back in control, I was really proud of myself.”
Jackson, the Olympic bronze medalist, used a strong finish down the stretch to clock 48.66 seconds, beating Kerron Clement by 0.16 seconds. Olympic champion Angelo Taylor finished a disappointing fourth.
It was redemption of sorts for Jackson after his last trip to Doha at the World Indoors ended in frustration. He entered that event as the favorite in the 400m, but faded after tangling with another runner on the final bend. He left the field pounding the walls as he passed by reporters.
This time, he crossed the finish line with a smile and raised his arms as he made his victory lap — and then predicted he’ll be doing a lot more of those this season.
“I want to be No. 1, I want to win all the Diamond League races,” Jackson said. “Today, because of the wind, we could not get better times, but it was nice to beat the Olympic champion.”
Felix, a three-time world champion in the 200m, said her win in the 400m increased her confidence that she could possibly achieve a double at the worlds next year.
“I would love to be able to double, but you know your body has to be able to handle it,” Felix said. “This is really like the test. It would be amazing.”
The Doha meet is the first of 14 around the world in the Diamond League — which is the successor to the Golden League. Besides Bolt and fellow sprinter Tyson Gay, the meet is also missing the three athletes who shared the US$1 million Golden League jackpot last year — Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, US 400m runner Sanya Richards and Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele.
Isinbayeva is taking a break from the sport this season, while Richards and Bekele are out injured.
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