Newly crowned Jamaican world 100m champion Yohan Blake raced to victory on Thursday, timing a personal best 9.82 seconds at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, ousting compatriot Asafa Powell by 0.13 seconds and American world silver medalist Walter Dix.
Blake, 21, had raced to gold at the worlds in Daegu, South Korea, in 9.92 seconds, following the sensational disqualification of world record holder Usain Bolt.
Thursday’s showing was a new personal best for Blake by 0.07 seconds.
Photo: Reuters
Bolt skipped Zurich, while Powell was making his return to the track after missing Daegu with a troublesome groin injury. Grenadian teen Kirani James also managed a personal best time of 44.36 seconds in the men’s 400m to add to his just-garnered world title.
“I am not surprised to win in a personal best time, even though I am just back from Daegu,” Blake told reporters. “Usain Bolt told me I’d win tonight, but to make sure I do it sub-10 seconds,” Blake added, speaking to BBC Sport.
“The future looks good for me. I’m looking forward to the Olympics next year,” Blake said.
Photo: EPA
James was for his part delighted to show that his own Daegu success was no flash in the pan as he hared down the home stretch to see off LaShawn Merritt once again and in the process knock a quarter of a second off his personal best.
Jamaica’s Jermaine Gonzales was third in 45.39 seconds. Elsewhere, Cuban star Dayron Robles bagged the 110m hurdles in 13.01 seconds, edging out world champion Jason Richardson to erase some of his Daegu disqualification disappointment.
“I felt great today until the seventh hurdle — otherwise I’d have run under 13 seconds,” Robles said.
Australian world champion Sally Pearson was again too good for all comers as she won the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.52 seconds, ahead of US rival Dawn Harper (12.81 seconds) and Canada’s Phylicia George (12.84 seconds), while Carmelita Jeter, the 100m world champion, took the women’s 200m in 22.47 seconds, going one better than her Daegu showing at that distance.
Allyson Felix of the US was second in 22.40 seconds and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser completed the podium in 22.59 seconds.
In the women’s 800m, gold went to Russia’s world champion Mariya Savinova in 1 minute, 58.27 seconds, with silver claimed by American Alysia Johnson in 1 minute, 58.41 seconds. Britain’s Jennifer Meadows took the bronze in 1 minute 58.92 seconds, but South Africa’s Caster Semenya could only manage fifth in 1 minute, 59.77 seconds.
World champion Ezekiel Kemboi won the 3,000m steeplechase with fellow Kenyans Silas Kiplagat and Haron Keitany completing the podium.
Another world champion winner on Thursday was Vivian Cheruiyot, who took the women’s 5,000m in 14 minutes, 30.1 seconds, ahead of Sally Kipyego and Linet Chepkwemoi Barasa in another Kenyan one-two-three.
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