Eventful Diamond League Meeting in Stockholm
The Diamond League Meeting in Stockholm on Friday evening contained several highlights. The meeting assumed Diamond League status this year.
The main event, of course, was the men's 100m, where Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell were set to race Tyson g*y for the first time this season.
But on Thursday, Powell withdrew from the race with an injury, leaving Bolt and g*y to face each other.
With most expecting world record holder Bolt to win, it was g*y who reacted fastest in the starting blocks and charged through the race to win in 9.83 seconds. Bolt's trademark acceleration in the final 60m was nowhere to be seen.
Stadium Record for Jackson
In the men's 400m hurdles, US athlete Bershawn Jackson won a compelling victory. He set a new stadium record in 47.65 seconds, over a second ahead of Puerto Rico's Javier Culson at 48.50.
In the women's shorter hurdles, US favourite Lolo Jones only finished third, with Sally Pearson grabbing an upset win in 12.57 seconds – a season's best for the Australian. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada came second in 12.59 seconds.
Like the short hurdles, the women's 400m had a strong lineup, with seven of the world's best runners competing on the night. Recent European champion Tatyana Firova won the race in 50.47 seconds after a strong finish.
Russian Feorova, who was in sixth place with 100m to go, sprinted ahead to overtake US sprinter Debbie Dunn and win the event.
In the men's 400m, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Gary Kikaya won in 45.81 seconds.
Poland's Marcin Lewandowski barged ahead in the men's 800m, claiming the win in 1:45.06 after a push that many will argue should have led to his disqualification.
Koech Won Men's Steeplechase
In the men's 3000m steeplechase, Paul Koech won first place in 8:02.19 after the runners whipped up a stunning pace early on in the race.
Koech, who seemed destined for a better time towards the end of the race, saw his powers dwindle in the last lap due to the race's quick start.
Kenyan Mark Kosgei Kiptoo won the men's 5000m race, the longest distance of the meeting, with a personal best of 12:53.46.
Running elegantly with her shoulders perfectly steady, US sprinter Allyson Felix won the women's 200m race in 22.41 seconds, 0.10 seconds ahead of Shalonda Solomon at 22.51 seconds.
Russia claimed another win when Svetlana Feofanova won the women's pole vault, jumping 4.71m ahead of Silke Spiegelburg at 4.61m, and Fabiana Murer at 4.51m.
In the jumps, meanwhile, last week's European gold medalist Blanka Vlasic of Croatia defended her title by clearing 2.02m.
Sweden's Emma Green, runner-up at the Euros, came third at 1.94m, while Chaunte Howard-Lowe jumped 2.00m for second place.
Sweden's Christian Olsson made a telling comeback to the men's triple jump, having missed out on the Euros.
He noted a season's best of 17.32m in his first jump to claim second place. France's Teddy Tamgho won the event by jumping 17.36m.
Russian Darya Klishina won the women's long jump after reaching 6.78m. Brittney Reese of the US came second with 6.75m, while third place went to Portugal's Naide Gomes for her 6.72m jump.
And in the men's javelin, Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen suffered only his second defeat of the season after being beaten by Finnish thrower Tero Pitkamaki.
The Finn threw 84.41m late in the competition, while Thorkildsen's 83.63m earned him second place.
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