Powell wins in Shanghai

by D’Arcy Doran

Jamaican sprint star Asafa Powell on Sunday banished his recent injury woes with a 9.95 seconds win in the men’s 100 metres at the Diamond League in Shanghai.

Powell, who finished last in a 200m event a week earlier after pulling a hamstring, recorded the win as he tunes-up for an ambitious outdoor 100m season.

He will square off with both his rivals - the world’s fastest man and fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt and American Tyson Gay - before the World Championships in South Korea in late August.

Although he dominated Sunday’s race, it was far from his personal best of 9.72 - which he said he had hoped to beat in Shanghai. Bolt holds the world record with a time of 9.58.

Chinese star hurdler Liu Xiang was also hunting a win in the 110m before a hometown crowd in Shanghai, hoping a new start could help him recapture Olympic glory at London 2012.

The spotlight was on Liu, China’s first athlete to win an Olympic track gold medal, in 2004, who has had his eye on redemption in London ever since an Achilles injury forced him out of his first heat at the 2008 Beijing Games.

“I’m recovering well. In terms of injury, it’s better now than it was in 2010,” Liu told a pre-meet news conference ahead of his 2011 outdoor debut.

The 27-year-old former world champion came seventh at last year’s indoor championships in Doha. And while he won a third straight Asian Games title in November, he was far off his personal best of 12.88.

Liu, dubbed “flying man” in China, said he has cut the number of steps before launching into the first hurdle from eight to seven. “This is only a tryout of the new technique. If I encounter difficulties or failure, I will probably change back to the eight steps,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown, the fastest woman in the world last year, won the women’s 100m (10.92), beating Carmelita Jeter, who clocked the year’s fastest time - 10.86 - in Kingston.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, world number one, Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer won (52.20), seeing off challengers American Lashinda Demus and Olympic champ Melaine Walker, who returned after an achilles injury sidelined her last year.

Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba ran the year’s fastest 1500m (3:21.42), beating fellow Kenyan and Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop, who came second despite running a season’s best of 3:31.76.

Croatian high jump star Blanka Vlasic, the 2010 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) female athlete of year, won with the best jump of the season at 1.94m.

The Diamond League awards points depending on performances throughout the 14-event programme with the overall winners in each of the 16 individual events taking home a diamond trophy and a cash prize.

Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica (R) and Carmelita Jeter of the US (L) compete in the women’s 100m event of the Diamond League athletics meet in Shanghai. The Diamond League awards points depending on performances throughout the 14-event programme with the overall winners in each of the 16 individual events taking home a diamond trophy and a cash prize. AFP

China’s former world record holder Liu Xiang (L) edges US athlete David Oliver (R) to the finish-line in the 110m hurdles event of the Diamond League athletics meet in Shanghai. Liu won the event.

AFP