Pearson, Makhloufi win gold

Dinesh Weerawansa - Reporting From England

Germany, Russia, Australia and Algeria won a gold medal each but the USA failed to produce a single gold medallist on the fifth day of the athletic competition of the 2012 Olympic Games worked off at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night.

German Robert Harting accounted for the men's discus throw gold on an action-packed night as the 27-year-old cleared a distance of 68.27m to claim the title, before taking off on a lap of honour wearing his national flag as a cape.

When he reached the barriers set out for the women's 100m Hurdles final, he leapt over them to loud cheers from the crowd. Ehsan Hadadi of Iran claimed silver, throwing 68.18m, with Estonia's Gerd Kanter winning the bronze medal with a season's-best throw of 68.03m.

Then came Algerian Taoufik Makhloufi's superb performance to win the gold in 1500m in convincing fashion, Makhloufi pulled clear down the home straight clocking three minutes and 34.08 seconds. American Leonel Manzano took the silver with a season's best 3:34.79. Moroccan Abdalaati Iguider claimed the bronze.

Australian Sally Pearson won the first athletics gold medal for her country at the London Games with a dramatic victory in the women's 100m Hhurdles. Pearson clocked an Olympic record of 12.35 seconds to push Americans - defending champion Dawn Harper (12.37) and Kellie Wells (12.48) for the second and third places. Pearson endured a nervous few moments before the result was confirmed on the scoreboard, bringing cheers of delight from the Australian fans.

There was celebration for Russia as well when Ivan Ukhov won the gold medal in men's high jump. He accounted for that great victory in grand fashion as the only man to clear 2.36m and 2.38m. It was the Russian's first major outdoor title.

Erik Kynard of the USA took the silver with a 2.33m clearance, with compatriot Jesse Williams, the world champion, finishing back in joint ninth. Great Britain's Robbie Grabarz picked up a bronze alongside Canadian Derek Drouin and Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim, who had exactly the same record to share third place.

Twenty years ago, yours truly saw American Gail Devers chasing in to a hurdle in her quest to win women's 100m hurdles. Then at the last Olympic Games in Beijing 2008, the writer saw Liu Xiang shattering China's hopes by withdrawing from men's 110m hurdles.

Four years later Xiang came to the British capital with the hope of winning that gold which he missed before home supporters. But it was a dream that was so much near but yet so far for the Chinese would champion.

There came a major upset in the 110m hurdles heats today as China's former Olympic champion Xiang clattered the first hurdle and fell. Xiang who is one of the favourites for the gold medal, injured his right leg and limped off the track. In his absence, Great Britain's Andy Turner won the heat in 13.42 seconds, while the other heats saw wins for Sergey Shubenkov, American Jason Richardson and James Merrit.

Merritt advanced to the semis as the fastest qualifier, with a time of 13.07 seconds. “It's just a tragedy for that to happen to one of the best hurdlers of all time. I hope he's okay. It's a shame that had to happen to Liu,Óthe world No.1 said after his triumph.

Liu's dream of defending the title he won way back in Athens 2004 ended in tragedy when injury denied him the chance to defend his 110mhurdle title on home soil. The disappointment echoed that of four years ago, when Liu stunned the crowd by walking off the start line, unable to run because of an Achilles problem. “I feel really sorry about this unfortunate situation,” China's head coach Feng Shuyong said. “We think it was like four years ago, the same thing happened once again. I feel really sad because he has worked very hard to get back to the level he was at before as champion,” he said. “What I saw on the big screen was that he could not take off. I think the problem just happened with that. At the moment of take off the tendon would bear very, very big pressure. He could not make the movement. You see him running well in certain competitions, but not many people know how he achieves this level. That's why I appreciate a lot his hard work and his very strong willpower,” Shuyong added.

Usain Bolt began his bid to add a second Olympic 200m crown to his two 100m titles with a hugely comfortable victory in the first round heats. The Jamaican, who clocked an Olympic record 9.63 to retain his 100m crown on Sunday, warmed up for Thursday's final with an impressive victory in 20.39 seconds. Bold said he needs to win 200m gold again before he achieves his aim of becoming a “legend”.

Bolt said that it was an easy run and that he is thoroughly enjoying it. “It's my favourite event. It's getting pretty chilly. They say the weather should be good on Thursday for the final. So we'll see,” Bolt said. His Jamaican training partner Yohan Blake also breezed through, slowing down well before the line to clock 20.38 seconds.

France's Christophe Lemaitre went quicker than both Jamaicans in winning his heat in 20.34 and Bolt nodded in approval as he watched his rival's run on a television screen. American Maurice Mitchell won the heats in 20.54 seconds, while there were also wins for Jamaican Warren Wier, Alex Quinonez of Ecuador and Churandy Martina of the Netherlands.

LONDON, Wednesday.