SHANGHAI, China (AP) — Jamaican runners topped their American rivals in the sprints at the rain-soaked Shanghai Diamond League meet yesterday.
Asafa Powell held off Michael Rodgers to win the 100 metres, while Veronica Campbell Brown beat Carmelita Jeter in the women’s 200.
Powell pulled away from the field after about 30m and held off a fast-closing Rodgers to win in 10.02 seconds in wet, windy conditions.
Powell was coming off a second-place finish at the season-opening Diamond League event in Doha last week, when Justin Gatlin edged him by one hundredth of a second.
“Today I did technically well, so I’m happy,” he said.
With the rain picking up, Campbell-Brown had a big lead coming off the curve in the women’s 200m, but Jeter pressed her down the final straight, just coming up short of the two-time Olympic gold medallist.
“The more I win, the more confident I become, so it’s good,” Campbell Brown said. “This is my first 200m of the season and I have a lot of work to do. The way I feel in this one, I know that each one will get better.”
Americans had better luck in the men’s 400 hurdles, with Angelo Taylor and Justin Gaymon finishing 1-2.
Taylor, the Olympic gold medallist in 2000 and 2008, is working his way back into form after an injured left foot last year disrupted his season. He said he feels confident less than three months away from London.
Meanwhile, Liu Xiang defeated world champion Jason Richardson to win the men’s 110m hurdles. Liu and Richardson were even through the first seven hurdles before the Chinese pulled away to win in 12.97, ripping off his shirt after crossing the finish line to a huge cheer from the crowd.
American David Oliver finished second in 13.13 and countryman Richardson third in 13.16.
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Asafa leads J’can wins in Shanghai
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