Chat-bout.net - Asafa Powell runs fastest 100m this year

Asafa Powell runs fastest 100m this year

Asafa Powell ran the fastest 100 metres this year at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday, taking advantage of the absence of Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay. Powell outclassed the rest of the field as he won in 9.78 seconds, one hundredth of a second better than Gay's time in Florida earlier this month.

Asafa Powell winning the men's 100m from Michael Frater, left, and Christophe Lemaitre at the Diamond League meeting. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

Another Jamaican, Michael Frater, finished 0.10sec behind while the European champion, Christophe Lemaitre, recovered from a poor start to finish third in blustery and almost chilly conditions. Lemaitre, seen as a possible challenger to the North American and Jamaican dominance of the event, did not do enough to trouble Powell, although he equalled the French record of 9.95sec.

Gay was ruled out through injury while the world and Olympic champion Bolt missed the event. Powell held the world record between 2005 and 2008 but he has never won an individual gold in the world championships or Olympics and is hoping to break his duck in the World Championships, in South Korea in August.

"The weather wasn't perfect. It was a good race, a bit cold," said Powell. "I managed to push my way through. Anything below 9.8 is really good. And it's only the second race of the season so the future can only get better as they season progresses. My goal is to keep training and run faster."

David Rudisha, who twice broke the world record in the 800m last season, bounced back from injury with a win in his first big race of the season while the Frenchman Teddy Tamgho upstaged Britain's Phillips Idowu in the triple jump.

Rudisha, in his second race since returning from an ankle injury, won in 1min 44.15sec. The 22-year-old Kenyan burst clear at halfway, although he eased up near the end and was well short of his world record time of 1:41.01.

"I felt good in the race, I had a good kick in the first 300m and felt strong afterwards," said Rudisha. The world champion, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa was a eighth.

Tamgho, who has emerged as a major challenger to the world and European champion, Idowu, produced one of the biggest cheers of the night with his huge third leap of 17.91m in the triple jump. Idowu, competing for the first time since a public split with British athletics officials, could manage only 17.52m in reply.

The double world champion and Olympic silver medallist Blanka Vlasic complained of the cold and problems with her knee and ankle as she finished sixth in the women's high jump, with 1.90m. Anna Chicherova of Russia won with 1.95m.

Australia's Olympic silver medallist Sally Pearson won the women's 100m hurdles in 12.47sec, holding off Danielle Carruthers of the United States. who was one hundredth of a second behind. The Olympic and world champion Andreas Thorkildsen won the men's javelin with a throw of 88.19m, the Norwegian's best mark of the season.

The Olympic champion Dayron Robles won the men's 110m hurdles in 13.12sec, beating Dwight Thomas by four hundredths of a second with Jason Richardson a hundredth back in third.

"I was worried by my bad knee but everything went well," said Robles.

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