Powell serves warning to rivals with sprint win

Doha : Jamaican sprinter Asafa Powell recovered from a poor start to win the 100 metres on Friday with a wind-aided timing of 9.81 seconds at the inaugural Diamond League meet in Doha.

Powell was slow out of the blocks and stepped out of his lane three times before blowing past the field near the end. He ran an even faster wind-aided 9.75 in his qualifying heat, and said that his time should be a warning to his rivals.

"I'm satisfied. It was the first race of the season," Powell said. "It's the first I've opened so well in my career so I'm happy. The 9.75 should open a few eyes."

The win was made easier by the fact that fellow Jamaican and Olympic champion Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay of the United States skipped the meet, but Powell said he looks forward to facing his main rivals later in the season.

"This year will be very exciting because all the guys are waiting to run against each other," Powell said. "Tonight I did well so the next race should be a lot of better."

Asked how he can beat Bolt, Powell smiled and said: "Just run, just run. That is what I have to do."

Americans set the tone in many of the other elite events, with Lolo Jones and Bershawn Jackson winning their hurdles events. Allyson Felix came from the middle of the pack to claim the women's 400 in 50.15 seconds, though fellow American Debbie Dunn finished a disappointing fourth. Christian Cantwell won the men's shot put with a season best throw of 21.82, which also was a stadium record.

In the women's 100 hurdles, Jones held off a challenge from Priscilla Lopes-Schliep of Canada to win with a time of 12.63. Jones also had a slow start and clipped the first two hurdles before taking control of the race, beating Lopes-Schliep by 0.04 seconds.

"I hit two hurdles, so midway through the race I said there is no way I'll win," Jones said. "Then I started pulling things together. I was completely shocked I won. That I was able to get back in control, I was really proud of myself."

Jackson, the Olympic bronze medallist, used a strong finish down the stretch to clock 48.66, beating Clement by 0.16 seconds. Olympic champion Angelo Taylor finished a disappointing fourth.

It was redemption of sorts for Jackson after his last trip to Doha at the World Indoors ended in frustration. He entered that event as the favourite in the 400 but faded after tangling with another runner in the final bend. He left the field pounding the walls as he passed by reporters.

This time, he crossed the finish line with a smile and raised his arms as he made his victory lap — and then predicted he'll be doing a lot more of those this season. "I want to be No 1, I want to win all the Diamond League races," the American said. "Today because of the wind, we could not get better times. But it was nice to beat the Olympic champion." Felix, a three-time world champion in the 200, said her win in the 400 increased her confidence that she could possibly achieve a double at the worlds next year."

Results

Men:

100m: 1. Asafa Powell (Jamaica) 9.81secs; 2. Nesta Carter (Jamaica) 9.88; 3. Travis Padgett (US) 9.92.

800m: 1. David Lekuta Rudisha (Kenya) 1min 43secs; 2. Asbel Kiprop (Kenya) 1:43.45; 3. Amine Laalou (Morocco) 1:43.71

5000m: 1. Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) 12mins 51.21secs; 2. Vincent Kiprop Chepkok (Kenya) 12:51.45; 3. Imane Merga (Ethiopia) 13:05.20

400m Hurdles: 1. Bershawn Jackson (US) 48.66secs; 2. Kerron Clement (US) 48.82; 3. L.J. Van Zyl (South Africa) 49.59

3000m Steeplechase: 1. Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) 8mins 06.28secs; 2. Paul Kipsiele Koech (Kenya) 8:06.69; 3. Patrick Kipkirui Langat (Kenya) 8:09.12

Women:

200metre: 1. Kerron Stewart (Jamaica) 22.34secs; 2. Sherone Simpson (Jamaica) 22.64; 3. Cydonie Mothersill (Cayman Islands) 22.66.

400metre: 1. Allyson Felix (US) 50.15secs; 2. Amantle Montsho (Botswana) 50.34; 3. Novlene Williams-Mills (Jamaica) 50.50.

1500metre: 1. Nancy Jebet Langat (Kenya) 4mins 01.63secs; 2. Gelete Burka (Ethiopia) 4:02.16; 3. Siham Hilali (Morocco) 4:03.89.

100metre hurdles: 1. Lolo Jones (US) 12.63secs; 2. Priscilla Lopes-Schliep (Canada) 12.67; 3. Virginia Powell-Crawford (US) 12.70.High Jump: 1. Blanka Vlasic (Croatia) 1.98m; 2. Chaunte Howard Lowe (US) 1.98;3. Ruth Beitia (Spain) 1.94.

Pole vault: 1. Silke Spiegelburg (Germany) 4.70m; 2. Tatyana Polnova (Russia) 4.55; 3. Jirina Ptacnikova (Czech Republic) 4.55.

Discus Throw: 1. Yarelis Barrios (Cuba) 64.90m; 2. Dani Samuels (Australia) 64.67; 3. Sandra Perkovic (Croatia) 62.33.

Javelin Throw: 1. Maria Abakumova (Russia) 68.89m; 2. Barbora Spotakova (Czech Republic) 67.33; 3. Martina Ratej (Slovenia) 67.16