Bolt wins again; three on course for Golden League pot

Usain Bolt continued his winning run by beating fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell to claim the 100 metres at the Golden League meeting in Zurich Friday in 9.81 seconds.

The world and Olympic champion, who set a world record 9.58 seconds 12 days earlier in Berlin, appeared to ease up slightly as he crossed the line.

The time was still the fifth fastest of all time over the distance. Bolt, who has not competed in every Golden League meeting this season, has not lost a 100m race for 13 months.

"I didn't feel fresh at the start and was a bit tired during the race. The time is not so bad though," he said.

Bolt appeared to begin stiffly, and he and and Powell were neck-and-neck over 70 metres, but the world champion found some extra power over the last 30 metres.

Powell - who had equalled a then-world record of 9.77 in Zurich three years - had to be content with second place on 9.89 ahead of Darvis Patton of the United States in 9.95.

A capacity 26,000 crowd were in the Letzigrund stadium to see 16 individual world champions in action at the fifth of six-race the Golden League series.

Russian Yelena Isinbayeva set a world record 5 metres 6 centimetres in the women's pole vault, beating the 5.05 she set in winning gold at the Beijing Olympics.

It was a 27th world record for Isinbayeva, who did not clear a height when failing to win a third successive title at the world championships in Berlin.

She is one of three athletes who stayed on course for at least a share of the IAAF Golden League 1-million-dollar jackpot which goes to the winners of all six meetings, with the finale next Friday in Brussels.

Sanya Richards of the United States continued her quest for the jackpot by storming to 400m victory in a world best time for the year of 48.94 seconds.

Ethiopia's Keninisa Bekele also kept in the jackpot running with a commanding 5000m victory in 12:52.33, another world best time this year.

Jeter clocked 10.86, to leave Stewart second, sharing 11.04 with Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie of the Bahamas on 11.04 with world and Olympian champion Shelly-Ann Fraser of Jamaica fourth in 11.10.

In the men's 110m hurdles, world champion Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados had to settle for third behind winner Jamaican Dwight Thomas in 13.16 and Terrence Trammell of the United States.

World champion LaShawn Merritt repeated his Berlin victory over US compatriot Jeremy Wariner over 400m, pulling away to clock 44.21 to Wariner's 44.62.

Kenyan claimed a one-two in the men's 800m where David Rudisha in 53.77 held off a late surge from Alfred Kirwa Yega, with world champion Mbulaeini Mulaudzi of South Africa third.

Kenyan victories also came in the 3000m steeplechase, with Ezekiel Kemboi winning in 8:04.44, and the 1500m, where Augustine Kiprono Choge crossed the line in 3:33.38 ahead of Bahrain's Belal Mansoor Ali (3:33.74) and Kenya's Asbel Kipruto Kiprop (3:34.09).

World champion Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain demonstrated her continuing form with victory in the women's 1500m in 3:59.16.

Brigitte Foster-Hylton of Jamaica was another world champion in form, posting a world's best time for the year of 12.46 seconds in winning the 100m hurdles just ahead of Olympic champion Dawn Harper in 12.48.

Another world best for the year came in the men's javelin where Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen threw 91.28m, while Portugal's Nelson Evora won the triple-jump in 17.38m.

Croatia's Blanka Vlasic claimed high jump victory in 2.01 metres, beating Russian Anna Chicherova as she did at the world championships.

Last updated on Aug 29^th, 2009 at 06:13 am IST--DPA