Jamaicans sweep IAAF grand prix

Wednesday, July 08, 2009, ZURICH: Jamaican athletics Asafa Powell and Shelly Ann Fraser won their respective 100m races, and Golden League Jackpot contender Kerron Stewart impressed in the 200m, all against strong headwinds in IAAF grand prix.

Powell took his second consecutive win at the Stade Olympice de la Pontaise, repeating the same time as in Oslo last Friday with another 10.07 into a strong headwind (-1.8 m/s) with a solid margin over compatriot Steve Mullings (10.28), showing that his form is improving compared to race in Oslo where it took a photo finish to separate him from Daniel Bailey. Powell is returning to his best after his spring ankle injury and will be ready to clash against Tyson Gay in Rome on Friday. Third place went to this year’s US champion Michael Rodgers (10.30).

In difficult conditions and running into a headwind (-0.9 m/s), the Jamaican “Thunder” Bolt, the triple Olympic champion and World record holder, broke the Athletissima meeting record he shared with Xavier Carter at 19.63 but in totally different conditions.

Last year Bolt eased up in the final meters in his first post-Olympic race. This year the Jamaican tested his form running strongly through the finish in his first and only European 200m race before next month’s World Championships in Berlin. Bolt left his rivals well behind showing that in better conditions he is able to threaten his own world record of 19.30 set in Beijing. The young Jamaican sprint legend missed the 19.58 world season’s best set by American Tyson Gay in New York by just 0.01 seconds. It was the second best performance by Bolt only behind his sensational World record.

Comments

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.

ONE NEWS

Search This Blog