Blake, Bailey in rare dead heat

REIMS, France (CMC):

Training partners Yohan Blake and Daniel Bailey were inseparable, finishing in a dead heat in the men's 100 metres dash at Alma Athlé Tour on Wednesday here.

Jamaican Blake and Antiguan Bailey flashed over the line in 10 seconds flat, and not even a photo-finish could separate the two, who were way ahead of third-placed American Mike Rodgers, whose time was 10.19 seconds.

Blake had the worst start of the field with a reaction time of 0.19 seconds, and accelerated well over the second half of the race to take the lead.

Bailey, however, displayed the best top speed, and was leading by 60m, and Blake's late surge was not enough to give him victory.

"This is a wonderful result into the wind (-0.1)," said Blake. "This is only my second competitive race this season. This is a blowout of me, so I'm looking for more races to improve my time. I'm now looking forward to race in either Gateshead or Barcelona in early July."

Satisfied

Bailey was equally pleased with his day's work, and noted that the final time on a slow track was satisfying.

"If a track is slow, that's the sprinter's job - to make it fast," said Bailey said. "I was not looking for something big, I just wanted to finish healthy. My drive phase was a little bit long. That's something I'll work on in Gateshead."

Elsewhere, 2009 World Championship bronze medallist Delloreen Ennis-London posted her first win of the season, when she won the 100m hurdles in 12.77, and compatriot Vonette Dixon clocked 12.87 to finish third.

Aleen Bailey, another Jamaican, placed second in the women's 100 with 11.47, beating the French legend Christine Arron into third with 11.51.

They were both outstripped by Ruddy Zanga-Milawa of Gabon, who ran 11.45.