Usain Bolt cruises to easy 200m win
Published:Friday | July 8, 2011 | 4:10 PM
SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt cruised to an easy victory over European champion Christophe Lemaitre in the 200 meters at the Areva athletics meeting on Friday.
The Jamaican sprinter clocked 20.03 seconds, well adrift of his record of 19.19 set at the 2009 world championships in Berlin, but enough to outclass Lemaitre of France, who finished second in 20.21.
Bolt has been working on his technique lately, before defending his world titles next month in South Korea.
In the 110 hurdles, Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba dipped his chest to beat U.S. champion David Oliver in a photo finish.
Robles led from the start but Oliver made a strong comeback at the halfway stage to put pressure on the Cuban hurdler as both crossed the line in 13.09.
World champion Caster Semenya of South Africa won the women's 800 meters in 2:00.18.
Semenya, who is trying to rediscover her form after missing 11 months of competition because of a gender controversy, outpaced Halima Hachlaf of Morocco in 2:00.60.
Meanwhile, Christina Obergfoell, Yargelis Savigne, Zuzana Hejnova and Meseret Defar set world-leading marks this season in the women's events.
Olympic bronze medalist Obergfoell of Germany won the javelin event with a throw of 68.01 meters at her first attempt, while world champion Savigne of Cuba leapt 14.99 to beat Ukraine's Olha Saladukha in the triple jump.
Hejnova of the Czech Republic ran 53.29 in the 400 hurdles in which Olympic and world champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica only finished fifth in 55.06.
Defar eased to victory in the 5,000 with a time of 14:29.52 to beat fellow Ethiopian Sentayehu Ejigu who came in second.
Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad and Tobago stunned Jamaican sprinters Kerron Stewart and Veronica Campbell-Brown in the women's 100. Baptiste ran 10.91 to edge Campbell-Brown into second with 10.95 and Olympic runner-up Stewart into third with 11.04.
Christopher Brown of the Bahamas overtook Belgian runner Jonathan Borlee in the home stretch to win the men's 400 in 44.94.
American Jeremy Wariner, took Olympic gold in 2004 and silver in 2008, finished fourth in 45.50 while South African amputee Oscar Pistorius was fifth in 45.84, failing to reach the 45.25 time that would automatically qualify him for the worlds.