
Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser (left) Sherone Simpson (second left) and Kerron Stewart (second right), as well as Lauryn Williams of the US, run the women’s 100m race at the Athletissima athletics meeting in the Stade Olympique in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday. (Photo: AP)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (CMC) – Jamaica’s Beijing hero Usain Bolt led a plethora of Jamaican victories at the Athletissima Super Grand Prix track and field meeting yesterday.
Easing considerably as he neared the finish, Bolt ran a fast 19.63 seconds to win the men’s 200 metres, while Asafa Powell delivered a blistering 100-metre victory and Olympic champions Melaine Walker and Shelly-Ann Fraser also recorded wins at the meet.
It was a Caribbean one-two in the men’s half-lap sprint as Churandy Martina, of the Netherlands Antilles, chased Bolt home in 20.24 seconds. American Wallace Spearmon was third in 20.54 seconds.

Jamaican Usain Bolt celebrates after winning the men’s 200 m race at the Athletissima athletics meeting in the Stade Olympique in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday.
Bolt’s time equals the fourth fastest time ever over the distance, but was well off his own world record 19.30 seconds at the Beijing Olympics last month.
Powell had logged a fast career-best 9.72 seconds earlier to win the men’s 100 metres.

Jamaican Asafa Powell (right) runs to win the men’s 100m race at the Athletissima athletics meeting in the Stade Olympique in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday. At left runs Trinidad’s Richard Thompson. (Photos: AP)
His time equals the second fastest ever run – matching Bolt’s effort at the Reebok Grand Prix in New York in May – over the distance, and was only 0.03 seconds outside Bolt’s current world mark of 9.69 seconds.
Powell had held the world 100-metre record from June 2005 – with times of 9.77 and 9.74 seconds – until Bolt’s sudden rise this year.
Powell’s superb run brought again into sharp focus his brilliance on the circuit compared to huge flops at major meets.

Britain’s Tasha Danvers (left), Jamaican Melanie Walker (centre) and US Tiffany Williams-Ross run the women’s 400m hurdles race at the Athletissima athletics meeting in the Stade Olympique in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday.
Just two weeks ago at the Beijing Olympics, Powell lined up as one of the gold medal favourites in the men’s 100-metre final, but finished fifth.
A year ago, after a shockingly disappointing third-placed finish at the Osaka World Championship, Powell returned to the circuit to smash his own 100-metre world record with a 9.74 run at in Rieti. Read the rest of this entry »