PARIS – Ryan Brathwaite matched his Barbados record in the men’s 110-metre hurdles and Usain Bolt and Kirani James set season-best times at the Paris Diamond League yesterday.
In a highly competitive event, Brathwaite finished fifth, clocking 13.14 seconds, the same time he ran when winning the world championship in Berlin in 2009.
Brathwaite looked to be contention for the first 70 metres but faded at the end and the race was won by Olympic champion American Aries Merritt in 13.09.
Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde came second in 13.12, edging American hurdler David Oliver (13.13).
Bolt ran the fastest 200 metres of the season with a time of 19.73 seconds. He shaved 0.01 seconds off the previous best time of 2013, set by American sprinter Tyson Gay at the United States trials last month.
Fellow Jamaican Warren Weir was second in 19.92, ahead of former European champion Christophe Lemaitre in 20.07.
Grenadian James clocked a World-leading 43.96 in the men’s 400, beating Americans LaShawn Merritt (44.09) and Tony McQuay (44.84).
“Today in comparison with previous races, I had a little bit better first 200,” James said.
“You need to always pay attention to runners like LaShawn. If he [was] too far ahead, it would be tough to beat him.”
James caught Merritt in the back stretch before running away on the final straight.
“I could have done better,” Merritt said.
“Some parts of my race were slower than they should be. But I will correct it. To win in Moscow, I need to use my speed. That is the key.”
Merritt won gold at the 2008 Olympics and the world title in 2009 before a 21-month suspension for failing a doping test.
In the women’s 100, Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce held off a late charge from Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria to win by one hundredth of a second in 10.92. American champion English Gardner finished a distant fifth in 11.13. (AP/HG)
