SHANGHAI – World and Olympic champion Kirani James powered to victory against his main rivals from London 2012 in the 400 metres at Shanghai’s Diamond League meet yesterday.
The Grenadian quarter miler raced ahead on the final bend to edge 2008 Olympic champion, the United States’ Lashawn Merritt, into second place.
Luguelin Santos, of the Dominican Republic, the silver medallist from last summer’s Games, was third, more than a second behind James, who crossed the line at a season’s best and world leading 44.02.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Lalonde Gordon, the bronze medallist from London, finished in fifth place.
In another re-run between gold and silver medallists from London 2012, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce claimed victory in the 100 metres ahead of rival Carmelita Jeter, with the American settling for third place. Nigerian Blessing Okagbare finished second.
Fraser-Pryce claimed a season’s best time of 10.93 in the second meet of the Diamond League calendar.
“I feel very relaxed. I came here to win and just see how I would do,” she said after her win.
The double Olympic champion also said she would race in both the 100 metres and 200 metres at the World Championships in Moscow in August.
“I am planning to do both. I will do the best I can and God will do the rest,” she said.
Fraser-Pryce’s fellow Jamaican Warren Weir, the 200 metres bronze medallist at the London Olympics, won the event in 20.18 seconds to hold off Justin Gatlin and Jason Young in the final few strides.
The field was weakened by the withdrawal of Olympic silver medallist Yohan Blake because of injury. Usain Bolt is also taking a break from the 200 to focus on the 100.
Gatlin, a 2004 Olympic gold medallist, followed up his win in the 100 in Doha last week with another strong performance.
American Jason Richardson took gold in the 110 hurdles, crossing in 13.23 to edge Ryan Wilson and Xie Wenjun at the line.
Olympic champion Aries Merritt pulled up before the first hurdle with what he later said was a leg cramp.
Asbel Kiprop, of Kenya, outsprinted Mekonnen Gebremedhin down the final stretch to win the men’s 1 500, lunging across the finish line in 3:32.39, just .4 seconds ahead of the Ethiopian.
China’s Li Jinzhe was the surprise winner in the men’s long jump.
Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva won the women’s pole vault in Shanghai for the fifth time. (CMC/AP)
