Defar sets world mark, sprinter Gay shines
CARSON, California: Ethiopian distance runner Meseret Defar and American sprint sensation Tyson Gay lit up the Adidas Track Classic with glittering performances at the Home Depot Center on Sunday.
Defar defied a bout of food poisoning to set a world record in the women's two-mile run and Gay powered to victory in the men's 100 metres with a wind-assisted time of 9.79 seconds.
In other races, world and Olympic gold medallist Jeremy Wariner outclassed the opposition in the men's 400m and fellow American Allyson Felix set the fastest time this year to win the women's 200m.
Defar, the Olympic 5,000m champion, romped to victory with a new world mark of nine minutes, 10.47 seconds despite having vomited shortly before the race.
"I think it must have been something I ate," the 23-year-old from Addis Ababa told reporters after setting her fourth world record.
"I had a warm-up of 15 minutes and then I vomited two or three times just two minutes before the start. I was scared and thought that maybe I couldn't beat the record.
"But once I started the race, I was okay. With two laps to go, I knew I was going to break the record."
Defar, who broke the previous mark of 9:11.97 set by American Regina Jacobs in 1999, finished ahead of Canada's Megan Metcalf (9:37.04) and American Kara Goucher (9:41.32).
Gay's performance, the fastest this year, would have equalled the American record set by former Olympic champion Maurice Greene in 2005 had it not been for a stiff breeze.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/22/2007 page24)
