Xiang Liu of China (L) crosses the finish line next to Terrence Trammel of the U.S. in the men's 110-meter hurdles race at the IAAF Grand Prix athletics meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, July 5, 2005. Liu and Trammel both clocked 13.05 seconds to finish first and second respectively. (Reuters)

Chinese Olympic champion Liu Xiang was forced to share victory with America's Terrence Trammell at Lausanne's Super Grand Prix on Tuesday.

Liu tied with Terrence Trammell in the 110 metre hurdles in 13.05 seconds.

The much-anticipated face-off between Liu and American world champion Allen Johnson failed to materialise after a reported knee injury forced Johnson to pull out just before the start.

Xiang Liu of China (L) crosses the finish line next to Terrence Trammel of the U.S. in the men's 110-meter hurdles race at the IAAF Grand Prix athletics meet in Lausanne, Switzerland, July 5, 2005. Liu and Trammel both clocked 13.05 seconds to finish first and second respectively.

Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva lived up to a pre-meeting promise -- setting a world record for the 14th time in her career.

The 23-year-old Olympic champion comfortably cleared 4.93 metres, adding a centimetre to the previous best mark which she herself set in Brussels last September.

"It's fantastic for me, I'm so happy," Isinbayeva told Reuters. "It's not easy, even if it looks easy."

Despite that claim, the former gymnast says she has already cleared five metres in training though she intends to take her world record attempts "one centimetre at a time."

Her long term aim is to surpass the haul of Ukrainian pole vaulter Sergey Bubka who set 35 world records during his career.

"I don't know how high I can jump," the Russian added. "Maybe 5.10 or even 5.15. I just don't know my potential."

Tuesday's performance earned Isinbayeva her seventh outdoor world record, with the other seven achieved at indoor meetings.

While the world record dominated the night there were plenty of other strong performances, as well as the odd upset.

French sprinter Ronald Pognon provided perhaps the biggest shock by winning the men's 100 metres ahead of Ghana's Aziz Zakari and American Olympic champion Justin Gatlin.

Posting a personal best of 9.99 seconds, Pognon finished 0.03 ahead of Zakari with Gatlin a further 0.01 away.

"My left leg felt a little tight and I didn't want to push it too much," said Gatlin, adding that he still intended to compete at Friday's Golden League meeting in Rome.

NO DANGER

Gatlin's compatriot and fellow Olympic gold medallist Jeremy Wariner was never in danger of suffering a similar upset as he cruised to victory in the 400 metres in 44.96.

Bahamas sprinter Chandra Sturrup was also in commanding form as she stormed through the women's 100 metres to set a year's best of 10.84.

America's Lauryn Williams finished second, 0.07 seconds behind, while last week's Paris Golden League winner Christine Arron of France took third, a tenth of a second behind Sturrup.

"I got off to a flying start, but my run wasn't perfect," Sturrup insisted. "I will be ready for (next month's world championships) in Helsinki."

Fellow Bahaman Tonique Williams-Darling had less to smile about after finishing second in the women's 400 metres.

The Olympic champion and 2004 Golden League jackpot winner lost out by 0.19 seconds to America's Sanya Richards, who crossed the line in 49.95.

(Agencies)