Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009

SHANGHAI (AP) American sprinters Tyson Gay and Carmelita Jeter flirted with history at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix on Sunday.

Back in a flash: Tyson Gay competes against fellow American Darvis Patton during the men's 100-meter final at the 2009 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix on Sunday. Gay won the race in a time of 9.69 seconds. AP PHOTO

Gay ran the second-fastest men's 100 meters on record, winning in 9.69 seconds.

The American matched Usain Bolt's winning time in last year's final at the Beijing Olympics, then a world record. The Jamaican has eclipsed that mark, clocking 9.58 to win the 100 at last month's world championships in Berlin, where Gay was second in 9.71.

Asafa Powell of Jamaica was second on Sunday, finishing in 9.85.

Jeter also had a big day, winning the women's 100 in 10.64 to become the second-fastest woman of all time.

Only the late Florence Griffith-Joyner ran faster over the distance — a total of three times, including her world record of 10.49 set in 1988.

Jeter's performance improved on Marion Jones's time of 10.65, set at altitude in Johannesburg in 1998, and left her well clear of Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown in 10.89 at the Shanghai meet.

The fans at Shanghai Stadium also got a thrill when Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang placed second in a photo finish in his first race since a foot injury forced him to pull out of the Beijing Games last August.

American Terrance Trammell, who placed second at the world championships, won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.15.

Liu received boisterous applause from his hometown crowd and put his hand to his heart before collapsing on the track after finishing the race. He has been one of China's most popular athletes since winning the country's first Olympic gold medal in track at the Athens Games in 2004.

The Chinese track star, who had surgery in December, looked healthy and relaxed. The crowd roared as he entered Shanghai Stadium. When he was introduced at the starting blocks and his image appeared on the stadium's massive TV screen, Liu mugged for the cameras by making a silly bug-eyed expression before grinning and raising his fists in the air.

"I never thought I'd have such a great result," Liu said before he trotted around the track with his shirt off — a move that brought louder cheers at the Shanghai Stadium.

In other events, Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva attempted to improve her world record but failed to clear 5.07 meters, one centimeter higher than her current mark. Isinbayeva, who has broken the world outdoor and indoor marks 27 times, won Sunday's meet with a vault of 15-11. Poland's Anna Rogowska was second at 15-1.

In the men's 200, Wallace Spearmon of the U.S. pulled away in the last 70 meters to win in 20.57 seconds. Kim Collins of St. Kitts and Nevis placed second in 20.90, and American Shawn Crawford was third in 21.04.

American Lashawn Merritt, first at the world championships, won the 400 in 45.28. Robert Tobin of Britain placed second in 45.49.

Kenya's Augustine Choge unleashed his kick in the final 200 meters in the men's 800 to beat South Africa's Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, who won at the worlds. Choge finished in 1 minute, 44.10 seconds, while Mulaudzi clocked 1:45.68.

Amine Laalou of Morocco won the 1,500 meters with a blistering surge that began in the final 200 meters, finishing in 3:34.19. World champion Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain placed second in 3:34.94.

World champion Melaine Walker of Jamaica won the women's 400 hurdles in 52.68.

We welcome your opinions. Click to send a message to the editor.