September 8, 2002	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Saani29,1423

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BERLIN, Sept 7: Marion Jones grabbed a share of the Golden League jackpot by sweeping to victory in the finale of the series Friday while fellow American sprinter Maurice Greene slumped to a new low.

Triple Olympic champion Jones cruised to another comfortable win in the women’s 100 metres for a quarter of the 50 kilos of gold divided between those who have won their event at all seven meetings in the series.

Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj, Mexican Ana Guevara and Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic also remained undefeated for their own pieces of the prize, worth 530,000 euros.

Olympic and world champion Greene, who used to be just as unstoppable as Jones, again looked only the shadow of his brilliant best, suffering his fifth defeat of the season to Britain’s Dwain Chambers in the men’s 100 metres.

Greene, who had dropped out of the gold chase after the first race in Oslo in June, looked shocked after finishing a lacklustre sixth in 10.20 in a race won in 10.02 by a confident Chambers.

Jones was never really challenged due to the absence of her main rival and world champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Block of Ukraine on a warm late-summer evening in the German capital.

Jamaica’s Tanya Lawrence was the fastest out of the blocks but Jones recovered from her trademark slow start to surge past her and clock a winning time of 11.01.

Lawrence came a distant second in 11.12, while Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas finished third in 11.20.

It was the 15th consecutive 100 metres victory for Jones, who has lost only one final for that event since 1997 — when she was beaten by Pintusevich-Block at last year’s world championships in Edmonton.

European champion Chambers had no jackpot to worry about as he battled it out with American Coby Miller, who finished a close second in 10.07. Commonwealth champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis took third in 10.15.

El Guerrouj, the men’s 1,500 metres world champion, was expected to snatch some of the precious metal and did in style, entering the final lap in the lead before destroying the field by accelerating with 250 metres remaining to win in three minutes 30.00 seconds.

Bernard Lagat finished nearly three seconds behinde, beating fellow Kenyan Laban Rotich into third.

The dominant middle distance runner in the world for years, El Guerrouj concentrated on winning but will have another goal in two days time in Italy.

Guevara, the new dominant force in the women’s 400 metres, was equally impressive over two laps, beating Jamaica’s Lorraine Fenton and Jearl Miles Clark into second and third respectively. Guevara clocked 49.91.

World 400 hurdles champion Sanchez, who has not lost since July last year, overcame a stride pattern problem running into the first hurdle to complete the golden jackpot-winning quartet.

Leading results:

WOMEN’S:

100 metres: 1. Marion Jones (US) 11.01 seconds; 2. Tayna Lawrence (Jamaica) 11.12; 3. Debbie Ferguson (Bahamas) 11.20;4. Torri Edwards (US) 11.20; 5. Myriam Leonie Mani (Cameroon) 11.34; 6. Muriel Hurtis (France) 11.36.

5,000 metres: 1. Berane Adere (Ethiopia) 14 minutes 41.43 seconds; 2. Werknesh Kidane (Ethiopia) 14:43.53; 3. Benita Johnson (Australia) 14:47.60; 4. Jo Pavey (Britain) 14:48.66; 5. Ayelech Worku (Ethiopia) 14:48.99; 6. Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) 14:49.90.

100 metres hurdles: 1. Brigitte Foster (Jamaica) 12.62 seconds; 2. Gail Devers (US) 12.65; 3. Anjanette Kirkland (US) 12.75; 4. Jenny Adams (US) 12.92; 5. Lacena Golding-Clark (Jamaica) 12.96; 6. Angela Atede (Nigeria) 12.97.

Javelin: 1. Osleidys Menendez (Cuba) 64.45 metres; 2. Tatyana Shikolenko (Russia) 62.99; 3. Mikeala Ingberg (Finland) 62.29; 4. Steffi Nerius (Germany) 61.19; 5. Taina Kolkkala (Finland) 59.47; 6. Nikolett Szabo (Hungary) 58.15.

1,500 metres: 1. Sureyya Ayhan (Turkey) 3 minutes 58.43 seconds; 2. Suzy Favor Hamilton (US) 3:59.40; 3. Alesya Turova (Belarus) 4:01.97; 4. Natalya Gorelova (Russia) 4:02.46; 5. Carla Sacramento (Portugal) 4:03.07; 6. Geraldine Hendricken (Ireland) 4:04.30.

400 metres: 1. Ana Guevara (Mexico) 49.91 seconds; 2. Lorraine Fenton (Jamaica) 50.50; 3. Jearl Miles-Clark (US) 51.06; 4. Michelle Collins (US) 51.49; 5. Jana Pittmann (Australia) 52.19; 6. Claudia Marx (Germany) 52.50.

Long jump: 1. Heike Drechsler (Germany) 6.45 metres; 2. Jackie Edwards (Bahamas) 6.43; 3. Jade Johnson (Britain) 6.41; 4. Bianca Kappler (Germany) 6.35; 5. Sabine Braun (Germany) 6.33; 6. Sofia Schulte (Germany) 6.17.

MEN’S:

100 metres: 1. Dwain Chambers (Britain) 10.02 seconds; 2. Coby Miller (US) 10.07; 3. Kim Collins (St Kitts & Nevis) 10.15; 4. Bernard Williams (US) 10.18; 5. Darvis Patton (US) 10.19; 6. Maurice Greene (US) 10.20.

1,500 metres: 1. Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 3 minutes 30.00 seconds; 2. Bernard Lagat (Kenya) 3:32.91; 3. Laban Rotich (Kenya) 3:33.81; 4. Juan Carlos Huguero (Spain) 3:33.94; 5. Vyacheslav Shabunin (Russia) 3:34.14; 6. Alex Kipchirchir (Kenya) 3:34.22.

Triple jump: 1. Christian Olsson (Sweden) 17.40 metres; 2. Phillips Idowu (Britain) 17.23; 3. Jadel Gregorio (Brazil) 16.75; 4. Alexander Martinez (Cuba) 16.71; 5. Alexandr Glavatskiy (Belarus) 16.48; 6. Kenta Bell (US) 16.47.

400 metres hurdles: 1. Felix Sanchez (Dominican Republic) 48.05 seconds; 2. Hadi Soua’an Al-Somaily (Saudi Arabia) 48.31; 3. Joey Woody (US) 48.77; 4. Eric Thomas (US) 48.93; 5. Jiri Muzik (Czech Republic) 49.51; 6. James Carter (US) 49.65.

400 metres: 1. Michael Blackwood (Jamaica) 44.87 seconds; 2. Fawzi Al-Shammari (Kuwait) 44.98; 3. Avard Moncur (Bahrain) 45.07; 4. Ingo Schultz (Germany) 45.09; 5. Gregory Haughton (Jamaica) 45.26; 6. Alleyne Francique (Grenada) 45.26.

800 metres: 1. Wilfred Bungei (Kenya) 1 minute 44.62 seconds; 2. William Yiampoy (Kenya) 1:44.75; 3. Andre Bucher (Switzerland) 1:45.20; 4. Pawel Czapiewski (Poland) 1:45.39; 5. Nils Schumann (Germany) 1:45.41; 6. Joeri Jansen (Belarus) 1:45.69.

Pole vault: 1. Aleksandr Averbukh (Israel) 5.80 metres; 2. Viktor Chistiakov (Australia) 5.80; 3. Tim Lobinger (Germany) 5.80; 4. Vasiliy Gorshkov (Russia) 5.70; 5. Patrik Kristiansson (Sweden) 5.70; 6. Jeff Hartwig (US) 5.60.

Javelin: 1. Boris Henry (Germany) 85.82 metres; 2. Bjorn Lange (Germany) 84.94; 3. Raymond Hecht (Germany) 83.26; 4. Eriks Rags (Latvia) 82.36; 5. Pal Arne Fagernes (Norway) 77.00; 6. Dariusz Trafas (Poland) 75.91.

5,000 metres: 1. Luke Kipkosgei (Kenya) 13 minutes 10.41 seconds; 2. Benjamin Limo (Kenya) 13:10.77; 3. Sergey Lebed (Ukraine) 13:10.78; 4. Mark Bett (Kenya) 13:11.10; 5. Abiyate Abate (Ethiopia) 13.11.80; 6. Assefa Mezegebu (Ethiopia) 13:11.87.—Reuters