MADRID, Sept 21: Olympic champion Marion Jones completed her first unbeaten season Friday after recovering from an uncharacteristic false start to win the women’s 100 metres comfortably for the United States.

Jones clocked 10.90 seconds after the race had been delayed by a total of three premature starts.

Her boyfriend and new world 100 metres record holder Tim Montgomery opted out of the 100 metres, which was won unexpectedly for Africa by Nigeria’s Commonwealth silver medallist Uchenna Emedolu in a personal best of 10.06 seconds.

Montgomery opted out of the 4x100 relay after his arduous season. In his absence, Coby Miller anchored the US team to victory in a World Cup record 37.95 seconds.

At the end of the first day of the two-day team event, Africa, bidding for an unprecedented fourth title, headed the men’s standings with 65 points. They were ahead of the United States with 61 and Europe with 60.

Europe led the women’s table with 63, followed by Russia with 62 and the United States with 60.

The competition features teams from the United States, Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania plus hosts Spain in both the men’s and women’s competition. Britain and Germany qualified from the European Cup for the men’s event and Russia and Germany for the women’s.

Lightning, torrential rain and a brief hailstorm sent competitors racing from the track and spectators scurrying for shelter 80 minutes into the meeting. Competition was interrupted for 40 minutes.

The most exciting race of the evening came in the women’s 3,000 metres, which Romania’s Olympic 5,000 champion Gabriela Szabo seemed to have clinched victory for Europe.

But as Szabo slowed slightly and raised her right hand in a victory salute, her great rival, Ethiopia’s world half-marathon champion Berhane Adere, came through strongly and snatched victory on the line by a hundredth of a second.

Mozambique’s Olympic champion Maria Mutola outsprinted Europe’s Jolanda Ceplank to win her fourth consecutive women’s 800 metres title in one minute 58.60 seconds. Spaniard Mayte Martinez came through strongly to take second place from the fading Ceplank.

Kenya’s world silver medallist Bernard Lagat, who ran the third fastest time in history behind world champion Hicham El Guerrouj in Brussels this year, set a World Cup record 3:31.20 in the men’s 1,500 metres.

Mexico’s Ana Guervara, one of four athletes to share the Golden League jackpot of 50 kgs of gold, crowned her season with a comprehensive win in the women’s 400 metres for the Americas in 49.56 seconds.

US Olympic silver medallist Alvin Harrison led into the straight of the men’s 400 before tying up completely. Four competitors swept past, including Jamaica’s Commonwealth champion Michael Blackwood, running for the Americas, who won in a personal best 44.60 seconds. Germany’s European champion Ingo Schultz was second in 44.86, his fastest time of the season.