MADRID, July 20: Mozambique’s Olympic and world champion Maria Mutola clocked the fastest women’s 800 metres of the year on Saturday with a blazing run of one minute 55.55 seconds at the Madrid grand prix.
Mutola ran the first lap in 55.97 and surged to the front of the pack with 300 metres to go.
Her time bettered the 1:56.57 she set in Lausanne this month and was all the more remarkable since Madrid’s altitude of 700m is hardly suited to middle distancing running.
Namibia’s former world champion Frank Fredericks, one of the other crowd favourites racing on a warm night in Madrid, coasted to victory in the men’s 200 metres in a time of 20.24 seconds to show that even at 35 he cannot be written off for the world championships.
Leading results:
MEN’S:
200 metres: 1. Frank Fredericks (Namibia) 20.24 seconds; 2. Francis Obikwelu (Portugal) 20.59; 3. Claudio Roberto Souza (Brazil) 20.70.