June 17, 2007	Sunday	Jumadi-us-Sani 01, 1428

OSLO, June 16: Ethiopia's Meseret Defar smashed her own 5,000 metres world record by nearly eight seconds and Jamaica's Asafa Powell cruised to a sub-10-second victory in the men's 100 at a Golden League meeting on Friday.

Defar clocked 14 minutes 16.63 seconds to better her previous world mark of 14:24.53 set in New York on June 3, 2006.

Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot finished second in 14:22.51 ahead of compatriot Priscah Jepleting in third (14:44.51).

“Everything was perfect today,” Defar said. “I knew I could break the record after two kilometres.

“I was thinking about 14:18-14:20... I didn't think I'd break the record by such a big margin.”

The 23-year-old is the Olympic champion at 5,000 and also held world bests in the 3km and 5km road races last year.

World record holder Powell sped to victory in 9.94 seconds in the first Golden League meeting of the season.

He burst out of the blocks and led all the way to beat Francis Obikwelu of Portugal, who clocked 10.06 seconds.

Briton Marlon Devonish, who ran in the B race, placed third overall in 10.20 to squeeze out Nigeria's Olusoji Fasuba, the third-placed runner in the main event behind Powell.

The 24-year-old Powell, who shares the world record with Justin Gatlin of the United States, started the season with a time of 9.97 seconds for the 100 metres in Belgrade on May 29.

He declined to speculate on whether he would break the world record this season, saying he was fully focused on the world championships starting in August in Osaka, Japan.

Despite his world record in 2005 and two races in which he equalled the mark last year, Powell has not won a major world title. He was fifth in the 2004 Olympic final, and an injury kept him out of the worlds in Helsinki in 2005.

Victories at the Bislett Games set Powell, Defar and eight others on the way to a $1 million jackpot for an athlete who wins all six of their Golden League events.

Powell shared last year's jackpot with American 400 metre runners Jeremy Wariner and Sanya Richards.

Richards continued her dominance at that distance, winning her 20th straight race and setting her season's best time of 50.26 seconds, nearly a second ahead of Senegal's Amy Thiam.

Jamaica's Shericka Williams was third.

Russia's Yelena Isinbayeva, the only woman to pole vault more than five metres and holder of more than 20 world records, won with a jump of 4.85 ahead of Poland's Monika Pyrek (4.60) and fellow Russian Tatyana Polnova (4.55).

Lithuania's twice Olympic and world champion Virgilijus Alekna won the men's discus with a throw of 70.51 metres to set a meeting record and extend an unbeaten run that began in 2005.

The next Golden League competition is on July 6 in Paris.

Leading results:

MEN’S:

100 metres race 1: 1. Asafa Powell (Jamaica) 9.94 seconds; 2. Francis Obikwelu (Portugal) 10.06; 3. Olusoji Fasuba (Nigeria) 10.25.

100 metres race 2: 1. Marlon Devonish (Britain) 10.20 seconds; 2. Nesta Carter (Jamaica) 10.28; 3. Simeon Williamson (Britain) 10.49.

200 metres: 1. Johan Wissman (Sweden) 20.32 seconds; 2. Brian Dzingai (Zimbabwe) 20.32; 3. Jaysuma Saidy (Gambia) 20.53.

800 metres: 1. Mohamed Al Azimi (Kuwait) one minute 44.56 seconds; 2. Mohamed Al Salhi (Saudi Arabia) 1:44.89; 3. Abraham Chepkirwok (Uganda) 1:44.95.

1500 metres: 1. Brimin Kipruto (Kenya) three minutes 36.27 seconds; 2. Alvaro Fernandez (Spain) 3:36.40; 3. Alvaro Rodriguez (Spain) 3:37.04.

Mile: 1. Adil Kaouch (Morocco) three minutes 51.14 seconds; 2. Augustine Choge (Kenya) 3:51.62; 3. Andrew Baddeley (Britain) 3:51.95.

110-metre hurdles: 1. Anwar Moore (US) 13.26 seconds; 2. David Payne (US) 13.27; 3. Thomas Blaschek (Germany) 13.46.

Triple jump: 1. Phillips Idowu (Britain) 17.35 metres; 2. Christian Olsson (Sweden) 17.33; 3. Aarik Wilson (US) 17.26.

Discus throw: 1. Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 70.51 metres; 2. Gerd Kanter (Estonia) 66.33; 3. Piotr Malachowski (Poland) 66.00.

Javelin throw: 1. Tero Pitkaemaeki (Finland) 88.78 metres; 2. Breaux Greer (US) 88.73; 3. Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway) 87.79.

WOMEN’S:

100 metres: 1. Stephanie Durst (US) 11.22 seconds; 2. Sheri-Ann Brooks (Jamaica) 11.23; 3. Cydonie Mothersill (Cayman Islands) 11.25.

400 metres: 1. Sanya Richards (US) 50.26 seconds; 2. Amy Mbacke Thiam (Senegal) 51.22; 3. Shericka Williams (Jamaica) 51.30.

1500 metres: 1. Maryam Yusuf Jamal (Bahrain) four minutes 01.44 seconds; 2. Yuliya Chizhenko (Russia) 4:01.58; 3. Irina Lishchynska (Ukraine) 4:01.82.

5000 metres: 1. Meseret Defar (Ethiopia) 14 minutes 16.63 seconds (world record); 2. Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya) 14:22.51; 3. Prisca Jepleting (Kenya) 14:44.51.

100-metre hurdles: 1. Michelle Perry (US) 12.70 seconds; 2. Susanna Kallur (Sweden) 12.76; 3. Delloreen Ennis-London (Jamaica) 12.78.

3000-metre steeplechase: 1. Eunice Chepkorir (Kenya) nine minutes 19.44 seconds; 2. Donna MacFarlane (Australia) 9:26.63; 3. Korine Hinds (Jamaica) 9:28.86.

High jump: 1. Yelena Slesarenko (Russia) 2.02 metres; 2. Blanka Vlasic (Croatia) 1.98; 3. Vita Palamar (Ukraine) 1.96.

Pole vault: 1. Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) 4.85 metres; 2. Monika Pyrek (Poland) 4.60; 3. Tatyana Polnova (Russia) 4.55.—Reuters