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EUGENE (Oregon), May 25: Ana Guevara of Mexico was established as the clear favourite for the world championships in August after running the year’s fastest women’s 400 metres time of 49.34 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday.
Olympic champion Cathy Freeman of Australia finished fifth on her international comeback.
Top-ranked Guevara, who set a world best in the 300 metres earlier this month, surprised herself with her speedy time as she won by more than a second from Tonique Williams of the Bahamas.
She was undefeated in the event last year and hopes to break the 49-second barrier this European summer.
Freeman’s first international 400 metres since the Sydney Olympics was not as fast as she hoped, clocking 51.70 seconds.
That was slower than her season’s best of 51.66 but she will now go to Europe to continue the comeback she hopes will lead to the 2004 Athens Olympics.
The Prefontaine meeting produced an astonishing 11 season’s best performances on a cloudy, warm afternoon.
World record holder Stacy Dragila of the US equalled the year’s best women’s pole vault, clearing 4.62 metres to win her early-season showdown with indoor world record holder Svetlana Feofanova (4.52) of Russia.
Jamaican Brigitte Foster ran a season’s best in the 100 metres hurdles, a national record 12.45 seconds. Former world champion Gail Devers was last in 13.06 seconds.
World and Olympic gold medallist Maria Mutola of Mozambique ran a good season opener, clocking one minute 57.98 seconds to win the women’s 800 metres.
Olympic bronze medallist Bernard Lagat and fellow Kenyan Abraham Chebii also won. Lagat was first in the mile in three minutes 50.21 seconds while Chebii took the 5,000 metres in 13:08.10.
World indoor champion Tyree Washington of the US won the men’s 400 metres in 44.70 seconds, another season’s best, and European 800 metres champion Jolanda Ceplak set a Slovenian national record of 4:02.44 to win the women’s 1,500 metres.
Leading results:
WOMEN’S:
1,500 metres: 1. Jolanda Ceplak (Slovenia) 4 minutes 2.44 seconds; 2. Suzy Favor Hamilton (US) 4:03.47; 3. Meskerem Legesse (Ethiopia) 4:03.96.
100 metres: 1. Kelli White (US) 10.96 seconds; 2. Chryste Gaines (US) 11.03; 3. LaTasha Colander-Richardson (US) 11.08.
100 metres hurdles: 1. Brigitte Foster (Jamaica) 12.45 seconds; 2. Miesha McKelvy (US) 12.51; 3. Donica Merriman (US) 12.65.
800 metres: 1. Maria Mutola (Mozambique) 1 minute 57.98 seconds; 2. Jearl Miles-Clark (US) 1:58.61; 3. Diane Cummins (Canada) 1:59.41.
High jump: 1. Tisha Waller (US) 1.98 metres; 2. Kajsa Bergqvist (Sweden) 1.95; 3. Amy Acuff (US) 1.95.
Pole vault: 1. Stacy Dragila (US) 4.62 metres; 2. Svetlana Feofanova (Russia) 4.52; 3. Kellie Suttle (US) 4.32.
400 metres: 1. Ana Guevara (Mexico) 49.34 seconds; 2. Tonique Williams (Bahamas) 50.39; 3. Ronetta Smith (Jamaica) 51.44; 4. Monique Hennegan (US) 51.50; 5. Cathy Freeman (Australia) 51.70.
MEN’S:
400 metres: 1. Tyree Washington (US) 44.70 seconds; 2. Michael Blackwood (Jamaica) 45.03; 3. Gregory Haughton (Jamaica) 45.34.
Shot put: 1. Kevin Toth (US) 21.76 metres; 2. Christian Cantwell (US) 21.47; 3. Brad Snyder (Canada) 20.54.
110 metres hurdles: 1. Larry Wade (US) 13.24 seconds; 2. Dudley Dorival (Haiti) 13.43; 3. Ron Bramlett (US) 13.48.
100 metres: 1. Kim Collins (St Kitts & Nevis) 10.00 seconds; 2. Darrel Brown (Trinidad & Tobago) 10.08; 3. Bernard Williams (US) 10.10; 4. Dwain Chambers (Britain) 10.17.
5,000 metres: 1. Abraham Chebii (Kenya) 13 minutes 8.10 seconds; 2. Ben Limo (Kenya) 13:11.67; 3. Shadrack Kosegi (Kenya) 13:12.24.
Long jump: 1. Miguel Pate (US) 8.27 metres; 2. Savante Stringfellow (US) 8.23; 3. Dwight Phillips (US) 8.05.
Mile: 1. Bernard Lagat (Kenya) 3 minutes 50.21 seconds; 2. Kevin Sullivan (Canada) 3:53.34; 3. Alex Kipchirchir (Kenya) 3:53.73.—Reuters
