PARIS: Jamaican sprinters Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made up for the absence of injured Usain Bolt by storming to double 100m glory in the Diamond League meet in Paris on Saturday.

But there was heartbreak for Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba who narrowly missed out on breaking her older sister Tirunesh’s world record in the women’s 5000m.

Former world record holder Powell, filling Bolt’s shoes for Jamaica, ran his fastest 100m in four years, holding his nerve to power through the line in 9.81 seconds as he improved on his previous season’s best of 9.84, which he’s managed twice this year, in May and June.

“It was a confidence booster,” he said, “but I’m always confident.”

Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut matched Francis Obikwelu’s 2004 European record by finishing second in 9.86 with American Mike Rodgers third in 9.99.

In the women’s 100, Fraser-Pryce’s 10.74 seconds made her the fastest woman this year. The world and Olympic champion got a good start in lane five and led to the line on a hot evening ahead of Nigerian Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor (10.80) and American English Gardner (10.97).

In a gripping 5000m, Dibaba and compatriot Almaz Ayana were glued together until the last lap when the former struck out. But her efforts were to no avail as she fell an agonising 4.26sec short of her sister’s record of 14:11.15 set in Oslo in 2008.

Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie, looking for a world pole vault record, instead failed to win at the Stade de France for the first time in seven years. The Olympic gold medallist cleared only 5.71 metres to share fifth place as Greek Konstadnos Filippdis vaulted 5.91m.

There was disappointment for Olympic and world champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand as well when her five-year dominance of the women’s shot put ended in her return from shoulder and elbow surgery.

The loss was her first in 57 meetings as Adams could throw just 18.79m, well behind German Christina Schwanitz’s 20.31m.

South African Wayde Van Niekerk became the first African to run under 44 seconds in the 400m, winning in 43.96 seconds, and Cuban Orlando Ortega topped a world-class high hurdles field in 12.94 seconds, the fastest time of the year.

There was also a year’s best of 7 minutes, 58.83 seconds in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase from Jairus Kipchoge Birech of Kenya.

There were also 2015 bests in the women’s 800m from Kenya’s Eunice Sum, who ran 1 minute, 56.99 seconds, and in the men’s 1,500m from Silas Kiplagat, also from Kenya, who clocked 3:30.12, shaving more than two seconds off the previous leading mark.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play