ZURICH, Aug 16: Turkey’s European champion Sureyya Ayhan and Mexican Ana Guevara produced performances worthy of a world championship final at the Zurich Golden League meeting on Friday.

Ayhan clocked the fastest women’s 1,500 metres time for six years while Guevara’s 49.11 seconds for the 400 metres put her equal 10th on the all-time list.

Morocco’s three times world 1,500 metres champion Hicham El Guerrouj also dismissed worries over his fitness with a smooth victory eight days before the start of the Paris world championships.

Ayhan shaved more than two seconds off her personal best in clocking 3:55.60. She is the only athlete to break four minutes for the distance this year.

The former semi-pro basketballer, unbeaten at the distance last year, beat her personal best by 0.23 of a second but said she needed to run even faster to secure the world title.

El Guerrouj, planning a 1500-5000 metres double in Paris, eased to victory in 3:29.13, ahead of Kenyan Bernard Lagat.

The 28-year-old, winning at the Weltklasse for the eighth time in a row, pulled out of the London grand prix last week with a minor back complaint.

Gail Devers, seeking a fourth 100 metres hurdles world title at the age of 36, warmed up with a morale-boosting win over one of her major rivals.

The American sprinter-hurdler, twice Olympic champion over 100 metres, brushed aside Jamaican Brigitte Foster to win in 12.50. Foster holds the leading time this year with 12.45.

Zurich’s atmospheric Letzigrund Stadium for once witnessed a low-key men’s 100 metres with the event’s big guns — Olympic and three-times world champion Maurice Greene, out-of-form world record holder Tim Montgomery and European champion Dwain Chambers keeping their powder dry ahead of their showdown in Paris.

The spoils were shared by Americans Justin Gatlin, the world indoor 60 metres champion, and John Capel, who deadheated for first in 9.97, third quickest this year.

Mozambique’s Maria Mutola said it was “business as usual” after chalking up her 16th successive 800 metres win and a record 11th in a row at the Weltklasse. Mutola needs only a victory in Brussels after the world championships to win the Golden League’s $1 million jackpot.

The Olympic and world champion proved too strong again for Austria’s Stephanie Graf to win in 1:59.93, over four seconds slower than her previous best this year.

Romania’s Gabriela Szabo, twice world champion at 5,000 metres, led from the front to set a world leading time of 8:33.95 this year in the 3,000 metres.

Results

Men

100 metres

Race 1 1= John Capel (U.S.) 9.97 seconds 1= Justin Gatlin (U.S.) 9.97 3. Kim Collins (St Kitts & Nevis) 9.99 4. Joshua J. Johnson (U.S.) 10.10

Race 2 1. Mickey Grimes (U.S) 9.99 2. Darvis Patton (U.S.) 10.00 3. Shawn Crawford (U.S) 10.07

* 800 metres 1. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi (South Africa) 1:44.12 2. Hezekiel Sepeng (South Africa) 1:44.26 3. Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) 1:44.36

* 1,500 metres 1. Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 3:29.13 2. Bernard Lagat (Kenya) 3:30.55 3. Fouad Chouki (France) 3:30.83

5,000 metres 1. John Kibowen (Kenya) 13:01.01 2. Nicholas Kemboi (Kenya) 13:01.14 3. Sammy Kipketer (Kenya) 13:01.44

400 metres hurdles 1. Felix Sanchez (Dominican Republic) 47.82 2. Periklis Iakovakis (Greece) 48.25 3. Joey Woody (U.S.) 48.46

3,000 metres steeplechase 1. Saif Shaheen Saeed (Qatar) 8:02.48 2. Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) 8:02.49 3. Paul Koech (Kenya) 8:09.54

110 metres hurdles 1. Duane Ross (U.S.) 13.22 2. Stanislavs Olijars (Latvia) 13.22 3. Chris Phillips (U.S.) 13.39

Pole vault 1. Okkert Brits (South Africa) 5.80 2. Jeff Hartwig (U.S.) 5.70 3. Tim Lobinger (Germany) 5.70

Triple Jump 1. Marian Oprea (Romana) 17.24 2. Dmitriy Valyukevich (Belarus) 17.18 3. Kenta Bell (U.S) 17.11

Discus 1. Robert Fazekas (Hungary) 69.14 2. Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 68.95 3. Lars Riedel (Germany) 66.53

Javelin 1. Jan Zelezny (Czech Republic) 87.95 2. Boris Henry (Germany) 86.98 3. Sergey Makarov (Russia) 86.40

Women

100 metres 1. Chryste Gaines (U.S.) 10.89 2. Chandra Sturrup (Bahamas) 10.97 3. Christine Arron (France) 11.05

400 metres 1. Ana Guevara (Mexico) 49.11 2. Mbacke Thiam Amy (Senegal) 50.14 3. Tonique Williams (Bahamas) 50.24

800 metres 1. Maria Mutola (Mozambique) 1:59.93 2. Stephanie Graf (Austria) 2:00.52 3. Claudia Gesell (Germany) 2:01.03

1,500 metres 1. Sureyya Ayhan (Turkey) 3:55.60 2. Yekaterina Rozenberg (Russia) 4:00.07 3. Tatyana Tomashova (Russia) 4:00.91

3,000 metres 1. Gabriela Szabo (Romania) 8:33.95 2. Sonia O’Sullivan (Ireland) 8:37.55 3. Irina Mikitenko (Germany) 8:39.29

100 metres hurdles 1. Gail Devers (U.S.) 12.50 2. Brigitte Foster (Jamaica) 12.58 3. Miesha McKelvy (U.S.) 12.69

400 metres hurdles 1. Sandra Glover (U.S.) 54.50 2. Ionela Tirlea (Romania) 54.60 3. Jana Pittman (Australia) 54.63

Triple jump 1. Francoise Mbango Etone (Cameroon) 14.87 metres 2. Yamile Aldama (Cuba) 14.66 3. Kene Ndoye (Senegal) 14.46.—Reuters