OVERSEAS

Steve Smythe

FALLING AREA STANDARDS THE area championships quality seems to be diminishing though it was refreshing to see Jess Ennis-Hill at Manchester.

The county schools clash didn’t help junior events, while many senior athletes abroad – some far from international standard – could have supported their area event. Wouldn’t some of those in Geneva have benefited from the area rounds to prepare themselves for the Olympic trials?

VICAUT SETS EURO MARK

FRANCE

Montreuil, June 7

Britain’s James Ellington finished third in 10.11.

That position was matched by Andy Pozzi in the hurdles as he clocked a windy 13.31 behind winner Pascal Martinot-Lagarde’s 13.23.

Men: 100 (1.8): 1 J Vicaut 9.86 (eq Eur rec); 2 W Koffi (CIV) 10.10; 3 JAMES ELLINGTON 10.11; 4 B Lee (USA) 10.16; 5 C Naliali (CIV) 10.37. 800: 1 N Kipkoech (KEN) 1:43.85; 2 J Kitilit (KEN) 1:43.89; 3 P Bosse 1:44.53; 4 J Mutai (KEN) 1:45.25; 5 L Paes (BRA) 1:46.73; 6 A Bube DEN 1:46.87. 1500: 1 R Musagala (UGA) 3:36.23; 2 B Seurei (BRN) 3:36.34; 3 M Gebremedhin (ETH) 3:36.72; 4 J Cronje (RSA) 3:37.57; 5 S Keddar (ALG) 3:39.10; 6 S Dahmani 3:39.52; 7 M Lewandowski (POL) 3:40.53; M Mekhissi-Benabbad DNF. 110H (2.6): 1 P Martinot-Lagarde 13.23; 2 A Manga 13.25; 3 ANDY POZZI 13.31; 4 S Krauss 13.45; 5 Y O’Farrill (CUB) 13.46; 6 T Martinot-Lagarde 13.55; 7 N Hough (AUS) 13.79; L DoucourE DNF. LJ: 1 D Forbes (JAM) 8.21/2.8; 2 A Strzałkowski (POL) 8.09/2.3; 3 E Lasa (URU) 8.03/0.5; 4 J Bertrand 8.03/1.4. Women: 200 (1.3): 1 A Anderson (USA) 22.75; 2 V Zyabkina (KAZ) 23.02; 3 J Samuel (NED) 23.04; 4 K Hyacinthe (CAN) 23.16; 5 J Galais 23.25; 6 A Kiełbasinska (POL) 23.33; 7 B Knight (USA) 23.56. 800: 1 M Wambui (KEN) 1:57.52; 2 E Jerotich (KEN) 2:00.14; 3 Y Santiusti (ITA) 2:00.48; 4 S Kajan (AUS) 2:01.67; 5 M Akkaoui (MAR) 2:01.77; 6 C Moh 2:02.00; 7 S Diago (CUB) 2:02.50. 5000: 1 G Gebreselassie (ETH) 15:08.74; 2 H Tesfay (ETH) 15:25.29; 3 B Getachew (ETH) 15:26.11; 4 B Fente (ETH) 15:46.65. 100H (3.3): 1 Q Harrison (USA) 12.61; 2 J Coward (USA) 12.74; 3 N Ali (USA) 12.76; 4 C Billaud 12.86; 5 S Gomis 12.86; 6 S Pearson (AUS) 12.92; 7 A Zagre (BEL) 13.07. 400H: 1 D Muhammad (USA) 54.37; 2 L Nugent (USA) 55.65; 3 J Linkiewicz (POL) 55.69; G Moline (USA) DNF. PV: 1 R Peinado (VEN) 4.55; 2 F Smets (BEL) 4.40; 3 L Gunnarsson (SWE) 4.40. DT: 1 Y Perez (CUB) 67.91; 2 N Semenova UKR 62.93; 3 M Robert-Michon 61.46. HT: 1 A Włodarczyk (POL) 76.61; 2 H Skydan (AZE) 73.87 (rec)

JIMMY VICAUT equalled the European 100m record as he won easily in a time of 9.86.

JP DURAND

Blois, June 8

Men: 200 (0.8): 1 A Jammeh (GAM) 20.68

Colmar, June 10

Men: 200 (1.4): 1 E Hadnot 20.58. 400H: 1 A Ndiaye (SEN) 49.73. Women: 400: 1 D Dante (MLI) 52.24 (rec)

Pierre-Benite, June 10 Men: PV: 1 A Chappele 5.65; 2 A Sene 5.60. HJ: 1 M Hanany 2.22. TJ: 1 J Pontvianne 16.75/-0.3. Women: LJ: 1 H Kessely 6.58/-0.4)

Amiens, June 11 Men: 200 (2.2): 1 A Jammeh (GAM) 20.59 (20.61/1.3 ht). 1500: 1 B Kaazouzi (MAR) 3:35.76; 2 Y Essalhi 3:36.19. 3000SC: 1 S El Bakkali (MAR) 8:20.39; 2 T Soboka-Jimma (ETH) 8:20.42; 3 H Sigueni (MAR) 8:22.84

Angouleme, June 8

Women: DT: 1 M Robert-Michon 62.15

Usain Bolt: 9.88 despite poor start

PRESS ASSOCIATION

BOLT’S 9.88 BEATS BLAKE AND POWELL

JAMAICA

Kingston, June 11

DOUBLE Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt survived a poor start and stumble to win the 100m in a season’s best of 9.88.

Showing the quality of Jamaican sprinting, three others broke 10.00 and three more ran between 10.00 and 10.04 in the two races.

It was close behind Bolt as Nickel Ashmeade’s 9.93 edged Yohan Blake (9.94). Asafa Powell ran 9.98 – his 95th legal sub-10.

Jamaica’s other current individual Olympic sprint champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, showed improved form in the women’s 100m to win in 11.09.

The top performance of the meeting came in the 300 metres, though. World 400m champion Wayde van Niekerk won in an African record 31.03.

Only Michael Johnson (30.85) and Bolt (30.97) have run faster than the South African.

Behind him, American LaShawn Merritt, who now has three of the top six times in history, improved his PB to 31.23.

In the 400m hurdles, Johnny Dutch was a class apart in setting a world-leading 48.10.

David Oliver also looked sharp as he won the 110m hurdles in 13.09, while Miguel Francis of Antigua won the 200m in a national record of 19.88.

There was also a national record in the women’s 200m for Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller, who showed impressive speed to win in 22.05.

Machel Cedenio of Trinidad won the 400m in 44.37, while Delano Williams won the B race in 45.50 ahead of under-18 star Christopher Taylor’s 45.66.

Williams was close to his best of 45.42 but will need a PB to better the Olympic qualifying mark of 45.40, which only Matthew Hudson-Smith has bettered among Britons so far in 2016. Men: 100 (1.0): 1 U Bolt 9.88; 2 N Ashmeade 9.94; 3 Y Blake 9.94; 4 A Powell 9.98; 5 K Bailey-Cole 10.00; 6 A Simbine (RSA) 10.01; 7 R Gittens (BAR) 10.03; 8 M Frater 10.04. rB (1.6): 1 J Livermore 10.03; 2 D Bailey (ANT) 10.09; 3 C Hinds 10.12; 4 O Bailey 10.15; 5 K Brown 10.19; 6 R Chambers 10.27. 200 (1.2): 1 M Francis (ANT) 19.88 (rec); 2 J Forte 20.18; 3 W Weir 20.32; 4 A Adams (SKN) 20.41; 5 T Cotton (USA) 20.45; 6 J Young 20.55; 7 R Dwyer 20.58; 8 J Brown 20.89. 300: 1 W van Niekerk (RSA) 31.03 (African rec); 2 L Merritt (USA) 31.23; 3 T McQuay (USA) 31.64; 4 G Roberts (USA) 31.81; 5 I Makwala (BOT) 31.91 (rec); 6 J Bell 32.35; 7 R Chambers 32.68; 8 K Clemons (USA) 32.73. 400: 1 M Cedenio (TTO) 44.37; 2 B Taplin (GRN) 44.76; 3 J Francis 44.81; 4 L Gordon (TTO) 44.84; 5 R McDonald 46.21; 6 P Matthews 46.71. rB: 1 DELANO WILLIAMS 45.50; 2 C Taylor 45.66; 3 J McDonald 46.01. 110H (0.2): 1 D Oliver (USA) 13.09; 2 D Carter 13.20; 3 J Eaton (USA) 13.28; 4 M Thomas (TTO) 13.42; 5 T Mason 13.46; 6 A Riley 13.48; 7 J Richardson (USA) 13.59; 8 R Levy 13.61. 400H: 1 J Dutch (USA) 48.10; 2 R Cato 48.98; 3 A Whyte 49.25; 4 J Andrade (CPV) 49.26 (rec); 5 B Robinson (USA) 49.27; 6 M Ukaoma (NGR) 49.62; 7 J Hyde 50.56; 8 L Green 51.69; DT: 1 T Bailey (USA) 63.96; 2 F Dacres 61.59; 3 R Brown (USA) 61.50; 4 T Smikle 60.85; 5 C Wright 60.52; 6 A Rose (SAM) 60.10; 7 J Morgan 57.63. JT: 1 L Hamann (GER) 80.73; 2 P Frydrych (CZE) 78.88. Women: 100 (0.6): 1 S Fraser-Pryce 11.09; 2 B Pierre (USA) 11.11; 3 K Baptiste (TTO) 11.15; 4 G Evans 11.24; 5 R Burchell 11.24; 6 C Jeter (USA) 11.26; 7 J Levy 11.28; 8 S Henry-Robinson 11.59. B (1.3): 1 C Williams 11.10; 2 S Forbes 11.28; 3 O Freeman (USA) 11.35; 4 N Morrison 11.39. 200 (0.8): 1 S Miller (BAH) 22.05 (rec); 2 J Prandini (USA) 22.39; 3 A Segree 22.89; 4 A McLaughlin-Whilby 22.91; 5 S Williams (BAR) 23.12; 6 K Brown (USA) 23.29. 400: 1 S Jackson 50.72; 2 C Day 51.22; 3 E Eutsey (USA) 51.39; 4 A Le-Roy 52.00; 5 D Loney 52.35. 800: 1 N Goule 2:00.23; 2 K Sinclair 2:01.32; 3 C Lipsey (USA) 2:01.43; 4 S Campbell 2:02.73; 6 MARILYN OKORO 2:04.15. 100H (0.3): 1 S Nelvis (USA) 12.61; 2 D Williams 12.77; 3 M Simmonds 12.86; 4 G Crawford (USA) 12.89; 5 S Williams 13.10. HJ: 1 C Lowe (USA) 1.93; 2 L Patterson (USA) 1.87. TJ: 1 N Eke (GHA) 13.51/-0.1; 2 T Myers (BAH) 13.48/-1.6; 3 A Alexander (TTO) 13.43/-1.0