Ostrava, Czech Republic – As expected, Usain Bolt won his second 100m outing of the season but it was his compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown’s sensational 10.76 victory in the women’s 100m that was the performance of the night as the Ostrava Golden Spike celebrated its 50th anniversary on Tuesday (31).
Bolt content with another 9.91..
Breaking away from world leader Steve Mullings before the 60 metre mark, Bolt sped to his second 9.91 clocking of the season, leaving his compatriot 0.06 in his wake. But Bolt insisted that his performance, despite the time, was not identical to his season opener in the Italian capital last week.
“I felt better in this race, and that’s a good sign, like I’m actually running again, so that’s a really good sign,” Bolt said. “I had a good first 50 metres and as long as I get to 50 metres first, I’m not going to let you pass me.”
Loose prior to start, Bolt toyed with the stadium cameraman and played to the crowd’s anticipation as the field was announced to the municipal stadium’s capacity audience, but when the towering 24-year-old took to the blocks, he was all business.
To his inside, the much smaller Mullings built a slight lead 20 metres into the race, a gap that Bolt’s long fluent stride filled by the time the pair reached midway. Bolt then pulled away for good some 30 metres before the finish. As they crossed the line, Mullings looked up and across to Bolt, offered a wide smile and a quick pat on the shoulder.
A pair of late spring 9.91 performances may not be what the world expects from the double sprint World and Olympic champion and World record holder, expectations Bolt takes in stride.
“I think people are expecting me to run extremely fast,” Bolt said. “But you need to remember that this is only my second race in nine or ten months. I can’t just come out and run 9.8 or 9.7. It’s just not going to happen. I’m probably not going to start running fast until late July.”
Campbell-Brown ‘surprised’ with career best 10.76
If Veronica Campbell-Brown’s progression will be anything like what Bolt’s predicting, then the world is in for some very fast sprinting indeed as the summer rolls forward.
Running just ahead of compatriot Schillonie Calvert and Bahamian veteran Debbie Ferguson at the midway point, Campbell-Brown hit her next gear and followed up with another she perhaps didn’t know she had to burst away and cross the line all alone, knocking 0.02 from her previous best set last year and in the process equalling Evelyn Ashford as the eighth fastest women in history.
"It was a surprise (when I saw the time)," said Campbell-Brown, also the 2007 World champion over the distance. "My goal was to run faster than 10.92," her season's best prior to tonight. "So this was a surprise.” And a pleasant one indeed.
Her performances – she ran a relaxed 11.13 in the heat earlier - tonight underscored her double intentions at this summers World Championships but didn’t change her humble demeanor.
“I’m just going home now to keep training hard and to see what the next races bring.” She won’t race again until the Jamaican championships and World Championships trials at the end of June where she will contest both the 100m and 200m.
Ferguson, the 2009 World 200m bronze medallist, improved her season’s best to 11.09 for second, with Calvert crossing the line third in 11.13.
The men’s 200m produced a minor upset, with Marvin Anderson fighting back upstart Yohan Blake. Carrying a marginal lead over his Jamaican compatriot through the bend, Anderson held it down the straight and through the finish line to win in a season’s best 20.27, well ahead of Blake’s 20.38. Mario Forsythe finished a Jamaican 1-2-3 sweep in 20.43 equalling his career best.
Underscoring the day’s Jamaican theme, Jermaine Gonzales continued his return to form from early season injury, improving to 45.07 with a commanding victory in the 400m. He was never particularly tested through and beyond the final turn, with Bahamian Chris Brown coming closest with 45.17. American Jordan Boase was third at 45.34 with no others coming home in under 45.50.
In the women’s 400m, American Francena McCorory held off World champion Sanya Richards-Ross and Czech Denisa Rosolova down the final straight to notch her first international win.
The 22-year-old, who took the 2010 NCAA title, clocked 50.64, 0.14 outside of her personal best from earlier this season, but more importantly, well ahead of her much better credentialed compatriot.
Richards-Ross carried a small lead into the homestraight, but ran out of steam with about 30 metres remaining, allowing McCorory, and then Rosolova, to pull away. The Czech clocked a personal best 50.84 ahead of the 50.99 for Richards-Ross.
