hawkfan
08-07-2007, 06:47 PM
Wariner runs 400 PB
Eurosport - Tue, 07 Aug 22:19:00 2007
Olympic 400 metres champion Jeremy Wariner ran a personal best of 43.50 seconds at the Stockholm Super Grand Prix to equal fellow American Quincy Watts as the third-fastest man in history.
More StoriesOhuruogu named in GB squad
Only his agent Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds have run faster while Watts clocked the same time at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Wariner, who defends his world title in Osaka, Japan, this month, said that the race was "pretty much perfect".
"I'm happy to get a PR (personal record)," he said. "It feels great to go into the world championships half-a-second faster than all the rest."
On a cloudless, hot day Wariner relegated compatriot Kerron Clement into second place, nearly a second behind in 44.48.
"The weather was perfect. I didn't feel any wind because the stadium blocked it out, and the sun didn't bother me because I'm used to the heat," added Wariner.
"If I run like this in Osaka, I can almost guarantee a 43.3 run."
Johnson set the world record of 43.18 at the 1999 Seville world championships.
The time was a second stadium record in a row for Wariner, who was awarded a one-carat diamond for his feat. Last year he clocked 44.02 seconds.
Croatian Blanka Vlasic won the women's high jump, improving her world's year best by one centimetre to 2.07 metres on her third attempt. The jump was also a stadium record.
Vlasic then attempted to break the 20-year-old women's world record but failed with all three attempts at 2.10.
World record holder Asafa Powell had a less inspiring day but still managed to win the men's 100 metres, overcoming a poor start to win in 10.04 seconds.
The Jamaican only just edged Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, who finished second in 10.05 seconds, with Churandy Martina third with 10.16.
"Normally 10.04 is a joke," said Powell. "It was not a good race. I got a bad start but I managed to accelerate and catch up.
"I'm not worried about the world championships: I know what I did wrong and it's easy to fix."
Ethiopian Olympic 10,000 metres champion Kenenisa Bekele set a stadium record and a year's best in the men's 3,000 metres, clocking seven minutes 25.79 seconds.
American Me'Lisa Barber beat her compatriot Sanya Richards into second place in the women's 100 metres, winning in 11.03 seconds with Richards 0.02 behind.
Great Britain's Michael Rimmer won the men's 800m in a time of 1:45.17 from Richard Kiplagat of Kenya (1:45.50) and Latvian Dmitrijs Milkevics (1:45.50).
Eurosport - Tue, 07 Aug 22:19:00 2007
Olympic 400 metres champion Jeremy Wariner ran a personal best of 43.50 seconds at the Stockholm Super Grand Prix to equal fellow American Quincy Watts as the third-fastest man in history.
More StoriesOhuruogu named in GB squad
Only his agent Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds have run faster while Watts clocked the same time at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Wariner, who defends his world title in Osaka, Japan, this month, said that the race was "pretty much perfect".
"I'm happy to get a PR (personal record)," he said. "It feels great to go into the world championships half-a-second faster than all the rest."
On a cloudless, hot day Wariner relegated compatriot Kerron Clement into second place, nearly a second behind in 44.48.
"The weather was perfect. I didn't feel any wind because the stadium blocked it out, and the sun didn't bother me because I'm used to the heat," added Wariner.
"If I run like this in Osaka, I can almost guarantee a 43.3 run."
Johnson set the world record of 43.18 at the 1999 Seville world championships.
The time was a second stadium record in a row for Wariner, who was awarded a one-carat diamond for his feat. Last year he clocked 44.02 seconds.
Croatian Blanka Vlasic won the women's high jump, improving her world's year best by one centimetre to 2.07 metres on her third attempt. The jump was also a stadium record.
Vlasic then attempted to break the 20-year-old women's world record but failed with all three attempts at 2.10.
World record holder Asafa Powell had a less inspiring day but still managed to win the men's 100 metres, overcoming a poor start to win in 10.04 seconds.
The Jamaican only just edged Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, who finished second in 10.05 seconds, with Churandy Martina third with 10.16.
"Normally 10.04 is a joke," said Powell. "It was not a good race. I got a bad start but I managed to accelerate and catch up.
"I'm not worried about the world championships: I know what I did wrong and it's easy to fix."
Ethiopian Olympic 10,000 metres champion Kenenisa Bekele set a stadium record and a year's best in the men's 3,000 metres, clocking seven minutes 25.79 seconds.
American Me'Lisa Barber beat her compatriot Sanya Richards into second place in the women's 100 metres, winning in 11.03 seconds with Richards 0.02 behind.
Great Britain's Michael Rimmer won the men's 800m in a time of 1:45.17 from Richard Kiplagat of Kenya (1:45.50) and Latvian Dmitrijs Milkevics (1:45.50).