Felix upstages Wariner and Liu with awesome win

By John Bagratuni Aug 31, 2007, 14:49 GMT

Allyson Felix of the USA celebrates after winning the 200m final at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Osaka, Japan, 31 August 2007. EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA

Osaka, Japan - Allyson Felix made 200 metres history with an awesome run to the world title on Friday night which even upstaged the expected gold medals for superstars Jeremy Wariner and Liu Xiang.

Felix, 21, got successive 200m titles in 22.81 seconds, the fastest time of the new Millennium. The winning margin of 0.53 seconds over 100m champion Veronica Campbell was the biggest at a major event since the 1948 Olympics.

Fellow-American Wariner shaved another five hundredths of a second off his personal best at 43.45 seconds which is the fifth best in race history as he led a US sweep. Wariner also won at the 2005 worlds and 2004 Olympics.

China's Liu got worlds gold at last in the 110m hurdles to go with the Olympic title.

Yargelis Savigne of Cuba denied Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva a historic jump double at one worlds with the triple jump gold. Olga Kaniskina won the women's 20km walk for Russia and Czech Barbora Spotakova took the women's javelin.

'I feel so good, I am so excited. I have been waiting for so long to run such a time, to run under 22 seconds. Running so fast feels so great,' said an elated Felix after her memorable 200m showing.

I knew I have a strong finish, that I really had to take it off on the home stretch,' said Felix.

Felix and Campbell came out of the turn neck-and-neck but then Felix simply pulled away in an amazing display of strength and stamina on the home stretch.

The Jamaican 100m winner Campbell was a distant second in 22.34 and Susanthika Jayasinghe got bronze, to go with 1997 silver, for Sri Lanka in 22.63 seconds.

Felix lowered her personal best by 0.30 seconds with the staggering performance. No other woman has run this fast in the new Millennium and only 11 overall.

The winning margin of 0.53 seconds was the biggest at the worlds and the biggest globally since the first 200m race at the Olympics in 1948, when the late Dutch Fanny Blankers-Koen won by 0.8 seconds over Briton Audrey Williamson.

Wariner clocked 43.45 seconds to take the gold ahead of team-mates LaShawn Merritt (43.96) and Angelo Taylor (44.32). It was the first sweep for the US over the distance at the worlds.

Wariner is now just 0.27 seconds away from Michael Johnson's world record 43.18 from 1999. His run Friday was the best run since Johnson's record.

'I knew I would run a fast time, I knew I could do new PB. LaShawn was also great, running first time sub 44 seconds. The sweep means a lot to me and US athletics,' said Wariner.

'I'm fulfilling step by step all my goals. Next year it is to defend my Olympic title. The world record, it will come when it should come. Today means a lot to me.'

Liu produced a strong finish to win the hurdles in 12.95 seconds, lunging ahead of American Terrence Trammell after the final hurdle as they both glanced over at another.

Trammell finished second, in 12.99 seconds, as at the last two Olympics and the 2003 worlds. Fellow-American David Payne took the bronze in 13.02 seconds.

'I was a little bit nervous. After my silver in Helsinki (worlds) two years ago I had to win the gold. Now I will have even more pressure than before,' said Liu, looking ahead at his home Olympics in Beijing next year.

Savigne shocked the opposition with with personal best and 2007 world lead 15.28 metres in her opening jump which was good enough for gold.

Lebedeva was beaten for the first time since 2005 in a triple jump, adding silver to her long jump gold with 15.07m and Hrysopiyi Devetzi of Greece got bronze with 15.04m.

Lebedeva got long jump gold and triple jump bronze at the 2004 Olympics. She also has two triple jump world titles from 2001 and 2003.

The European silver medallist Spotakova spoilt a German party under the eyes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel with a massive throw of 67.07m early on.

Top favourite Christina Obergfoell had to settle for silver as in 2005 with 66.46m and fellow-German Steffi Nerius got bronze with 64.42m.

Kaniskina led from start to finish to win the women's 20-kilometres walk title in 1:30:09 hours ahead of fellow-Russian Tatyana Shemyakina (1:30:42) and Spain's Maria Vasco (1:30:47)

Two-time champion Olimpiada Ivanova of Russia didn't even last the first kilometre as a back and leg injury sustained during skiing six months ago didn't allow her to continue her first race of the year.

Tyson Gay's bid for a sprint triple remained intact when the US relay, in his absence, didn't drop the baton and safely reached the final.

Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain crashed in the 800m semis, the defending champion coming last in his heat. Fancied Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia and South African season-leader Mbulaeni Mulaudzi advanced into the final.

In the morning, Croatian season-leader Blanka Vlasic (2.07 metres), holder Kajsa Bergqvist of Sweden, Olympic champion Yelena Slesarenko of Russia and European champion Tia Hellebaud of Belgium all qualifying for what is expected to be a gripping final Sunday.

Defending champion Bryan Clay of the US had to pull out of the decathlon with a leg injury in the high jump. Jamaican Maurice Smith led over night with 4,525 but Czech world record holder Roman Sebrle was less than 100 points behind.

The worlds continue on Saturday with six finals, the men's 50km walk, completion of the decathlon, 4x100m relay and pole vault, and the women's 4x100m and 5,000m.