Bolt DQ shock opens door for Blake; Jeilan pips Farah

By John Bagratuni Aug 29, 2011, 7:33 GMT

Daegu, South Korea - Usain Bolt showed himself to be human after all when the Jamaican superstar was disqualified from the 100 metres final at the world championships on Sunday and compatriot Yohan Blake made the most of the shock incident to take gold.

Blake, 21, won his first major title in 9.92 seconds from Walter Dix of the United States (10.08) and the 2003 champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis (10.09).

The world record holder, three-times champion from the 2008 and 2009 Olympics and all-out gold medal favourite, Bolt was left to cover his face with his shirt and then take it off in disbelief.

He was fully aware immediately that he had shot out of the blocks ahead of the gun in arguably the biggest athletics shock since pole vault world record holder Sergey Bubka no-heighted at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.

No false starts are allowed in track events since rules were revised a few years ago. Bolt's reaction time was given at minus 0.104 seconds.

As Bolt walked off the track a stunned silence befell the crowd and it may have left some rivals puzzled as well.

The talented Blake, however, tipped the previous day by former champ Maurice Greene to beat Bolt for gold, made the most of the new scenario.

Bolt's stunning mistake was the final twist in the 2011 saga over the distance in which the four fastest men of the year, Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Steve Mullings, and Americans Tyson Gay and Michael Rodgers, were not competing in Daegu for injury and doping suspension reasons.

In a somewhat similar event, Ibrahim Jeilan came to Ethiopia's rescue for the 10,000m title after four-time reigning champion Kenenisa Bekele retired after 6,000m.

British season leader Mohamed Farah kicked at 9,400m and built up a lead of around 10 metres going into the final back straight. The 2006 junior world champion Jeilan, 22, roared back and passed Farah shortly before the finish line for victory in 27 minutes 13.81 seconds.

Farah won Europe's first medal over the distance since 1987, silver in 27:14.07, and bronze went to Ethiopia again from Imane Merga (27:19.14).

Brittney Reese shocked the opposition with an opening long jump of 6.82 metres to claim back-to-back titles. Olga Kucherenko of Russia took silver with 6.77m and bronze went to Latvia's Ineta Radevica with 6.76m.

Trey Hardee added more delight to the US camp when he defended the decathlon title with 8,607 points from countryman Ashton Eaton (8,505) and Cuban Leonel Suarez (8,501).

Season leader Li Yanfeng of China won women's discus gold with 66.52m from German Nadine Mueller (65.97m) and Yarelys Barrios of Cuba (65.73).

Russian Olympic champion Valeriy Borchin also defended his title in the 20-kilometres walk in 1 hour 19 minutes 56 seconds on a humid morning in downtown Daegu ahead of compatriot world record holder Vladimir Kanaykin (1:20:27). Luis Fernandez Lopez got Colombia's first medal at world championship level, a bronze in 1:20:38 hours.

Elswhere, double-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius qualified for the 400 metres semi-finals in his able-bodied championship debut, clocking 45.39 seconds with his carbon-fibre blades.

'I don't feel like a pioneer but I feel very honoured to be here,' said Pistorius. 'It is incredible to be here ... It is a big sense of relief to have the first race out of the way.'

The South African 'Blade runner' was in 2007 banned by the ruling body IAAF but allowed to run by the Court of Arbitration for Sport which said the blades gave him no unfair advantage.

World and Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt, meanwhile, made a huge statement in his return from a 21-month doping ban when he dominated the heats in a 2011 world leading 44.35 seconds.

Chinese icon Liu Xiang cruised into the semi-finals in the 110m hurdles along with Olympic champion Dayron Robles of Cuba and American David Oliver, and Russian Olympic champion and world record holder Elena Isinbayeva was untroubled in women's pole vault qualifying after famously no-heighting at the 2009 Berlin worlds.

World and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica advanced from the 100m heats, world record holder David Rudisha of Kenya cruised into the 800m final, and Allyson Felix of the US made the 400m final in her bid for a unique 200m/400m double.