Chinese Tutor - Gay edges Powell to take world title

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Gay edges Powell to take world title

Updated: 2007-08-27 06:49

OSAKA, Japan: US flashTyson Gay edged out Asafa Powell to win the 100m
world title in 9.85 seconds yesterday.

Gay stormed home to vistory as Jamaican world record holder Powell (9.96)
faded to third behind Derrick Atkins (9.91) from the Bahamas.

It was a long anticipated meeting between two men at the height of their
game, but despite Gay's pre-championship predictions, Powell's world mark
of 9.77 remains intact.

"I was screaming for joy when I crossed the line," said Gay.

"All I did was focus on reacting. My coach helped me a lot, he told me I
was going to be world champion. At 70m, that's when I started reacting
and kicking.

"I started to run like crazy, that's when I knew I really had a great
chance to win the race."

Powell said he panicked when he saw Gay on his shoulder, and it cost him
the race.

"I felt him (Gay) coming on my shoulder and that's when I panicked. It
slowed me down," he said. "I made a couple of mistakes and I lost the
race."

In other events, the seemingly invincible Swedish glamour girl Carolina
Kluft retained her heptathlon crown.

Unbeaten since 2002 in the seven-sport spectacle, the 24-year-old posted
a new European record of 7,032 points to shut out the Ukraine's Lyudmila
Blonska, who scored 6,832 and Britain's Kelly Sotherton on 6,510.

Kluft racked up personal bests in the high jump and 100m hurdles in a
flying start on Saturday and never looked back.

"It's amazing to have the personal record and to win at the same time.
It's been two tough days but a great two days," she said, and downplayed
talk that she may have competed in her last heptathlon.

"No, I'm not retiring. I'm 24 years old and I'm just happy for this
moment."

New Zealand's Valerie Vili also picked up gold, upsetting defending
champion Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus on her final attempt to win the
women's shot put in oven-like conditions at the Nagai Stadium. China's Li
Ling just missed a medal by finishing fourth.

Ostapchuk looked certain to win with her first throw of 20.04m but the
22-year-old New Zealander heaved the year's best of 20.54m in the sixth
round to become only the second non-European to lift the title.

Ecuador's Jefferson Perez claimed the other gold medal of the day when he
marked three consecutive 20km walk titles in stifling conditions that saw
him collapse and writhe in agony immediately after finishing.

Perez, the world walk record-holder who timed 1 hour 22 minutes and 20
seconds, admitted it was one of the hardest races he had ever experienced.

"This could be the toughest of my victories," he said. "I was walking so
fast that in these conditions, I knew I could collapse. It was kind of
suicidal."

Tunisia won its first world championships medal when Hatem Ghoula picked
up bronze. Spaniard Francisco Fernandez won silver.

Russia's record breaking pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who boasted last
week that she was unbeatable, cleared 4.55m to coast through qualifying
as she aims for her 21st world record.

AFP

(China Daily 08/27/2007 page12)

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