Usain Bolt won a rarely contested 300-metre race in 30.97 seconds in rain at the Golden Spike on Thursday.
Bolt, who holds the world records in the 100m and 200m, was boosted by a solid start and cruised to an easy victory. But the wet track, marked by puddles, prevented him from challenging the world mark of 30.85s set by Michael Johnson at Pretoria in 2000.
Fellow Jamaican Jermaine Gonzales clocked 32.49 for second, and Jonathan Borlee of Belgium had 32.50 for third.
The IAAF does not recognise the 300m world record as it was not at major events.
Bolt did not blame the rain for not setting a new record. “I’m used to weather in Europe, I’m getting used to rain,” Bolt said.
He did not rule out giving the 300m another try to expand his sprint dominance.
But after his first competitive 300m, Bolt did not look like he was in a rush to race another. “I’m done, I’m really tired. I knew it would be painful,” he said.
“It’s really hard, especially in the cold weather in Europe, when the air is cool, it’s kind of hard to breathe. The problem was I went too hard in the first 200 metres. The last 100 metres were too tough. This distance is a little different than 200 metres, you can’t compare it,” he added.
While the rain stopped briefly, Bolt’s countryman Asafa Powell led Jamaica’s sweep of the 100m in 9.83, the world’s best time this season.
On the way, Powell improved the best world time in the 100 yards to 9.07 seconds. Powell broke the previous best of 9.21 set by Charlie Greene of the United States in 1967.
Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser, the women’s 100m world and Olympic champion, claimed the 100m in 11.04s, with Chandra Sturrup of the Bahamas second in 11.13s, and another Jamaican, Sheri-Ann Brooks, third in 11.17s.
American Kerron Clement, a two-time 400 hurdles world champion, used a strong finish to win in 48.69s, edging Britain’s David Greene in 49.05 and Jamaican Isa Phillips in 49.16s.
Olympic 110m hurdles champ Dayron Robles of Cuba, who set the world record of 12.87 seconds in Ostrava in 2008, crossed in 13.12 in heavy rain, with Petr Svoboda of the Czech Republic second and William Sharman of Britain third. — AP