Tyson Gay again showed he is on track for the World Championships, with a brilliant 100 metres victory in Stockholm on Friday. Gay, who will defend his 100m and 200m titles in Berlin against Olympic champion Usain Bolt, was unaffected by a recent groin injury on a cold evening in the Swedish capital. The 26-year-old, backed by a following wind of 2.6 metres, raced down the track in 9.79secs for a clear win ahead of fellow American Darvis Patton and Asafa Powell, Jamaica's former world record-holder.
"The race felt good, and my finish was good," said Gay, who produced a storming final 30metres after drawing level with Powell at the halfway point. "It was good, considering I haven't really trained recently." Fellow Americans Allyson Felix and Jeremy Wariner, who will be defending their 200m and 400m crowns in Berlin, also scored impressive victories in 21.88secs and 44.83secs respectively. Felix's time was easily the fastest in the world this year and earned the 23-year-old a one carat gold diamond worth US$10,000 (Dh37,000) for setting a stadium record.
Britain's Nicola Sanders looked good as she won the 400m in 51.55secs to continue her build-up for Berlin - where she is hoping she can still make the 400m final after an ankle injury. The 2007 silver medallist's success came in the meeting's 'B' event, but the large margin of her victory indicates she can run much faster and would have done so had she run the main race. Mike Bingham did not have enough pace to chase down Wariner but produced his best Grand Prix display when second behind the American by 0.66secs in a time of 45.49secs.
In the 1500m, Hannah England edged out Steph Twell by 0.07secs behind Germany's Christin Wurth-Thomas. * PA Sport
