LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Asafa Powell matched the second-fastest 100 meters ever and Usain Bolt clocked the second-fastest 200 this year as the Jamaican friends and rivals dominated the Athletissima Grand Prix on Tuesday.
Powell's time of 9.72 seconds equaled the old world record set by Bolt in New York City last May. Only Bolt has run faster, in his astonishing Olympic gold medal-winning run of 9.69 in Beijing last month. As then, Bolt eased up before the finish line Tuesday, crossing in 19.63 -- his world mark is 19.30.
Powell's time was a personal best by two-hundredths and one-tenth faster than his 2008 best, run in Monaco before his relative loss of form at the Olympics where he finished fifth. Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix was second in 9.92.
"I'm very happy," Powell said. "It's a bit late. But I'm very happy after all that I've been through this year."
Bolt blew past American Shawn Crawford, the Olympic silver medalist in the lane outside him, on the bend and drew clear before straightening up in his stride for the final 15 meters.
"I'm tired," Bolt explained. "It's been a long season, so I'm just trying to get through the season."
Churandy Martin of the Netherlands Antilles was second in 20.24.
David Oliver of the U.S. won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.03 as Cuba's Dayron Robles struck two of the final three obstacles, sending the last crashing. LaShawn Merritt won the 400 in 43.98.
Motor Sports
Dario Franchitti will leave NASCAR and return to IndyCar in 2009 as the replacement driver for Dan Wheldon at Chip Ganassi Racing. The move was announced Tuesday by Ganassi, who also signed a multiyear extension with Target for both his open-wheel and NASCAR programs.
Franchitti won the 2007 IndyCar Series championship and the Indianapolis 500, but left open wheel for NASCAR at the end of the season to drive Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series. Ganassi never secured sponsorship for that team, and was forced to shutter it in July because of the weakening economy. Franchitti said at the time his team closed that returning to IndyCar was not an option, but apparently changed his mind when Ganassi and Wheldon decided to part ways.
Franchitti will join Scott Dixon, the reigning Indy 500 winner who is poised to wrap up his second IndyCar title, on Ganassi's open wheel team. Franchitti beat Dixon for the title a year ago, right before he announced he was joining Ganassi's NASCAR operation.
Franchitti raced in just 10 Cup events this season. He missed five with a broken foot suffered in a crash at Talladega, and the No. 40 car fell outside the top 35 in points and failed to qualify for a handful of races before Ganassi finally closed it down. Franchitti's highest finish was a 22nd at Martinsville in March.
Basketball
The Miami Heat signed former All-Star center Jamaal Magloire on Tuesday, four days after agreeing to basic terms with the nine-year veteran. Magloire will likely compete with Mark Blount for the starting center position. ... Donyell Marshall and the Philadelphia 76ers agreed to a one-year contract. The 6-foot-9 Marshall averaged 11.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in 11 seasons and tied the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game with 12 against the Sixers in 2005. He began last season with Cleveland, was sent to Seattle in a three-team trade in February, and was waived by Seattle (now Oklahoma City) in August. ...
Sue Bird scored 21 points and had nine assists to lead Seattle to an 83-69 WNBA win over woeful Atlanta (3-27). The Storm (19-10) moved into a first-place tie with San Antonio in the West. ... Tamika Catchings scored 15 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to help Indiana rally from a 45-37 halftime deficit for a 79-68 win over host Washington. ... Janel McCarville scored a career-high 34 points to help New York beat the host Comets 90-87 in overtime, snapping Houston's eight-game home win streak. Ashley Battle hit a 24-foot 3-pointer with 46.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Liberty the lead for good.
Hockey
The Nashville Predators suspended forward Alexander Radulov indefinitely without pay for deciding to stick with his Russian KHL team rather than return to the NHL club.
RSS
E-Mail
Print
reprint or license
