American Justin Gatlin finished first with a world-leading time of 9.80 seconds in the highly-anticipated men’s 100m at the Diamond League meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Tyson Gay, returning to competition after a one-year doping ban, finished second in 9.93. Third place was taken by U.S. champion Michael Rodgers, another American with a failed drug test and suspension in his past.
Gatlin himself was banned from 2006 to 2010 for doping, but returned to earn a bronze medal in this event with a personal-best time of 9.79 at the 2012 London Olympics. Gold was won by Usain Bolt, whose leg injury kept him from competing in Lausanne.
In the men’s 400m, the rivalry between Olympic champion Kirani James of Grenada and American LaShawn Merritt continued, with James running 43.74 to Merritt’s 43.92. They are still the only men this year to race under 44 seconds in the 400m.
All eyes were on Yohan Blake in the men’s 200m. A hamstring injury prevented Blake from competing for most of last season, and he hadn’t raced this distance in almost two years. Blake started strong but faded to finish in sixth place.
Alonso Edward of Panama took first place in 19.84s, and Nickel Ashmeade of Jamaica came in second with 20.06s.
The women’s 100m saw late withdrawals from two stars, seven-time Olympic medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown and American Tori Bowie. Bowie went sub-11s for the first time in her career in a semi-final at the U.S. Championships, but an injury forced her out of the finals and she did not recover in time for Lausanne.
The race still proved exciting with Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye and the Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahouré clocking identical times of 10.98. After an examination of the photo finish, Ahye was deemed the winner.
In the men’s long jump, American Jeff Henderson out-jumped 2012 Olympic champion Greg Rutherford of Great Britain to take first place.
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