American Queen Harrison won the women's 100m hurdles at the Drake Relays on Saturday, clocking 12.71sec to beat the women who finished second, third and fourth at the 2012 London Olympics.
Harrison's time was one of five 2013 world leading performances on the final day of the 104th edition of the meeting.
Harrison demonstrated the depth of US talent in the 100m hurdles as she finished in front of compatriot Dawn Harper, the 2008 Olympic champion and runner-up at London, plus London bronze medalist Kellie Wells and local favorite Lolo Jones, who was fourth in London.
The top quartet notched the fastest four times in the world this year and promised an exciting 100m hurdles showdown when the US World Championship trials are held on the same Des Moines track in June.
"I felt like it was a really great time, especially early in the season and such a loaded field," Harrison said. "I was a little nervous in the beginning, but I showed that my training is going well and I'm confident in switching to just hurdles this year."
New Zealand's Nick Willis, silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics, ran the fastest mile in the world this year in 3:55.70.
American Reese Hoffa, bronze medalist in the shot put in London, won the shot with a 2013 world-leading 21.71m.
Czech Zusana Hejnova, the women's 400m hurdles Olympic bronze medalist, triumphed in a world-leading 54.41sec, and Spain's European champion Ruth Beitia won the women's high jump in a season's best by a centimeter, clearing 1.95m
Olympic gold medalist Christian Taylor won the men's triple jump with a leap of 17.12m, but London Games pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie got his 2013 outdoor season off to a lackluster start, finishing equal third in the event won by London runner-up Bjorn Otto.
Otto won with a vault of 5.70m with former world champion Brad Walker of the United States second on 5.60. Britain's Steve Lewis and Lavillenie both cleared 5.50 in a competition made difficult by unpredictable shifting winds.
Otto was pleased to get a solid vault in the books in his first outdoor competition since late last year, and after incorporating some technical changes.
"It has been adjustment," he said, "But in the end it has worked."
He was also happy to get a win over Lavillenie, who has beaten him in the last four major international competitions -- the London Games, the 2012 indoor world championships, the 2012 European championships and the European indoors earlier this year.
But Otto cautioned that it meant little this early in the season.
"We both are at different places in our approaches, so I think at the next competition it will really help set us apart," he said.
Source: AFP
