holder Usain Bolt put his poor performance in the Czech Republic behind him with a new season's best of 9.76 seconds in the 100m race at the Golden Gala Thursday. Bolt ran a relatively slow 10.04 in Ostrava last week, raising questions about his Olympic preparations. His previous world lead of 9.82 was set at home in Jamaica this month. “My drive was better and I started well,” Bolt said. “The transition was also better.” While his start in Rome still wasn't exceptional, Bolt quickly pulled in front and broke the previous meet record of 9.77 set by Tyson Gay three years ago. Former world record-holder Asafa Powell crossed second in 9.91 and European champion Christophe Lemaitre was third in 10.04. There was virtually no wind. Bolt attributed his problems in Ostrava to fatigue for his first race of the season in Europe. When he came back out to run, Bolt chatted with the race worker behind his lane before he stepped into the starting blocks. After the race, he grabbed an Italian flag as he celebrated with another lap around the track that hosted the 1960 Olympics. This was the third Diamond League meet of the year but Bolt's first. Bolt will also compete in a Diamond League meet in Oslo, Norway, next week before returning to Jamaica for national trials. He then plans to return to Europe for a 200 in Monaco on July 20, his last race before the London Games start a week later. In other events on a comfortable evening at Stadio Olimpico, Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce settled for second in the women's 100m behind Ivory Coast winner Murielle Ahoure, who timed 11.00. There was nearly a world record in the 3,000m steeplechase, with Kenya's Paul Kpisiele Koech clocking 7:54.31 for the third-fastest time ever. With Saif Saaeed Shaheen's 2004 world record of 7:53.63 seemingly in reach, Koech accelerated on the final straight but came up just short. With world champion Dai Greene a late withdrawal due to illness, Javier Culson of Puerto Rico won the 400m hurdles in 48.14, with Olympic bronze medalist Bershawn Jackson of the US second in 48.25. Felix Sanchez, the 2004 Olympic champion, felt a calf muscle tighten about 30m from the line, stopped running, and fell to the track chest first. The Dominican Republic athlete came up with a slight limp. “This is nothing serious,” he said. There was a surprise winner in the women's 800m, with 19-year-old Fantu Megiso clocking an Ethiopian record of 1:57.56 — the second-fastest time in the world this year. Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo crossed second and world champ Mariya Savinova was third, while 2009 world champ Caster Semenya settled for eighth. There was also an Ethiopian winner in the women's 1,500m, with Abebe Aregawi winning by a large margin in 3:56.54, the best time this year. In one of the night's closest races, Kenya's Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot outsprinted Ethiopian rival Meseret Defar in the final straight of the grueling 5,000m, crossing in 14:35.62 for the fastest time of the year. Defar was just 0.03 behind. In the shot put, three-time world champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand set the world lead with a meet record 21.03m in her season debut. There was also a season's best in the javelin, with world record-holder Barbora Spotakova's throw landing at 68.65.
