Usain Bolt ran the fourth fastest 200-meter race ever in 19.59 seconds in sinking temperatures and heavy rainfall at the Athletissima meet on Tuesday. It was one-hundredth of a second slower than what American Tyson Gay ran in May with fair weather and a breeze at his back. But with the temperature in Lausanne dipping to 15 degrees (60 F) and the track slowed by a downpour, Bolt showed he was back in top form a year after winning the 100 and 200 in world records at the Beijing Olympics. “I'm in good shape, but I'm not fully ready yet,” said the 22-year-old Jamaican, who is aiming to peak for the world championships next month in Berlin. Bolt said he was “not concerned with records,” even though he was within three-tenths of a second of the 19.30 he posted in Beijing. The other faster time is Michael Johnson's 19.32 at the 1996 Atlanta Games. LaShawn Merritt was a distant second in 20.41, while fellow American Shawn Crawford finished more than a second behind in fourth. Bolt's teammate Asafa Powell won the 100 in 10.07 seconds in what he described as a “good race” given the conditions. Underscoring the Jamaican dominance in the sprints, countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser won the women's 100 in 11.03 seconds, just 0.03 ahead of American Carmelita Jeter. “It's important to win here and it's good for preparing for the world championship,” said Fraser, the Olympic champion. “The weather is not so bad. A bit cold, but I wasn't thinking about it.” Three other gold medalists in Beijing were soundly beaten. Jamaica's Melanie Walker was slow out of the blocks in the 400 hurdles and finished fourth as American Tiffany Ross-Williams won in 54.73 seconds, while Australia's Sally McLellan took the 100 hurdles in 12.60 seconds as American Dawn Harper fell back to a disappointing sixth. In the javelin, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic was upset by Germany's Steffi Nerius. Spotakova rescued second with a final throw of 64.38 meters, nearly 8 meters short of the world record she set at the Olympics a year ago. Cuba's Yargelis Savigne won the triple jump with a mark of 14.91 meters. But 2007 world champion Maryam Jamal was second in the 1,500 behind Ethiopia's Gelete Burka, who won in 4 minutes, 0.67 seconds. On the men's side, Aussie Olympic champ Steve Hooker started his outdoor season by clearing 5.75m to win the pole vault. Cuba's Daryon Robles, another gold medalist in Beijing, won the men's 110 hurdles in 13.18 seconds. Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan won the 800m in 1min 44.80sec. Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was second (1:44.97); and Marcin Lewandowskithird (1:45.27). Saudi Mohamed Al Salhi finished sixth in 1:46.22.
