After the disappointment of placing sixth at the U.S. Olympic Trials for Track and Field last month and missing out of a berth at the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Keni Harrison sent a message that she’s still one of the best in the world in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
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Harrison received a cheque for 50,000 US Dollars (€45,500) for the record.
After delivering a silky smooth performance to win, the clock initially showed a modest 12.58 seconds.
Harrison was 0.37 seconds faster than her USA teammate, Brianna Rollins, who came in second at 12.57 seconds.
Explaining how she was inspired seeing Beijing Olympics and keen to see Bolt race live Robyn said, “Unfortunately I didn’t get tickets for Rio so when I found out Usain Bolt was running in London I just had to get tickets because I knew this would be my last opportunity to see him race”.
Bolt, who remains undefeated in this stadium in East London, is confident he can iron out any glitches with his cornering in his favourite discipline.
The hamstring strain came at an unfortunate time, just 35 days before the start of the Rio Games.
Briton Adam Gemili, one of those closing on a grimacing Bolt as the line approached, clocked a season’s best 20.07secs to finish third.
“I tried to hold my form. I have more work to do and hopefully I can get myself into that final in Rio”.
Muir said: “I knew I was in really good shape and I just wanted to do myself justice”.
The Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller ran the fastest women’s 400m in the world this year, a personal-best 49.55, cementing her status as the biggest threat to Allyson Felix in the Olympics.
He added: “That record stood for 28 years, and could stand for another 28 years”.
Laura Muir broke Kelly Holmes’s British record with a stunning 1500m time of 3:57.49.
Harrison was a sure-fired favourite before the American trials to make the US team and win gold at Rio after running the second-fastest 100 metres hurdles ever in May.
Jessica Ennis-Hill finished eighth in the final on 13.04secs after clattering a hurdle, but had earlier fired out a major warning to her Olympic heptathlon rivals by running her second fastest-ever time over the distance in the heats.
Bolt was the biggest draw at the Anniversary Games and received a huge roar when he was paraded around the track on the back of a auto.
Harrison led an American sweep of the top four places and shaved 0.01 seconds off the world standard, a record head by Bulgaria’s Yordanka Donkova since August 20, 1988. “I came out and for the first one in a while the execution wasn’t ideal but it’s my first one so I can’t complain”, he said.
Even sweeter for Harrison was finishing ahead of compatriots Brianna Rollins and Kristi Castlin, who both qualified for the Olympics ahead of her.
“You have one bad day but I knew I still had it in me”, Harrison said, referring to her sixth-place finish at the United States trials earlier this month.
“The key thing is I came out here and won but I’m always hungry for more”.
Bolt rarely has anything to prove to anyone.
It was the same Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park where the legendary Jamaican stole the show four years back en route to winning triple Olympic gold for the second time in his career.
In what was his first race back following a hamstring injury which forced him to withdraw from Jamaica’s Olympic trials as recently as July 1, Bolt stormed to victory at London’s Anniversary Games in a time of 19.89 seconds.
The 200 metres is the event that Bolt values above all others, and he believes he can run faster than the 19.19 world record time he set at the world championships in Berlin in 2009.
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“I’m getting there. I’m not fully in shape. I need more work but over time I will be fine”, Bolt said.
