Bolt blazes to 200M gold

Seasons best efforts for Cheruiyot, Isinbayeva; Semenya disappoints

The Jamaican Olympic and world 100 and 200 champion cruised into the curve and powered home in 20.03 seconds. "It's awesome to get a first victory here," Bolt told reporters, adding that he felt a little pain in one side of his back after the race.

Despite the winds swirling around the 99-year-old stadium, there were some outstanding performances as the competitors fine-tuned their preparations before next month's World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.

Kenya's Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot ran the third-fastest women's 5,000 ever, clocking 14:20.87. "If it wasn't for the wind she could have taken the world record," her manager Ricky Simms told Reuters.

A week after 77 people were killed in a bombing and shooting massacre in Norway by anti-Islam attacker Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian Andreas Thorkildsen was a popular winner in the men's javelin, posting a winning throw of 88.43 metres.

"It's hard after last week, but on the runway you don't think about what happened," he said.  Russia's world record holder Yelena Isinbayeva returned from a hand injury to post a season's best jump of 4.76 metres to win the women's pole vault ahead of Germany's Silke Spiegelburg.

Another athlete making a return, albeit for different reasons, was LaShawn Merritt. The American Olympic and world champion came second in the 400 metres in his first race after a 21-month ban for using a banned substance.

South African 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya had a disappointing evening, finishing eighth in a time of 2:01.28.

"It's a little bit worrying, these are times when I should be running at least below two minutes," Semenya told Reuters, adding that she and her coach would have to do some "deep thinking".

American sprinter Carmelita Jeter cruised to victory in the women's 100 in a time of 11.15. The second-fastest woman ever said that the strong headwind had affected her performance.

Men: 200M: Usain Bolt (Jamaica) 20.03  seconds, 1; Alonso Edward (Panama) 20.47, 2; Ainsley Waugh (Jamaica) 20.56, 3. 400M: Jermaine Gonzales (Jamaica) 44.69 seconds, 1; LaShawn Merritt (US) 44.74, 2; Chris Brown (Bahamas) 44.79 , 3.
1500M: Silas Kiplagat (Kenya) 3:33.94, 1; Asbel Kiprop (Kenya) 3:34.42, 2; Nicholas Willis (New Zealand) 3:34.49, 3. 110M hurdles: Jason Richardson (US) 13.17 seconds, 1; David Oliver (US) 13.28, 2; Dwight Thomas (Jamaica) 13.40, 3. 3000M steeplechase: Paul Kipsiele Koech (Kenya) 8:05.92, 1; Benjamin Kiplagat (Uganda) 8:14.42, 2; Jonathan Muia Ndiku (Kenya) 8:17.77, 3.  High jump: Ivan Ukhov (Russia) 2.34 metres, 1; Jesse Williams (US) 2.32, 2;  Moataz Essa Barshim (Qatar) and Andrey Silnov (Russia) 2.30, 3. Long jump: Mitchell Watt (Australia) 8.54, 1; Yahya Berrabah (Morocco) 8.40, 2; Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda (Panama) 8.19, 3. Discus: Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 65.05 metres, 1; Piotr Malachowski (Poland) 64.96, 2; Frank Casanas (Spain) 63.42, 3. Javelin: Andreas Thorkildsen (Norway) 88.43, 1; Matthias De Zordo (Germany) 84.37, 2; Stuart Farquhar (New Zealand) 84.21, 3. Women: 100M: Carmelita Jeter (US) 11.15 seconds, 1; Marshevet Myers (US) 11.21, 2;   Kerron Stewart (Jamaica) 11.27, 3. 800M: Kenia Sinclair (Jamaica) 1:58.21, 1; Malika Akkaoui (Morocco) 1:59.75, 2; Yuneysi Santiusti (Cuba) 2:00.06, 3. 5000M: Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya)14:20.87, 1; Sally Kipyego (Kenya) 14:43.87, 2; Sylvia Kibet (Kenya) 14:45.31, 3. 400M hurdles: Kaliese Spencer (Jamaica) 53.74 seconds, 1; Melaine Walker (Jamaica) 54.71, 2;    Nickiesha Wilson (Jamaica) 55.80, 3. Pole vault: Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) 4.76 metres, 1;   Silke Spiegelburg (Germany) 4.70, 2; Jennifer Suhr (US) 4.64, 3. Triple jump: Olha Saladuha (Ukraine) 15.06 metres, 1; Yargelis Savigne (Cuba) 14.87, 2; Caterine Ibargueen (Colombia) 14.83, 3.