Ottey Runs 2nd-Fastest 100; Johnson Makes It 57 Straight
Merlene Ottey became the second-fastest woman sprinter in history and Michael Johnson extended his winning streak to 57 over 400 meters at the IAAF Grand Prix finals Saturday.
Ottey, who has made a habit of finishing second to Americans in big races, was timed in 10.74 seconds in beating Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers in the 100 meters.
The Jamaican powered past Devers in the final 40 meters in recording the fifth-fastest time ever. Only Florence Griffith-Joyner, whose world record is 10.49, has run faster than Ottey. Griffith-Joyner has a total of four times faster than Ottey.
Ottey’s time was the fastest by a woman since September 1988 when Griffith-Joyner ran 10.62 in an Olympic qualifying round at Seoul.
Devers, who relegated Ottey to second place in the Olympic final at Atlanta and the 1993 World Championships, finished a meter back in 10.83.
“I put everything together today,” said Ottey, who collected $150,000 in the Grand Prix prize money system by finishing atop the 100 standings and second overall.
Johnson, the world and Olympic 200- and 400-meter champion, rallied over the final 200 meters to win the 400.
He was timed in 44.53, beating Americans Anthuan Maybank, Derek Mills and Darnell Hall.
Johnson will not attend today’s track and field meet in Sarajevo because of concerns about safety, his agent said.
The Solidarity for Sarajevo meet is the first major sports event in the city since the war ended in Bosnia-Herzogovina.
Dennis Mitchell matched his best time ever, 9.91, in scoring another 100-meter victory over world and Olympic champion and world record-holder Donovan Bailey of Canada.
Mitchell, who finished fourth in the Olympic final, had beaten Bailey at Zurich, Brussels and Berlin and lost to the Canadian at Cologne since the Games. This time, Bailey was second in 9.95.
Kenya’s young long-distance phenom, Daniel Komen, won the men’s overall Grand Prix title and $250,000 by beating Morocco’s 10,000-meter world record-holder, Salah Hissou, in the 5,000.
Former Montana State University star Lance Deal broke his own American record to win the hammer throw in the Grand Prix finals.
Deal, the Olympic silver medalist, won the event with a throw of 270 feet, 9 inches. That is 1 inch better than the record he set three years ago in Knoxville, Tenn., and equaled last week at the Grand Prix in Berlin.
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