Campbell whips Williams in Zurich 100m

Campbell’s victory over Williams was a surprise as she had finished third at the Athens Olympics last year and second in the just-concluded 10th World Championships held at the Helsinki Olympics Stadium.

The Jamaican clocked 10.85 secs and won the race in fine style ahead of Williams who was timed at 10.88 secs. Bahamian Chandra Sturrup (10.97) had to settle for third spot.

However, there was also bigger disappointment for France’s Christine Arron whose bid for the IAAF season’s jackpot worth US$1 million was dashed as she placed fourth in 10.99.

Arron had raced unbeaten in the other Golden League 100 metres and to be able to share in the big bonanza, she had to maintain her unbeaten streak throughout the season’s Golden League races and the IAAF Athletics Final at Monaco next month.

Arron and Russia’s triple jumper Tatyana Lebedeva were the only two athletes who remained in the hunt for the prized jackpot before the start of the competition.

At the end, it is only the Russian who won the hop-step-and jump specialty in a distance of 14.94 metres will probably takes home the full amount.

Lebedeva missed the World Championships because of an injury to her ankle but she defied the odds and beat Jamaica’s new world champion Trecia Smith (14.67 metres) and fellow Russian Anna Pyatykh (14.57 metres) into second and third place.

American double-crowned sprint champion Justin Gatlin proved his class with another powerful finish to get home in 10.14 secs, ahead of Portugal’s Francis Obikwelu (10.22), Ugandan Aziz Zakari (10.22), Jamaican Michael Frater (10.23), American Leonard Scott (10.26), France’s Ronald Pognon (10.29), Kittitian Kim Collins (10.32) and former champion Maurice Greene (10.39).

The other upsets were recorded in the women 400 and the men’s 110 hurdles.

America’s Sanya Richards turned the tables on her World Championships conquerer Bahamian Tonnique Williams-Darling in the 400 showdown. Richards made no mistake as she streaked ahead of her rival to post a fast 48.92 secs to Williams-Darling’s 49.30.

American Monique Hennagan took the bronze in 50.24 secs.