09/05/2003 14:51:33 EST Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP Photo Kelli White Makes Winning Return By RAF CASERT Associated Press Writer
Kelli White made a winning return to the track Friday, capturing the 100 meters a week after she became embroiled in a drug scandal at the World Championships. The world champion led a 1-2-3 American finish, followed by Chryste Gaines and Tori Edwards. White was slow out of the blocks and despite a slight headwind won in 10.87 seconds, just 0.02 seconds off her personal best she set in France last week. "It was my first time on the track for eight days," White said. "It was my first normal day." Gaines, who missed out on the 100 at the worlds, ran a personal record of 10.88. Edwards, the silver medalist behind White last week, also beat the 11-second mark in 10.98. After her 100 victory at the world championships, White tested positive for a stimulant. She escaped a suspension that would have kept her from the Athens Olympics, but she could still lose her 100 and 200 gold medals. She skipped the 1,600-meter relay at the championships because of the doping scandal. "It's been tough," she said. Asafa Powell, who was disqualified at the world championships for a false start, set a personal best of 10.02 to upset the favorites in the 100 meters. The Jamaican surged ahead in the closing stages, beating U.S. runner Justin Gatlin by 0.07 seconds. American Bernard Williams finished third in 10.10. John Capel, the 200 world champion, was fourth in 10.13. In France, Powell was a victim of the new false start rule that immediately disqualifies any sprinter following a first false start in the race. "This is kind of revenge for what happened to me," he said. "I was very eager to win this one." While Powell accepted the decision, American Jon Drummond threw a tantrum in Saint-Denis, holding up the race for half an hour. Hicham El Guerrouj, dominated the 1,500 as he has all season, never letting France's Mehdi Baala threaten him in an identical 1-2 finish as in the worlds. Despite his complaints about fatigue, the Moroccan still finished in a season's top time of 3 minutes, 28.40 seconds, improving on his own mark. Baala set a French record of 3:28.98. In the women's race, Sureyya Ayhan shrugged off the disappointment of a runner-up finish at the worlds and won the 1,500 in a world-leading time this year, 3:55.33. Qatar's Saif Saeed Shaheen set an Asian record in the steeplechase, finishing in 8:00.07, improving on the mark he set last month by 2.42 seconds. It also was the world best time this season, as he held off Paul Kipsiele Koech in the home stretch by 0.36 seconds. Shaheen was trying to become the first this season to break the 8-minute mark. "This was the meet to break the (world) record," he said. He was almost five seconds slow for that mark. "I'm not happy at all." Kenyan Wilfred Bungei, who missed the worlds because of malaria, improved on the season's best time in the 800, finishing in 1:42.52, edging Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa by 0.37 seconds. In the 400 hurdles, world record holder Yuliya Pechonkina of Russia bounced back from her surprising defeat at the world championships last week to win in 53.49 seconds, the third-best time of the season. Sandra Glover of the United States was second, 0.38 seconds behind. After she pulled out of the world championships because of illness, double Olympic champion Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia got some revenge, easily winning the 5,000 ahead of Kenya's Isabella Ochichi and prerace favorite Edith Masai. In the javelin, Tatyana Shikolenko won with a throw of 201 feet, 4 inches, beating Steffi Nerius of Germany and Nikolett Szabo of Hungary.
