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Liu Xiang wins 110m hurdles at 13.06 seconds
EUGENE, Oregon - World record holder Tim Montgomery, his mind focused on a Monday doping hearing that could result in a lifetime ban, ran poorly and finished seventh in a fast 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday. American Montgomery clocked 10.10 seconds in a wind-assisted race while his compatriot and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin won in 9.84.
"As much as I tried to go out there with a clear mind, it just wasn't there," said Montgomery, who will appear before a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing in San Francisco to appeal against doping charges by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). "I just can't fool myself. My main focus is on Monday." The anti-doping agency has accused Montgomery of serious doping violations in connection with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) scandal. Montgomery, the partner of Sydney triple Olympic champion Marion Jones, has never failed a doping test and on Saturday he again denied taking performance-enhancing drugs. However, he conceded the hearing weighed heavily on him. "If your life was to depend on tomorrow, do you think you could be racing with a clear mind today?" the 30-year-old asked reporters. CAN'T SLEEP "I can't sleep, I cannot eat. It's like you lost your love. "The last two years I feel like I have been running for a thousand," he added. "I ask myself every day was breaking the world record worth all this. It was." Montgomery set the 100m world record of 9.78 seconds in 2002. He said he felt "great" about his chances at Monday's hearing "when you have done nothing wrong." No decision is expected on Montgomery's case, though, until late July. He is eligible to compete until then and he said on Saturday he would run in the U.S. championships from June 23-26 in Los Angeles. Gatlin said he had something to prove in the race with Powell, who was ranked number one in the world. "Most definitely," he said of the Jamaican, who ran a non-wind-aided 9.84 seconds earlier this year. "I am the Olympic champion and I had to show everybody I am the greatest." Olympic 110 meters hurdles gold medallist and co-world record holder Liu Xiang of China also proved he is the world's best in his event. FINISHED STRONG Liu finished strong to clock 13.06 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year. He said he was not pleased with his race over the first three hurdles, but liked the way he finished. Four-times world champion Allen Johnson, who fell in the early rounds of last year's Olympics in Athens, had bad luck again on Saturday. He was disqualified from the race for a false start. The two are expected to meet again next weekend in New York. World champion Perdita Felicien of Canada won a high-quality women's 100 meters hurdles in 12.58 seconds and U.S. Olympic silver medallist Lauryn Williams dominated the women's 100 in 11.16 seconds. Olympic champion Yuliya Nesterenko of Belarus came last in 11.47. Kenyan Alex Kipchirchir won the fastest mile of the year in 3:50.91 while Bahamian Olympic gold medallist Tonique Darling claimed the women's 400 meters in 49.95. British marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe had hoped to run a personal best in a rare appearance in the women's 1,500 meters. However, a tumble in which six runners, including Radcliffe, went down with 600 meters to go ruined her chances. The Briton scraped both hands and bruised her knees in the fall before finishing in a time of 4:13.13 for sixth place. American Christin Wurth won in 4:09.45. "I'm pissed off," said Radcliffe, whose personal best is 4:05.37. "Everything was going all right after a first fast lap. I thought I would
miss it (the collision) but I found myself sprawling. I immediately jumped up
and started chasing the pack."
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