This weekend, the Prefontaine Classic featured a number of notable performances in anticipation of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. China’s Liu Xiang grabbed headlines with a world-record time in the 110-meter hurdles (12.87) before the time was deemed illegal, with a 2.4-meter-per-second boost from the wind exceeding the allowable limit of 2.0. Liu’s best official time is 12.88, set in 2006, which was a world record for two years. @@http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/story/_/id/8001362/liu-xiang-takes-110-hurdles-1287-seconds-prefontaine-classic@@
In other action, former world champion Allyson Felix blazed through a deep field in the 200 meters, finishing in 22.23 seconds. In the men’s 200, Wallace Spearmon won with a time 20.27. @@http://sports.yahoo.com/news/prefontaine-classic-results-233949960–spt.html@@
In middle distance races, Olympic 400-meter gold medalist LaShawn Merritt claimed a victory in 44.91. Merritt caught world champion Kirani James, who was later disqualified after a false start. Chris Brown of the Bahamas finished second in 45.24. Oscar Pistorius, a South African double amputee looking to qualify for the Olympics, crossed the tape last in 46.86.
Justin Gatlin topped the 100-meter field in 9.90. His time lagged far behind a 9.76 mark set by Usain Bolt in Rome on Thursday. Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix finished fourth in 10.04. @@http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/31/usain-bolt-diamond-league-rome-100-meter-time-video_n_1560392.html@@