DOHA: Portugal's Francis Obikwelu gained sweet revenge for his defeat at the Athens Olympics 100 metres final, at the hands of America's Justine Gatlin, when the Olympic champions was beaten to the third place in the IAAF Qatar Athletic Super Grand Prix on Friday.

Olympics silver medallist Obikwelu won the gold in a time of 10.05 here. America's Shawn Crawford, who is the reigning Olympic champion in the 200 metres, finished second in 10.14secs, the same time as Gatlin who was adjudged third in a photo-finish.
Obikwelu's time bettered the meet record (10.07) which stood in the name of former Olympic champion Canadian Donovan Bailey.

Obikwelu said it was his first race of the season and that he was not surprised with the result.
"I'm not at all surprised with this result. It's a sweet revenge for me, for my defeat at Athens. I've been training very hard and it paid off here today," Obikwelu said.

The best performance of the day, however, came in the men's 110 metres hurdles, which was won by world junior and European indoor champion Stanislav Olijars who recorded an year's best time of 13.11 seconds while winning against Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell of the US (13.18).

Olijars, whose personal best is 13.08, defeated Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell of the US to the second place.
"It was a perfect race for me. I enjoyed the race. In Europe it's cold now, but I like the hot weather here and that's why I came to Qatar,"
he said.
He said he was not overawed by the presence of Trammell.
"I was not scared. I know that he is a great runner. But nobody can win every time," he added.
Qatar's 3000M steeplechase world champion Saif Saeed Shaheen's bid to establish a new record in a non-Olympic event, 2000M steeplechase, failed by a proverbial whisker as he clocked 5:14.53 against the 15-year-old mark of 5:14.42 which stood in the name of Kenya's Julius Kiriuki, set in Riveto, Italy, in 1990.

With Frenchman Vicent le Dauphin setting the early pace, the seven-man race was specially arranged for Shaheen to bid for the world record.
But the former Kenyan athlete, who later became a Qatari citizen, fell short by a hair's breadth -- 0:00.11 seconds.
Shaheen said he felt pain in his foot while landing after crossing the obstacle and also said perhaps he was not fully geared for the race.

"Normally I start the season with a flat race which helps me assess my body. But this season I didn't have that chance. This was my first race of the season and on top of that I was feeling some pain on my right foot, more so while landing after clearing a hurdle," Shaheen said.
He added that he was happy that he won, but at the same time felt disappointed in not having been able to break the world record.

However, Shaheen's effort has set a new Asian record.
The championship saw seven new meet records being established – six of them in the men's category. There was also one junior world record, by Kenya's Augustine K Choge, who won the silver in the 3000M flat.
In the women's 100M hurdles, Delloreen Ennis-London of Jamaica clinched the gold after a slow start. Ennis-London won the dash in 12.77secs, beating Danielle Carruthers and Yolanda McCray, both of the United States, to the top spot.

Carruthers finished with a time of 12.83secs to claim the second place, while Yolanda was third-best with 13.26secs. Ennis-London said she was pleased to have finished the race in top spot.
"I was struggling with my start, but thankfully I did not let it hamper my run. It is always a nice feeling to train well and then pull off a worthy win. I ran 12.70 in Jamaica a few days ago and I think I have done well here, too," Ennis-London said.

The 200M run was won by Allyson Felix of the United States (22.78secs). The second spot went to Christine Amertil of Bahamas
(22.95secs) while the third position went to Amy Mbacke Thiam of Senegal (23.10secs).
In the women's long jump, there were no surprises as Athens champion Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia managed a leap of 6.70 meters to win the gold medal. The silver medal went to Bianca Kappeler of Germany (6.55). The bronze was picked up by Fiona May of Italy (6.47).

The results: Men: 1,00M: 1. Fracis Obikwelu (Por) 10.05 (New Meet Record); 2. Shawn Crawford (USA) 10.14; 3. Justin Gatlin (USA) 10.14.
Hurdles110M: Stanislav (LAT) 13.11 (NMR); 2. Terrence Trammell (USA) 13.18; 3. Redelem Melo Do Santos (BRA) 13.30. 400M: Nagmendin-Ali Abubakr (SUD) 0:45.52; Tyree Washington (USA ) 0:45.53; 3. Olleyne Francique (GRN) 0.45;70. Hurdles 400M: Ian Weakley (JAM) 0.48.84; 2.
James Carter 0:48.93; 3. Periklis Iakovakis ( GRE) 0:49.05. 800M: 1.
Mohammed Al Salhi (KSA) 1:45.64; 2. Alfred Kirwa (KEN) 1:45.8; 3.
Florent Lacasse (FRA) 1:46.21. 1,500m: 1. Daiel Kipchirchir Komen
(KEN) 3:30.17 (NMR); 2. Daham N Bashirt (Qat) 3:31.04; 3. Alex Kipchirchir (KEN) 3:31.10. 3,000M: 1. Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 7:28.56 (NMR); 2. Agustine Kipkrono Choge (KE) 7:28.78; 3. Bejnajin Limo (KEN) 7:29.60. 2,000M Steeplechase: 1. Saif Saaeed Shaheen (Qat) 5:14.53 (Asian Record); 2. Wesley Kiprotich (KEN) 5:16.46; 3. Ronald Kipchumba Rutto (KEN) 5:20.44. Triple Jump: M Oprea (Rom)17.09; 2. D Valyekevich
(SVK) 16.98; 3. L Achike (GBR) 16.67. Javelin Throw: 1. A Parviainen
(FIN) 83.79 (NMR); 2. S Makarov (RUS) 83.76; 3. A Varnik (EST) 83.32.
Shot Put: R Hoffa (USA ) 21.29 (NMR); 2. J Olsen (DEN) 20.78; 3. R Bartels (GER) 20.20.
Women 200M: Allyson Felix (USA) 22.78; 2. Christine Amertil (BAH) 22.95; 3. Amy Mbacke Thiam (SEN) 23.10. Hurdles 100M: Delloreen Ennis-London (JAM) 12.77; Danielle Carruthers (USA) 12.83; Yolanda McCray (USA ) 13.26; 800M: 1. Hasna Benhassi (MAR) 2:00.83; 2. Jolanda Ceplak (SLO) 2:01.00; 3. Tatyana Roslanova (KAZ) 2:01.35. 3,000M:
Meseret Defar (ETH) 8:399.75; Berhane Adere (ETH) 8:39.87; 3. Gelete Burika Bati (ETH) 8:39.90. Steeplechase 3,000: Docus Inzikuru (UGA) 9:28.50 (NMR); 2. Salome Chepchumba (KEN) 9:39.34; 3. Livia Toth (HUN) 9:41.48. Long Jump: T Lebedeva (RUS) 6.70; 2. B Kappler (GER) 6.55; 3.
F May (ITA) 6.47. High Jump: Monica Iagar (ROM) 1.89; 2. Oana Pantelimon (ROM) 1.89; 3. Irina Mykhalchenko (UKR) 1.89. Pole Vault:
1. Anzhela Balakhonova (UKR) 4.35; 2. Kriztina Molnar (HUN) 4.20; 2.
Thoery Edda Elisdottir (ISL) 4.20. Discus Throw: 1. N Sadova (RUS) 65.10; 2. F Dietzsch (GER) 64.38; 3. N Grasu (ROM) 63.85.