YOKOHAMA, Japan, Sept 23 AFP - Patrick Johnson, thefirst Australian sprinter to break the 10.00-secondbarrier for the 100m, finished fifth in the event todayat the Yokohama athletics meet.
Johnson clocked a time of 10.46s, way off the 9.93 heran in May, also in Japan.
But the Queenslander remained the sprinter with thefastest time of this year.
World record holder Tim Montgomery was beaten in hislast race of the season, losing to Obadele Thompson ofBarbados.
The American, who set the world record of 9.78sec ayear ago, wrapped up a disappointing season with a timeof 10.32, well down on his third-place finishing time of10.19 in Moscow last weekend.
Thompson, the Sydney Olympic bronze medallist, clocked10.20, while Japan’s Nobuharu Asahara came in third in10.39.
Right now, it's still stressful being the worldrecord holder, and to have such a stressful season andnot be able to perform to my potential. I need a break.I'll take a month off,'' said Montgomery. Montgomery thought he had rediscovered some form afterclaiming a peanut allergy was to blame for his under-parperformances in the early part of the season but afterfinishing a poor fifth in 10.11 at the worldchampionships last month he left Paris the next day,leaving the US 4x100m relay team in the lurch. However a relatively inexperienced American teamshowed they could do without him and Olympic championMaurice Greene by taking gold. Shawn Crawford and seasoned campaigner Chryste Gaineswon the men's and women's 200m for the United States,respectively. Crawford, who failed to qualify for the worlds, gainedconsolation by clocking 20.19 to beat veteran FrankieFredericks of Namibia into second in 20.50 andrecently-crowned American world champion John Capel intothird in 20.69. Gaines, the winner of the Grand Prix Final, timed22.67 ahead of Muriel Hurtis of France in 22.96 and hercompatriot Demetria Washington in 23.53. The 2001 world 100m champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Blockof Ukraine, who was fifth in Paris, was fourth in 23.53. I really didn’t do as well as I’d like to have donethis season. I haven’t been consistent this year,’’ saidCrawford.
Right now, I'm just trying to focus on beingconsistent going to the Olympic year, and being able tomake the Olympic team. I know I can be better, moreconsistent,'' he added. Gaines said: I was injured at the beginning of theseason, I got healthy as the season went on and now I’mrunning very well.’’
World bronze medallist Koji Murofushi of Japan avengedhis loss in Paris to world gold medallist Ivan Tikhon towin the men’s hammer throw in 80.44 metres.
Tikhon marked 77.52m to be settled at second, followedby Zsolt Nemeth of Hungary with a mark of 76.73m.
Felix Sanchez won the men’s 400m hurdles in 48.86,beating American Joey Woody and Japan’s MasahyiraYoshikata, while American Terrence Trammell won the 110mhurdles in 13.52.
In the women’s competition, world champion IrinaYatchenko of Belarus confirmed her status by winning thediscus in 63.40m.
However another world champion, Svetlana Kriveljova ofRussia could finish only third in the shot throwing abest of 18.48m behind silver medallist NadezhdaOstapchuk of Belarus and bronze medallist Vita Pavlyshof Ukraine.