London: Olympic sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was upstaged on her indoor debut by Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure who took victory over 60 metres at the Birmingham Grand Prix yesterday.
Britain’s double Olympic champion Mo Farah had a better start to his season with a comfortable victory over 3,000 metres.
The London Games 5,000 and 10,000 gold medallist was untroubled throughout the race but put on a turn of speed over the final lap to the delight of the crowd to win in seven minutes 42 seconds.
Farah, 29, will compete in the New Orleans half marathon next week and then run the first half of April’s London marathon as part of his build-up to the world championships in Moscow in August.
“It was brilliant. It was important that I tried to win my only indoor race. Definitely looking forward to the outdoor season,” Farah told reporters.
The anticipated 60 metres matchup between two of the world’s top sprinters, Jamaican Fraser-Pryce and American Carmelita Jeter, who finished second to her in the Olympic final, failed to materialise as Ahoure pulled away with surprising ease to win in 6.99 seconds.
Fraser-Pryce, whose appearance in the earlier heat had been her first race over the distance, was second in 7.09, with Jeter fourth in 7.18.
“I had a wonderful time, it was a great experience,” Fraser-Pryce told the BBC. “The track was really good. I didn’t have any problems with anything today.”
Ahoure, who finished seventh in the London Games final last year, was surprised by her sub-seven second time.
“We didn’t really plan to run indoors at all. My goal is the world championships outdoors so I’ve just been training for the 100. It’s great to come here in the middle of training and drop a time like that,” she said.
American Michael Rodgers held off fast-finishing Olympic 100 metres relay gold medallist Nesta Carter of Jamaica to win the men’s 60 final in 6.53.
Genzebe Dibaba, younger sister of three-times Olympic champion Tirunesh, faded over the final lap to fail in her attempt to break the world 1,500 indoor record.
Dibaba, 22, took over from the pacemaker at the halfway stage and, clear of the field, was inside world-record pace with 200 metres to go. But grimacing down the home straight she clocked 4:00.83, missing Russian Elena Soboleva’s world mark of 3:58.28.
Olympic champion Ivan Ukhov had to settle for third in the high jump behind fellow Russian Aleksey Dmitrik, who cleared 2.33 metres for victory.
London pole vault silver medallist Yarisley Silva finished second to Britain’s Holly Bleasdale on a countback after both athletes cleared 4.70 metres.
Meanwhile, Farah will run the first half of this year’s London marathon prior to making his debut over the full distance in the 2014 race.
“The Olympic 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres champion has agreed to make his full marathon debut at the 2014 London marathon and will use this year’s race to prepare himself for the challenge of tackling 26.2 miles (42.195 kms),” a statement from the race organisers said yesterday.
“Farah’s aim is to test himself against the best in the world while becoming familiar with the London course.”
Farah won the London mini-marathon three years in a row as a schoolboy between 1998 and 2000. He made his half-marathon debut in 2011 when he won the New York City half marathon in a British record 60 minutes 23 seconds.
“As a young boy growing up in London it has always been my ambition to run the London marathon,” he said in the statement.
“I won the mini-marathon when I was younger and have watched the race every year for as long as I can remember.
“I will make my marathon debut in the 2014 London marathon but will run the 2013 race to halfway as part of my preparation for 2014. It will allow me to understand the course and the systems I will need when I run the full distance.”
Farah, 29, plans to defend his world 5,000 metres title in Moscow this year.
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