Athletics: Gunnell has Batten back in her pocket: Goodwill Games

SALLY GUNNELL did not have to wait long for revenge over America's Kim Batten, who inflicted the first defeat of the season upon the Olympic 400 metres hurdles champion in Nice a week ago.

Yesterday in St Petersburg Gunnell timed her race to perfection, overtaking Batten on the run- in, just as she beat Sandra Farmer- Patrick for gold at last year's World Championships. On that occasion it was a world record, but yesterday Gunnell had to be satisfied with 53.51sec, her best of the season, while Batten trailed five metres behind in 54.22.

It was a welcome result for Gunnell, who next month can expect to captain the Great Britain women's team at the European Championships in Helsinki and the England women at the Commonwealth Games in Canada. 'It's been a hard week and I didn't feel too good, so it was great to run a time like that,' said Gunnell, who is reported to have earned pounds 20,000 for the race. 'I thought it showed a lot of character. Everything is looking good for Helsinki.'

One man definitely not running in Finland now is Eamonn Martin, the British 10,000m record holder. Martin's last hope for inclusion in the team depended upon achieving the qualifying time in the Petrovsky Stadium yesterday. The race was won by Morocco's Hammou Boutayeb in 28min 10.89sec, while Martin could only manage sixth in 28:46.50, 24 seconds outside the required time.

However, the 1993 London Marathon champion has not given up hope of defending his Commonwealth title: 'There are still two places available at 10,000m in the England team. I believe it will be a crime if they don't pick me,' he said. 'It was a struggle out there and the time was a pretty ordinary one. But my mind has been a bit twisted. I just hope the selectors will look at the whole situation.'

Du'aine Ladejo, the Paddington-born, American-raised European indoor champion, did his reputation no harm at all by recording the same time as Quincy Watts in the 400m, even if the Olympic champion was eventually given the verdict. Ladejo, who will also run the Commonwealth Games after considering pulling out to concentrate on Helsinki, said: 'I thought I'd got it.'

Three golds for Alexander Popov helped Russia tie with the United States on six gold medals apiece from the swimming programme. However, the mediocre times recorded throughout the programme added more fuel to a row over the pool water.

Organisers failed to filter the cloudy water properly in time for the competition, obscuring the swimmers' view of their approach to the turns. Popov, the double Olympic champion, took gold in the 50 and 100m freestyle and 4 x 100 medley relay. Far from breaking records, though, he won the 100m in a mere 50.58, more than two seconds outside the world record of 48.21 he set last month.

While Popov scored individually, collectively there were five golds for the relatively unknown Chinese in the 10 women's events.

Primo Nebiolo, president of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, said yesterday there was little likelihood of athletes winning prize money at next year's World Championships. 'I'm not against the idea,' he said. 'But it cannot be a decision only by us, it must be by all the other world federations. It's not easy if we have money at the World Championships then not at Atlanta.' Atlanta will stage the 1996 Olympics.

William Segei, who set the world 10,000m record in Oslo on Friday, and Moses Kiptanui, the world steeplechase champion, were left out of the Kenyan Commonwealth Games team announced yesterday. Officials said that Sigei and Kiptanui were not selected because they failed to turn up for Saturday's final trials in Nairobi.

Danny Harris, the 1984 Olympic 400m hurdles silver medallist banned for four years in 1992 after testing positive for cocaine, could be reinstated in about three weeks. 'I will be happy to listen to this case,' Primo Nebiolo said yesterday. 'We are open to resolving the situation. I hope the boy will apply to us and explain what he has done.'