Athletics: Chambers cleans up after fiasco of false start

European sprint champion enjoys fortunate win as Backley thrills in javelin and Merry fades in 400m return

Dwain Chambers earned only his second 100 metres win of the season in Gateshead yesterday, but as with his first, at Glasgow last month, it was less than straightforward, coming after three of his leading rivals had completed a first "race'' after failing to hear the recall gun.

In Scotland, Chambers' victory over the world record holder, Tim Montgomery, had been put in a new perspective when it emerged that the American had been up all night on the phone to his wife Mariane Jones, who had just given birth back home in Carolina.

The European champion duly secured another win here in the Norwich Union Super Grand Prix, but only after Kim Collins, who beat him in last year's Commonwealth Games final, the United States champion, Bernard Williams, and his compatriot John Capel, had all run full pelt to the line before making the restart.

Behind them in the aborted first attempt, the rest of the field had faltered and then stuttered to a halt as the gun went twice and then a third time.

Chambers was among those who saved some energy as was his fellow Briton Mark Lewis-Francis. But at the other end of the track there was nothing but confusion as the three front runners turned back to the start with looks of incredulity. "What happened there?'' shouted Capel, who said afterwards that neither he, nor either of his two companions had heard the recall gun.

"When you run you get into the zone and if a noise isn't loud you don't hear it,'' Capel said. "It's our fault. You've got to be aware of your surroundings. I'm not mad about it.'' The same could not be said, however, for the normally affable Williams - a part-time stand-up comedian - who clearly failed to see the funny side of the situation and took out his frustration by booting a chair around once he got off the track.

In such circumstances, it is usual for runners to have 20 minutes grace before a re-run, but in this case only seven minutes elapsed before the whole thing started again in front of an audience sweltering in a temperature of 27C and humidity of 42 per cent - far from usual in these parts, and this time Chambers dominated the proceedings, finishing in 10.27sec, which, given the strong head wind of 3.2mps, was probably worth something under 10 seconds.

Lewis-Francis was second in 10.35, 0.01sec ahead of his fellow Briton Darren Campbell. Not surprisingly, the three who jumped the gun made less of an impression the second time around, with Collins, who had originally crossed the line first, finishing last in 10.65.

Unlike Williams, Collins felt able to laugh things off afterwards, although he denied a report that he and the other runners had been offered a 20-minute gap before running again. "They just asked me if I wanted to go again, and I said, 'Yeah'.'' Chambers' performance was soon followed by another home victory thanks to Steve Backley, who produced a shuddering impact on the javelin rankings in what was his first big event since having knee surgery in the spring.

The 34-year-old Briton, who plans to retire after seeking what would be a fourth Olympic medal in Athens next year, produced a first round throw of 85.67m, and concluded his day with another effort of 85.27m.

"I'm pleased with the win, but if I'm being picky I should have done better in excellent conditions," he said. "But I should be happy with throwing 85 metres and also be pleased with six good throws, which tested the injury. The World Championships this year are wide open. Anyone who is in it can win it and I will be there to do that."

Backley's performance was clear proof that one of Britain's most resilient athletes of the last 15 years is back where he wants to be. But the same cannot yet be said of another British Olympic medal winner from Sydney, Katharine Merry, who looked understandably out of practice as she completed what was her first major individual 400m in two years, finishing fifth in a time of 52.35, almost three seconds outside the personal best she set in 2001 shortly before an Achilles tendon injury cut cruelly across her career.

Merry, who has been advised to race cautiously by her doctors in order to prevent putting too much pressure on her fragile feet, is still well short of the World Championship qualifying mark of 51.37, although she maintained afterwards that she intended to be at those Championships in Paris next month whether it be as an individual runner or a member of the relay squad.

Returning to the international arena after her low key run-out in Cork a fortnight earlier was an emotional experience for the 28-year-old Olympic bronze medallist. "I'm pleased to be still in one piece, but obviously desperately disappointed as well. I don't like coming fourth or fifth - or second, or third. I don't like not winning or running fast. But sod it, I'm just racing. Everyone can see where I'm up to and there's no pressure on me to start running silly times.

"The crowd were very nice to me today and I started to become very emotional. I looked over to my agent and I thought, oh my God, she's going to start crying.

"It's so easy to forget how to race, believe me. You can lose your racing brain in a matter of weeks, let alone years. I'm not sure where I go from here, I don't know whether I will do the trials. But we'll see. I intend to be in Paris, I will wear a British vest there whether it is in the individual - if I get my act together - or the relay.''

Batley and Merry were not the only British competitors using the Gateshead meeting to re-establish themselves. Earlier in the evening, the precociously talented 19-year-old Jonathan Moore, competing just over a year after a serious knee injury, finished fifth in the long jump with the creditable distance of 7.92m, albeit wind assisted. It was an effort which none of his British rivals bettered, although the Commonwealth champion, Nathan Morgan, was placed one position ahead of him on countback in a contest won by Aleksey Lukashevich, of Ukraine, in 8.19m.

The British record holder Chris Tomlinson, who has struggled with his form so far this season, took another step in the right direction with an effort of 7.80, his best this year.