Phillips Idowu opened his 2012 season with a victory over Christian Taylor, the American who relieved him of the world triple jump title last year, in the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai on Saturday. Competing in wet, cold conditions, Idowu jumped 17.24 metres to claim victory ahead of Taylor's American team-mate Will Claye, whose best was 17.12m. Taylor finished third with 16.96m.
Idowu's British team-mate Shara Proctor was eighth in the long jump with a leap of 6.31m. The highlight of the meeting came in the 110m hurdles, China's Liu Xiang prevailing in 12.97sec. Asafa Powell won the 100m in 10.02sec.
At the Oxy Distance Classic at Eagle Rock in the United States, the world 5,000m champion, Mo Farah, bagged two wins in the space of 55 minutes. The 29-year-old Briton won the 1500m in 3min 34.66sec, then breezed to victory in the 5,000m in 13:12.87.
What's coming up...
The BT Paralympic World Cup track-and-field event takes place at the Manchester Regional Arena tomorrow. "Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius runs in the 100m and 200m, in preparation for another crack at the Olympic 400m "A" standard at the Golden Spike meeting at Ostrava in the Czech Republic on Friday night.
Who's up?
Croydon Harrier Lawrence Okoye broke his British discus record in the International Throws meeting at Halle in Germany on Saturday. The former schoolboy rugby star threw 68.20m, finishing third in a competition won by the world champion, Robert Harting, of Germany, with 70.31m.
Who's down?
It was a bad day for Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele at the Diamond League meeting in Shanghai. The reigning Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m champion finished in fifth place in 13min 15.89sec.
67 Days to go to the Olympics
Michael Carruth, born in 1967, became Ireland's first Olympic boxing gold medallist in winning 67kg welterweight gold in 1992.
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