Fraser holds off Jamaican rival Stewart

LAST NIGHT it was the turn of the Jamaican women to take command of the old Olympic Stadium, and they didn’t disappoint.

In another display of out-of-this-world sprinting, they went one-two in the 100 metres – the only surprise being that Shelly-Ann Fraser took the gold ahead of Kerron Stewart.

Stewart had been running quicker all summer, but Fraser ran the quickest of her life – and the third quickest in history to win gold in 10.73 seconds. Only two athletes have ever run quicker; Florence Griffith Joyner and Marion Jones, and the less said about those two the better.

It was, naturally, a Jamaican record for the 22 year-old Fraser, who did something similar in Beijing last summer to deny Stewart the gold medal there as well.

It was incredibly close, however, as Stewart – who appeared to put a foot in Fraser’s lane before the finish – chased her right down to the line only to fall just inches short, running a lifetime best of her own of 10.75.

The bronze medal went to the much-improved American Carmelita Jeter in 10.90, thus denying Jamaica a clean sweep – a good deal quicker that the 11.01 she ran to win bronze two years ago. Defending champion Veronica Campbell also of Jamaica was fourth in 10.95.

If that race was close it still didn’t match the upset of the night in the women’s pole vault. Two-time defending champion Elena Isinbaeva of Russia, who cleared a world record of 5.05 metres to win the gold medal in Beijing last summer, left the stadium with the dreaded NM next to her name – No Mark.

Having set 14 outdoor world records, and 12 indoors, Isinbaeva was as much a cert here to win gold as the event allows. Instead, she failed to clear her opening height at 4.75 metres. She then moved to 4.80 and failed her first attempt. So she hid under a blanket to gather her thoughts, and with her last chance at 4.80, failed that too.

“I have no proper explanation for what happened,” she said. “Everything was perfect. I never once imagined defeat coming in here. I think it just happened because it was meant to happen. I just hope I will recover from this.”

Anna Rogowska of Poland, the only one to clear 4.75, thus took the gold, with Poland also taking bronze in Monika Pyrek in 4.65, as Chelsea Johnson of the US got silver on the count back.