American Allen Johnson retained his 110 metres hurdles world championship title in a blistering final last night. The 26-year-old ran the second fastest time of his life and the fastest this year to beat world record holder Colin Jackson of Britain and Igor Kovac of Slovakia on a hot, steamy night in the Olympic stadium.

Johnson, who had struggled during the qualifying heats, found his form at the perfect time when he exploded from the blocks to lead at the first hurdle. He passed the line in 12.93 seconds, only one-hundredth of a second behind the 12.92 he ran to win the gold in Atlanta and only two-hundredths of a second outside Jackson's world record.

Jackson ran his best time of the season, 13.05, to prove after a miserable two years he was returning to the form that made him the most feared hurdler in the past five years.