Justin Gatlin wins 200m in Monaco

Athletics: Diamond League, July 18: Former world 200m champion Justin Gatlin beat a strong field to win the men’s 200m at the Monaco Diamond League.

The 32-year-old American’s time of 19.68 seconds makes him the eighth-fastest 200m runner of all time.

Another former world champion, Tyson Gay, who has only just returned from a one-year drugs ban, was fourth.

Current Diamond League leader Tori Bowie beat a strong field to win the women’s 100m in a world lead of 10.80.

Two-time Olympic 200m champion Veronica Campbell-Brown was second in 10.96 with reigning 200m Olympic champion Alysson Felix fifth.

Top 10 Fastest 200m runners of all time

1. Usain Bolt JAM (19.19 seconds)
2. Yohan Blake JAM (19.26)
3. Michael Johnson USA (19.32)
4. Walter Dix USA (19.53)
5. Tyson Gay USA (19.58)
6. Xavier Carter USA (19.63)
7. Wallace Spearmon USA (19.65)
8. Justin Gatlin USA (19.68)
9. Frank Fredericks NAM (19.68)
10. Pietro Mennea ITA (19.72)

World champion Lashawn Merritt was a comfortable winner in the men’s 400m in a time of 44.30, with fellow American Gil Roberts second and Isaac Makwala of Botswana third.

Britain’s Conrad Williams finished sixth in 45.53.

As expected, Jamaican Kaliese Spencer underlined her tag as favourite to take Commonwealth gold in Glasgow by winning the women’s 400m hurdles with ease in 54.09, ahead of American duo Georganne Moline (54.73) and Cassandra Tate (55.07).

Spencer, 27, now has 18 Diamond League Race points, 12 more than second-placed Kemi Adekoya of Bahrain, who came sixth in Monaco in a time of 55.38 secs.

Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop stated before the 1,500m that he would be attempting to break the world-record time of 3:26.00 set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1998.

The 25-year-old effectively led the race for the majority but was beaten on the last lap by fellow Kenyan Silas Kiplagat in a Diamond League record of 3:27.64.

Olympic and World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce , who has won the Diamond race in this event for the last two years, finished a disappointing sixth.

Olympic champion and world-record holder was unable to follow up his victory in last week’s Glasgow Diamond League men’s 800m as Nijel Amos stormed to first place in a world lead and meet record time of on one minute 42.45 seconds.

Rudisha, for whom Glasgow was his first race following injury, led until the latter stages of the race and recorded a season’s best of 1:42.98 but was unable to hold on and ended up fifth, with Pierre-Ambroise Bosse of France second in a national record 1:42.53 and Kenyan Ferguson Rotich Cheruiyot third.

In a quick race, in which three others ran season’s bests, Britain’s 2012 Olympic finalist Andrew Osagie was eighth.

In-form Frenchman Pascal Martinot-Lagarde made it four Diamond League wins in 2014 by taking the men’s 110m hurdles in a superb time of 12.95, which sets a new national record and all-but seals him this year’s Diamond League title.