The final event at the 2014 MEETING AREVA, the men’s 100m lived up to expectations. There was no little excitement in the air before the race, with the fans giving home sprinter Christophe Lemaitre a loud ovation and chanting his name, prompting the rest of the field to appeal for a little peace and quiet. Jamaica’s Nickel Ashmeade was then disqualified for a second false start, and took his time to leave the track. When the action finally got under way, it was Michael Rodgers of the USA who proved the strongest, clocking a time of ten seconds flat, eight hundredths faster than Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Thompson, who ran a lightning-fast 9.82 only two weeks ago. Kim Collins, who won the world title at the Stade de France back in 2003, showed that he still has plenty left in the tank at the age of 38 by finishing third in 10.10 (his season’s best). Lemaitre could not respond to the crowd’s cheers, however, and came home last, though he could take some consolation in posting his best time of the season in 10.28.
05 July, 2014
