Golding STUTTGART, CANA:
JAMAICANS Chris Williams and Davian Clarke sped to early season victories indoors at the Stuttgart International meet on Saturday.
Williams scored a narrow win over world leader Deji Aliu of Nigeria in the men's 60 metres in 6.63 seconds, and Clarke landed the 400 metres in 46.29 seconds.
Cuba's world long jump champion Ivan Pedrosa was a winner as well, and there were top three finishes for other Caribbean stars Kareem Streete-Thompson of the Cayman Islands, Cuba's Anier Garcia, and Jamaican Lacena Golding.
Williams, the reigning Central American and Caribbean (CAC) 200-metre champion, was a mere 0.01 faster than Aliu, who is the quickest over the distance this year at 6.56 seconds. Germany's Tim Goebel (6.69) was third.
The time by Williams (6.63) seconds, made him joint seventh fastest - with Kittitian Kim Collins - in the world so far this year over the distance.
Clarke, a multiple Olympic/World Championship relay medallist, dominated his 400-metre race, with the German pair of Lars Figura (47.06) and Stefan Holz (47.23) posing little threat throughout as they took second and third.
Pedroso produced a winning 8.17-metre jump with his last effort, to win ahead of Streete-Thompson (7.97) and Ukraine's Roman Schurenko (7.92) in the long jump.
German Falk Balzer edged Olympic champion Garcia over 60 metres hurdles in 7.55 seconds, 0.01 ahead of the Cuban.
In the women's equivalent, Nicole Ramalalanirina of France won in a 2001 world best 7.95, chased by American Anjanette Kirkland (7.98), and Jamaica's Golding (8.02).
Ukraine's Angela Kravchenko sped to a 7.09-second victory in the women's 60 metres, beating Sri Lanka's Susanthika Jayasinghe (7.17) and Bulgaria's Petya Pendareva (7.18).
