Tyson Gay runs 9.78 to set fastest 100 time this year and win Diamond League meet in London

Gay runs 9.78 to set fastest 100 time in 2010

LONDON — American sprinter Tyson Gay ran the fastest time in the world this year to win the 100-meter final at the Diamond League meet.

The 2007 world champion led from the start to cross in 9.78 seconds Friday against a field without injured Jamaican rivals Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell. It also was a record time at the Crystal Palace event.

Yohan Blake of Jamaica was second in 9.89, with Richard Thompson of Trinidad & Tobago third in 10.05.

Bolt and Powell were both out with back injuries. They had previously jointly held the world’s fastest time in 2010 at 9.82 seconds.

Last Friday, Gay upset the defending world and Olympic champion Bolt in Stockholm.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LONDON (AP) — Bernard Lagat won the 3,000-meter race at the Diamond League meet at Crystal Palace on Friday, breaking clear in the home straightaway ahead of two-time European champion Mo Farah of Britain.

Lagat, a Kenyan-born American, overcame a wet track to win in 7 minutes, 40.36 seconds. Farah, who won the 5,000 and 10,000 at the European Championships, was second in 7:40.75 and was the crowd’s big favorite.

“I knew he was running strongly and I’m glad I was able to run with him really well,” Lagat said.

Mark Kiptoo of Kenya was third on a day when heavy rain stopped just before the race but conditions made fast times unlikely.

U.S. sprint star Tyson Gay, who recently beat Usain Bolt, was running the 100 meters later in the day.

Bershawn Jackson of the United States won a tight 400 hurdles in 48.12. He finished just ahead of Javier Culson of Puerto Rico, who was narrowly in front after the final hurdle and was timed in 48.17.

In other results in the year’s third-to-last Diamond League meet, Yarelis Barrios of Cuba won the women’s discus in with a throw of 215 feet, 3 inches.. She was followed by Sandra Perkovic of Croatia. Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus easily won women’s shot put in 66-6.