Shelly-Ann just short of Jones’ WC record

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from Germany

Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser of Jamaica missed American Marion Jones’ ten-year-old World Championship record by three hundredth of a second as she clocked an impressive 10.73 seconds to win the women’s 100m gold medal at the 12th IAAF World Championships continued at the Olympic stadion here last night.

Fraser’s timing of 10.73 is the world’s leading women’s 100m timing this year and it makes her the third fastest woman ever on earth behind former Olympic champions Florence Griffinth-Joyner (10.49) and Marion Jones (10.70).

The 23-year-old lass from Kingston improved on her personal best timing of 10.78 she had until yesterday for her gold medal winning dash at the last Olympic Games in Beijing last year. Fraser held off a late charge from compatriot, Kerron Stewart, to clinch the gold medal by just 0.02 with America’s Carmelita Jeter securing a second successive World bronze in 10.90. Jeter, the last Osaka 2007 World Championship bronze medalist prevented a clean Jamaican whitewash to secure the third place as defending champion Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica wound up fourth with a season’s best 10.95. The Helsinki 2005 champion, Lauryn Williams of the USA, equaled her season’s best timing of 11.01 to finish fifth.

Following team mate Usain Bolt’s world record 10.58 second dash in the men’s 100m the previous night, it was once again Jamaican jubilation as Fraser emerged the fastest woman at the 12th IAAF World Championship, coming so much near to Marion Jones’ meet record.

Prior to last night’s semi finals, it seemed as if Stewart, the world leader with 10.75 coming into the championships, and Jeter, the American powerhouse, were the fancied gold medal contenders.

But Jamaican champion Fraser sounded a clear warning to the American camp by winning the first semi-final in 10.79 - the fastest ever legal women’s 100m semi-final time at a global championship.

It was Fraser’s usual blistering start that largely contributed for her golden run both in the semi finals and the final.

By the halfway Fraser held a clear three-metre lead on the rest of the field with Stewart her nearest pursuer. Jeter was a distant third and was struggling to reproduce her 10.84 personal best time, recorded in the second semi-final earlier tonight.

Gradually though the longer-striding Stewart was making inroads on the diminutive Fraser and as the finishing line approached she was reducing the gap with every stride. The two Jamaican lasses lunged desperately for the line but Fraser held on. Jeter comfortably took the bronze, but with 0.07 seconds slower than her semi final timing. Nevertheless, Jeter denied Jamaica what would have been the first ever clean sweep in this event at a World Championships.

After her triumphant run, Fraser knelt down to the track and held her head in her hands in almost disbelief at what she had just achieved.

The 22-year-old had not only climbed to joint third on the all-time lists - equaling the mark of 10.73 set by Christine Arron of France, but became only the second woman in history to simultaneously hold the World and Olympic 100m titles (the other being American Gail Devers) and also wrestled the Jamaican record from Stewart.

The silver medalist, Stewart, had herself equaled her personal best mark posted at the Rome Golden League meeting.

Fraser was off her blocks in a flash at 0.146 and her ability to shift her legs over the first five metres gave her the distinct advantage as she approached the finish line like a bullet. Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie was awarded sixth from her countrywoman Chandra Sturrup, although both the Bahamas lasses were credited with 11.05. Jamaica’s Aleen Bailey was eighth in 11.16 in the 100m final which has four Jamaican women.

The fastest woman at Berlin 2009 Championship said that she aimed to run the best race of her life. “I knew that if I want to do the best race, I have to work on my start. Neither the victory nor the timing of 10.73 is a surprise for me. If you look at the timings of the semis, it was clear that the final was going to be even faster,” she said.

“I left all the world behind me down there on the track. I wanted to win and made a perfect start and then executed well,” she said while proudly raising the Jamaican flag.

The 100m silver medalist Stewart said that she was satisfied with the outcome. “This is not what I wanted, but I gave everything I had. I am happy to be part of this great race with incredible times. My time will come. I will have to work on my start. I am amazed, this was a great race with an amazing time for me and Shelly-Ann,” she said.

BERLIN, Tuesday