EUGENE, Oregon – World 100-meter champion Carmelita Jeter and sprint stars Sanya Richards-Ross and Allyson Felix made winning starts to London double bids Friday at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials. And Ashton Eaton, last year's runner-up at the world championships in the decathlon, outclassed reigning world champion Trey Hardee and 2008 Olympic champion Bryan Clay, winning four of the first five events. The athletes performed in cold and showery conditions that left puddles on the track in a meet where only the top three in each final advance to next month's London Olympics. Richards-Ross, the Jamaican-born 2009 world 400m champion who became a US citizen in 2002, has the best 200 and 400 times in the world this year and ranked third-fastest among 16 qualifiers for Saturday's 400m semi-finals. In the opening round of the women's 100m, Jeter won her heat in 11.20sec, well off the season's world best of 10.81 she set last month in Jamaica. Felix, a two-time Olympic 200m runner-up who like Jeter is trying to qualify for London in the 100 and 200, won her heat in a wind-aided 11.19 seconds, pushed by a 1.6m/sec tailwind. In the decathlon, Eaton won the 100m in 10.21, the long jump with a leap of 8.21m, the high jump by clearing 2.05m and the 400m in 46.70 to lead after day one with 4,728 points, 322 ahead of Hardee with Clay third on 4,252. The first two Olympic qualifying finals at Hayward Field were staged in the men's and women's 10,000 meters, with favored Galen Rupp claiming the men's crown in 27min 25.33sec and Amy Hastings taking an emotional women's win in 31:58.36. Bekele says he's back Kenenisa Bekele said he was “100 percent back” after running the third fastest 10,000 meters time in the world this year in Birmingham Friday. Bekele was running his first 10,000m of the year. He finished strongly to win in 27 minutes 02.59 seconds. — Agencies
