Tyson Gay clocked 9.88 in his last major race of the season Saturday to beat Asafa Powell in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Final. Gay overcame a slow start to pull away from Powell, who clocked 9.90. American Darvis Patton who finished third in 10.00, with world champion and world record-holder Usain Bolt skipping the race. Bolt, who smashed the 100 and 200 records at last month's World Championships in Berlin, will race in the 200 meters Sunday. Saturday, the Jamaican star ran onto the track to enthusiastic applause from a crowd of 20,000 at Kaftanzoglio stadium. Allyson Felix won the women's 200, beating fellow American Sanya Richards in a photo finish after both runners clocked 22.29 seconds. Kerron Stewart of Jamaica was third in 22.42. In the women's pole vault, world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva cleared a modest 4.80 meters for an easy win. The Russian star – who has broken the world record 27 times in her career – then had a failed attempt at 5.07 meters. Fabiana Murer of Brazil and Poland's Monika Pyrek shared second place with 4.60. In the 400, Olympic and world champion LaShawn Merritt of the United States won in 44.93 seconds. Chris Brown of the Bahamas clocked 45.49 in second and American David Neville came third in 45.60. Brittney Reese of the United States won the long jump with 7.08 meters, pushing Russian duo Elena Sokolova and Tatyana Lebedeva to second and third place with jumps of 6.81 and 6.79 respectively. Javelin world champion Steffi Nerius of Germany announced the end of her international career after throwing 62.59 for third place. “The journey ends here,” the 37-year-old Nerius said. “All these years I won many medals – Olympic, world, European. I achieved everything I could dream of.” Nerius wore her trademark headband, with the words “Goodbye” written in English, Greek and German. Maria Abakumova of Russia won the event, throwing 64.63, while world record-holder Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic was third with 63.45. The men's 3,000 metres provided one of the highlights of the evening as Ethiopia's 5,000 world champion Kenenisa Bekele and Bernard Lagat of the United States reprised their epic Berlin battle. Lagat, who took silver behind Bekele in Berlin, attacked on the final straight but in another exciting sprint finish Bekele repulsed his rival's challenge, holding on to win in 8:03.79.
