Top athletes shine in Rome

Domenico Conti

America's dynamic duo of Marion Jones and Maurice Greene plus Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj all lived up to expectations at the Rome Golden Gala meeting on Friday.

No world records were broken at the event, which opened this year's seven-meet Golden League, but it confirmed the supremacy of the sport's biggest names ahead of August's World championships in Edmonton, Canada.

The meeting started under a heavy downpour, but Jones, who won the women's 100 metres in a season's best of 10.96 seconds ahead of Bahamas's Chandra Sturrup, refused to make excuses.

"Everybody from lanes one to nine had to run, not just me in lane four, so the wet track affected everybody," said the 25-year-old triple Olympic champion.

World 100 metres record holder and Olympic champion Greene appeared for his event with his left knee strapped and limped off the track after winning the race, but he said the injury had not been a problem.

Greene won in 10.01 seconds, 0.1 of a second ahead of fellow countryman Tim Montgomery, and then said he still has to improve his start.

"I am working on my start. My style has improved a little bit but I have a long way to go in order to reach the level I want," said Greene, who won last year in Rome in 9.97 seconds.

Moroccan El Guerrouj won the men's mile in the year's fastest time of three minutes 44.95 seconds.

El Guerrouj, who set the world record of 3.43.13 in Rome two years ago, had hoped to run faster but said the weather did not help.

"I was hoping to do better but unfortunately the track was very wet and very damp. These are not the best weather conditions to run in," he said.

In the men's 800 metres, Switzerland's Andre Bucher held on for victory from a fast-finishing Yuri Borzakovsky. Bucher edged out Russia's world indoor champion by 0.01 of a second in 1. 44.01.

Hailu Mekkonen was one runner who did not let the wet conditions bother him. The Ethiopian ran one of the best races of his life, winning the 5,000 metres in the fastest time of the year, 12.58.57 seconds, ahead of Kenyans Benjamin Limo and Sammy Kipketer.

"I'm very happy with my race," he said. "The weather conditions were very good for me. I like the cool and the rain. I hope this performance will help me for the future."

American pole vaulter Stacy Dragila failed in her bid to better her own world record of four metres 81 centimetres.

She comfortably won the event, clearing 4.72 metres on her first attempt, but then failed in all three efforts at 4.82 metres.