TOKYO: A stunning world record by Carl Lewis in the fastest 100 m race ever run set the World Athletics Championships alight here on Sunday.

The flamboyant 30-yr-old’s 9.86 sec record overshadowed the victory of Poland’s Wanda Panfil who maintained her impressive winning streak by taking the women’s marathon

Even Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s long-jump wins which took place only minutes after Lewis’ win almost slipped by unnoticed.

The championship belonged to Lewis and his US teammates who took all the sprint medals. Leroy Burrell who had set the previous world record only three months ago took the silver and Dennis Mitchell the bronze.

In the night’s other final Soviet Yuri Sedykh the greatest hammer thrower of his era won his first world tide

Twice Olympic champion Sedykh now 36 and with greying hair threw 81.70 meters.

Steve Backley Britain’s brightest gold medal hope joined two other former world record holders by crashing out of the men’s javelin competition.

Backley Czechoslovak Jan Zelezny and German Klaus Tafelmeir failed to qualify for Monday’s final in a morning of upsets.

SLOW START: Astonishingly Lewis twice the world and Olympic champion were last out of the blocks in the eight-man final.

Through sheer strength and will power Lewis pulled back the deficit stepped up another gear at 70 meters and took the lead with five meters to run.

Lewis knew he had won as soon as he crossed the finish line throwing his arms in the air in jubilation.

Burrell his team mate at the Santa Monica Track Club finished second in 9.88 and Dennis Mitchell made it a medal sweep for the Americans with third place in 9.91

It was the greatest 100 meters race of all time.

Britain’s Linford Christie broke his own European record by half a second but his 9.92 was good enough only for fourth place.

The first six finishers all ran under 10 seconds and each set personal bests.

FOLK HERO: Lewis who is something of a folk hero in Japan ran a jubilant victory lap with Burrell watched by the emperor and empress of Japan and also by his one-time great rival Ben Johnson who was commentating for Japanese television

It was apparent after semi-finals that a world record was inevitable.

On a warm still night Lewis clocked 9.93 in his semi-final a time previously bettered by only himself and Burrell.

Lewis’s compatriot Jackie Joyner-Kersee retained her women’s long jump title despite spraining her right ankle in the fourth round.

Kersee hit the barrier on the side of the take-off board and landed heavily in the pit.

Attended by her anxious husband and coach Bob Kersee Joyner-Kersee placed ice on her ankle and lay on the field.

She missed the fifth round but made a tentative jump on the sixth.

However her first effort of 7.32 was sufficient to give her the title with her great rival and European champion Heike Drechsler of Germany second.

Drechsler managed 7.29 and Larisa Berezhnaya of the Soviet Union was third with 7.11.

The American star took the lead in the 3rd world track and field championships from her very first jump. Her second try was a foul which appeared to be even better.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 13, 1991