Zuzana Hejnova, Julius Yego and Asafa Powell also among winners at a cool and damp World Challenge meeting, while David Rudisha pulls up in the 600m

Usain Bolt claimed victory in his first European race of the season on Tuesday, clocking 20.13 to win the 200m at a cool and damp IAAF World Challenge meeting in Ostrava.

Asked to stand up twice in the less than ideal conditions wasn’t the best build-up, but the Jamaican sprint star went on to secure an easy and trouble-free win ahead of USA’s Isiah Young, who had earlier run the 100m, with 20.35. Britain’s James Ellington was another to have run a 100m and 200m double in the Czech city and clocked 20.81 for fourth in the longer event.

“It was a little bit colder than I thought it would be,” Bolt told organisers after the race. “Let’s see what happens in the next one.”

Asafa Powell secured the win over 100m, his 10.04 seeing him cross ahead of Young with 10.13. World and European 60m champion Richard Kilty was next over the line in 10.31 as his fellow Briton Ellington clocked 10.45 for sixth.

USA’s Charonda Williams won the women’s 200m in 23.11 ahead of Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart with 23.43. British sprinters Bianca Williams and Margaret Adeoye finished third and fifth either side of Sherone Simpson with respective times of 23.50 and 23.58.

The world 600m best had been considered a possible target for world 800m record-holder David Rudisha ahead of the event, however the Kenyan pulled up clutching his leg in the opening stages of the race. Poland’s European 800m champion Adam Kszczot went on to claim victory in 1:16.02 ahead of Ireland’s Mark English with 1:16.14, as Britain’s Kyle Langford ran 1:16.69 in third. Guy Learmonth finished fifth in 1:17.03.

“Very unfortunate that I pulled my muscle just after 100m,” Rudisha later wrote on Twitter. “But it’s not a very serious injury.”

Over in the field and Julius Yego enjoyed a more successful outing than his compatriot Rudisha as the Commonwealth javelin champion threw 86.88m to break his own Kenyan record and secure victory by over a metre and a half.

Poland’s Karol Zalewski won the 300m in 32.25 ahead of home favourite Pavel Maslak, the world indoor 400m champion, with 32.35. Britain’s Conrad Williams was seventh with 33.54.

USA’s Sharika Nelvis, who ran a 12.54 PB when finishing as runner-up behind Jasmin Stowers’ 100m hurdles Diamond League record time in Doha, continued her fine form and was just outside her best with 12.55 but into a -1.7m/s wind. That mark broke a meeting record which had stood since 1980 as Britain’s European champion Tiffany Porter finished third in 12.90. In the longer hurdles event, Zuzana Hejnova pleased the home crowd as the world 400m hurdles champion clocked 55.13 to lead a Czech one-two ahead of Denisa Rosolov as world leader Wenda Nel knocked the final barrier and finished third in 55.47. Eilidh Child ran a season’s best of 56.56 for sixth.

Another popular winner was world junior champion race walker Anezka Drahotova who clocked 11:52.38 for 3000m to go third on the world all-time list.

It was Poland’s European indoor 800m champion Marcin Lewandowski to get the win in the 1000m as he came through to pip world 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop – 2:17.25 to 2:17.38. Anna Mishchenko won the 1500m in 4:07.09 as Britain’s Steph Twell ran 4:13.22 for eighth, while Ethiopia’s Olympic silver medallist Dejen Gebremeskel won the 5000m in 13:23.72.

All of Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor’s legal leaps bettered the meeting record mark which had stood since 1979 – his third round jump of 17.52m securing him the victory ahead of Russia’s European bronze medallist Aleksey Fyodorov with 17.11m. Bohdan Bondarenko won the high jump with a single clearance – 2.24m was the best he could manage in the conditions and he secured victory on countback as a total of five athletes cleared that height.

Held on the eve of the main meeting, Pawel Fajdek and Anita Wlodarczyk claimed a Polish double in the hammer events, throwing respective bests of 80.75m and 76.61m.

Further results can be found here

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