Fraser-Pryce obliterates field to win 100m gold as Britain's Johnson-Thompson lies sixth entering second day of Heptathlon
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On a captivating evening of track and field that merited far more support inside Moscow’s cavernous Luzhniki Stadium, Britain’s William Sharman finished fifth in the 110m hurdles final won by the USA’s David Oliver.
Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, 26, then ran the quickest time in the world this year, 10.71secs, to obliterate the field in the 100m final.
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Streets ahead: Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce runs 10.71 seconds to claim gold in the final of the women's 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow
Outpaced: Fraser-Pryce, running the fastest time in the world this year, finishes well ahead of the Americans Carmelita Jeter (left) and Alexandria Anderson (right)
Party time: Fraser-Pryce celebrates her gold medal with the Jamaican flag
Katarina Johnson-Thompson, meanwhile, began promisingly in the heptathlon in the absence of Olympic champion Jessica Ennis-Hill with 13.49secs - just a hundredth of a second off her personal best - in the 100m hurdles on Monday morning.
The 20-year-old cleared 1.83m in the high jump to leave her fourth after two events, but struggled in the shot put, her weakest discipline, recording just 11.52m. A personal best of 23.37secs in the 200m, however, left Johnson-Thompson sixth overnight.
Johnson-Thompson said: 'I had a good start in the hurdles and I'm quite happy with how I finished in the 200m, it was just the high jump and the shot put that let me down.
'I am used to the shot put letting me down, but the high jump is one of my favourite events so I was quite heartbroken that I couldn't do what I wanted to do. So I took the frustration out on the 200m and it paid off.
'I am pleased with where I am after such disastrous events.'
Fighting chance: Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson lies sixth in the heptathlon entering the second day of competition in Moscow
Good start: Johnson-Thompson (left) ran a time of 13.49 seconds - a hundredth off her personal best - in the 100m hurdles, the first event of the heptathlon
Johnson-Thompson had said in the build-up she felt under no pressure, despite the withdrawal of Ennis-Hill leaving her in the spotlight. She admitted, though, that she felt the Olympic champion's absence.
'It's very strange not to see her out there. She tweeted me today saying the same thing and saying good luck. Hopefully she'll be back next year and hopefully the British public have enjoyed watching me.'
Johnson-Thompson claimed experiencing London 2012 as a teenager had prepared her for anything. First thing this morning was a little different.
The Liverpool athlete was bowled over by the noise which greeted her introduction to the crowd last summer, mouthing 'wow' as she smiled the biggest grin in the stadium.
Moving on up: Johnson-Thompson then moved up to fourth on the leaderboard by clearing 1.83m in the high jump
Needs improvement: But a poor throw of 11.52m in the shot put lost her two places
At the Luzhniki Stadium, there were barely 500 spectators in the arena to watch her hurdles race, with even fewer sticking around to see the high jump finish.
'I think I've got quite used to competing in the Olympic Stadium, I've done that in the Anniversary Games and the Olympics last year and they were the two biggest things I've ever done apart from this.
'So I think I've been quite spoilt into believing that's what major championships are like.'
Defending champion Dai Greene reached the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles along with Sebastian Rodger and Rhys Williams, but was clearly hampered by the fever he suffered over the weekend as he finished fourth in his heat in 49.79secs.
Greene, 27, said: ‘It was very difficult, very tough. It’s been a nightmare few days and we were wondering if I’d be good enough to run today. I was saying if I didn’t have any bad luck I’d have no luck at all.’
'Very tough': Dai Greene, the defending champion, admitted it was hard work to qualify for the final of the 400m hurdles after struggling with a fever over the weekend
All three British athletes — Perri Shakes-Drayton, Eilidh Child and Meghan Beesley — also progressed in the women’s 400m hurdles, with Shakes-Drayton, 24, running quicker than any other athlete in the first round.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2390594/World-Athletics-Championships-2013-Shelly-Ann-Fraser-Pryce-wins-100m-Katarina-Johnson-Thompson-lies-sixth-heptathlon.html#ixzz2bq1oOdrw
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