Allyson Felix erased any questions about her health, running year’s fastest 400m time, 49.65 seconds, at the Diamond League meet in London on Sunday.
It was just her second 400m since taking silver in Rio. She dropped .87 seconds from her 400m season debut in Kingston on June 10.
“It feels good to be back,” said Felix, who finished second in Rio behind a diving Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas. Miller-Uibo did not run in London.
Felix suffered a severe ankle injury last spring, missing the Olympic 200m team by .01. She admitted to OlympicTalk this week that “there’s always residual effects, especially with ankle injuries.” This season, she has had “a much slower build-up.”
It was Felix’s last scheduled meet before returning to London for the world championships in August.
Fellow American Courtney Okolo finished a distant second in a season’s best 50.29 seconds.
Shamier Little, who Tweeted before the race about having to race against 2016 Olympic 4x400m gold medalists Felix and Okolo, finished third.
Also on Sunday, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson edged Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands in the 100m, despite competing in cushioned trainers instead of running spikes due to an Achilles injury, according to Reuters. Thompson, the 2016 Olympic champion, has now won 100m races at 16 consecutive meets, save for one race she did not finish.
Mo Farah thrilled the fans in London by winning the 3000m in one of his final track races before moving to road racing and marathons after worlds.
World-record holder Keni Harrison defeated 2012 Olympic champion Sally Pearson in the 100m hurdles.
U.S. men swept the top three spots in both the 200m and long jump.
Ameer Webb finished first the 200m, clocking 20.13 seconds. Fred Kerley, the 2017 U.S. 400m champion and the year’s second-fastest man in the event, showed his speed in the shorter sprint, lowering his 200m personal best from 20.45 to 20.24 in his professional debut. Isiah Young claimed third.
2016 Olympic champion Jeff Henderson won the long jump, followed by Michael Hartfield and Marquis Dendy.
The Diamond League moves to Rabat, Morocco next Sunday, with NBC Sports Gold coverage at 2:00 p.m. ET.
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