Asafa Powell defeated reigning Olympic champion Maurice Greene over 100 metres for the second time in seven days at Friday's Zurich Golden League meeting. Powell had a fantastic start and narrowly held off the challenge from his rival to win in 9.93 seconds.
American Greene also lost to rising Jamaican star Powell in the London Super Grand Prix meeting at Crystal Palace last week.
Greene clocked 9.94 while his US team-mate Justin Gatlin was third in 10.06.
"I guess I'm the big favourite for the Olympic Games now," Powell said.
"I felt a little pressure from Maurice Greene but I'm feeling great because I beat him and he is one of the fastest men in the world.
"If I stay focused and keep doing what I am doing I'll get gold for sure."
But Greene hit back: "Of course I'm disappointed, but this doesn't mean anything. Athens is going to be completely different - I'm going to win."
 |  I ran how I can run - from the front |
In the women's 100m, Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas was beaten into second place by Christine Arron, the Frenchwoman winning in a time of 11.06.
Elsewhere, Maria Mutola sent a warning to her Olympic challengers that she is close to her sparkling best when she won the women's 800m in 1.57.47 - well ahead of her nearest rival Clark Miles, of America, who clocked 1:58.03.
The US dominated the men's 110m hurdles, with Allen Johnson winning by 0.11secs from Terrence Trammell in 13.13.
In the men's 1500m , world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj was narrowly beaten by Bernard Lagat, who won in 3:27.40. Briton Michael East had a night to forget - well off the leading pace he finished 11th in 3:36.92.
Meanwhile, Jo Pavey gave Team GB a pre-Olympic lift when she returned from a calf injury to finish fourth in the women's 3000m in 8:46.58.
Ireland's Sonia O'Sullivan took third in a confidence-boosting 8:41.42, and Britain's other representative Kathy Butler, who will compete in the 10,000m in Greece, was sixth in 8:52.34.
But Britain's Olympic medal hope Kelly Holmes proved she still has some last-minute work to do ahead of Athens as she was beaten into second place in the women's 1500m.
 Pavey will be boosted by her performance in Zurich |
The Kent athlete led from the front until the last 30m when she was overtaken by Janowska Wioletta - for the second time this season. The fast-improving Polish runner won in a personal best time of 4:03.09 - 0.39 ahead of Holmes.
"I came out knowing I needed to be positive and I felt I was," said the former army sergeant, who is still undecided about what distance to run in Greece. "I ran how I can run - from the front."
Holmes' British team-mate Hayley Tullett, bronze medallist at last year's World Championships, lost out on the last lap to finish sixth in 4:04.76.
Felix Sanchez kept his hope of landing the Golden League's �550,000 jackpot with a fourth consecutive victory in the men's 400m hurdles in 47.92.
Sweden's Christian Olsson, Tonique Williams-Darling of the Bahamas and Hestrie Cloete of South Africa also kept their jackpot chances alive when they won their respective events.
Olsson triumphed in the men's triple jump with a leap of 17.46m, Williams-Darling bagged the women's 400m in 49.74 and Cloete claimed the women's high jump.
But Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania saw his chances of a golden windfall ended when Hungarian Robert Fazekas took the men's discus with a throw of 69.77m.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
