LONDON, England: Bahamian in-form sprint queen Shaunae Miller, celebrated her Olympic Games call-up with a spectacular victory in the women’s 400m at the Diamond League Anniversary Games at the London Olympic stadium on Friday. Miller raced to a world leading time and personal best clocking of 49.55 to beat a stellar field. The 22-year old made her move on the back stretch and pulled away strongly along the final straight to win ahead of Jamaican and Commonwealth champion Stephanie-Ann McPherson (50.40) and American trials runner-up Natasha Hastings (50.49).
    Miller also regained the world leading time from one of her rivals for the Olympic title American Allyson Felix who had run the previous 2016 best time of 49.68 to win the US title earlier in the month. Miller opened her season clocking a then-world leading 49.69 to win at the Chris Brown Invitational in Nassau in May. In London, she bettered her previous personal best of 49.69 which she ran to take silver at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, China. The St. Augustine College graduate leads the Diamond League standing in the event with her third Diamond League win following her triumphs in Shanghai, China and Eugene, USA in May.

    Miller’s world leading run was overshadowed by American Kendra Harrison’s world record run in the women’s 100m hurdles and the return to competition of six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica. Harrison sped to a new world mark of 12.20 seconds to win the women’s 100m hurdles, beating the 28 year old time of 12.21 by Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria in 1988.  The record run is redemption for Harrison who missed out on representing the US at next month’s Olympic Games after she was sixth in the event at the US Trials. Bolt showed that he has recovered from the injury that forced him out of the Jamaican Olympic trials by winning the men’s 200m in London in 19.89.