Bucher beaten in Brussels

Russian Borzakovskiy (left) sweeps past Switzerland's Bucher (far right) to take first place in the men's 800m event Keystone

Swiss world champion André Bucher has had to settle for second place at the latest Golden League athletics meeting in Brussels, after being beaten by Russia's Yuriy Borzakovskiy in the men's 800 metres.

As well as ending Bucher’s unbeaten run in this season’s outdoor 800 metre races, the 20-year-old Russian also managed to break Bucher’s year-best time, setting a new season record of 1’42″47.

Bucher started the race well, taking the lead mid-way through the last lap. However, the Swiss ran out of steam with 50m to go, allowing Borzakovskiy to sweep past him and beat him by less than a third of a second.

Friday evening’s disappointment for Bucher also sees his uninterrupted winning streak at this season’s 800m outdoors events broken.

Bucher, who took gold at the World Championships in Edmonton earlier this month, had to settle for second place. The Swiss star might not rest easy given his time in Belgium was marginally slower than the one he recorded at the Weltklasse in Zurich just last week.

The athlete from Lucerne still needs to win another event in order to secure his share of the 50kg gold jackpot offered to all athletes who win their event at five of the seven Golden League meets this season. He will be looking to win in Berlin on August 31, the last of the Golden League meetings.

Morocco’s Brahim Boulami set a new world record in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, clocking a time of 7’55″28. He was chased by Kenyan world champion Reuben Kosegi to the tape, who finished in 7’57″29.

Boulami broke the four-year-old record set by Kenya’s Bernard Barmasai.

American sprinter Marion Jones assured herself a share of the gold prize after she won the women’s 100m dash. She beat world champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Block for the second time in a row, crossing the line in 10.89 seconds, her third-best time of the season.

Chandra Sturrup of Bahamas was second in 10.95 and Greece’s Ekaterini Thanou was third, just one hundredth of a second later.

Romania’s Violeta Szekely is already assured part of the jackpot after winning her first five Golden League 1,500m events. However, she still made it six out of six in Brussels after beating Portugal’s Carla Sacramento in a time of 3’59″75.

Tim Montgomery from the United States won the men’s 100m race in a time of 9.96 seconds. Trinidad’s Ato Boldon came second while Abdul Aziz Zakari crossed the line third.

swissinfo with agencies