Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce picks up where she left off in Beijing with sprint victory in Diamond League

Twice Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce streaked to victory in the Diamond League women’s 100 metres final on Thursday with a time of 10.93 seconds against a head wind on a cold, blustery evening.

The 28-year-old Jamaican, who dyed her hair green for her successful world title defence in Beijing last month before reverting to black during a two-hour visit to a Zurich hairdresser on Wednesday, picked up US$40,000 for winning the Diamond League Trophy in her event.

Sixteen finals were staged on Thursday at a meeting which featured 20 individual gold medallists from Beijing. The remaining 16 events will be decided in Brussels on September 11.

“There is no more to ask, I won the world championships and the Diamond race,” said Fraser-Pryce. “I was eager to come back on the track after Beijing and I just enjoy this meeting.”

Fraser-Pryce completed the night by anchoring the Jamaican team to a meeting record of 41.60 seconds in the women’s 4x100 metres relay.

Britain’s Greg Rutherford, who added the world men’s long jump title to his Olympic, European and Commonwealth gold medals in Beijing, showed his competitive grit after a long season to win on a countback from American Marquis Dendy and clinch the Diamond League trophy. Both men leaped 8.32 metres.

“It was very important to come out here to win again,” Rutherford said. “I am absolutely over the moon, I won the world championships and I won the Diamond race. It is the last crown for me.”