Prescod beats Gatlin and Shanghai rain in 100m

SHANGHAI: Britain’s Reece Prescod burst out of nowhere to upstage world champion Justin Gatlin and beat the wet weather to win a thrilling 100m on the line in Shanghai.

Running unnoticed out in lane number nine, the unheralded 22-year-old grabbed a shock victory by a whisker from China’s Su Bingtian with his time of 10.04, just 0.01 shy of his personal best.

Bingtian, who along with the home crowd thought he had retained his Diamond League Shanghai title, was second in 10.05, with fellow Chinese Xie Zhenye third.

The American Gatlin was sluggish out of the blocks and came a disappointing seventh while Canadian speedster Andre De Grasse, working his way back from a long injury layoff, was down in eighth.

It was Prescod’s first Diamond League triumph and the Briton said that while others toiled in the wet, he relished it.

In the men’s 110m hurdles, Jamaica’s reigning world and Olympic champion Omar McLeod was left praying for victory on the finishing line before he could celebrate a third Shanghai win in a row.

His time of 13.16 was the joint fastest in the world this year and it had to be to pip Cuban-born Spaniard Orlando Ortega.

McLeod said that his early season had been badly disrupted by various niggling injuries.

“Today I was running on blind trust,” said the 24-year-old, adding that he was “overcome with emotion”.

“It was great to come out here and complete the three-peat.” — AFP