MILLER MARKS 23RD BIRTHDAY WITH WINDY 21.90

Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo stepped down in distance at the NTC/Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, Florida, to win the 200m in a wind-assisted 21.90 on Saturday (15).

On a day when strong tailwinds rendered many results ineligible for PBs, the wind readings for all of the women’s 200m heats were 3.0m/s or stronger. Nevertheless, Miller-Uibo’s winning time of 21.90 in her heat, aided by a 3.1m/s following wind, shows that the Bahamian is in fine form ahead of next weekend’s IAAF/BTC World Relays Bahamas 2017.

Miller-Uibo, who holds the national record at 22.05, finished 0.64 ahead of USA’s Joanna Atkins. German duo Tatjana Pinto and Rebekka Haase won their respective heats in 22.53 and 22.58, both aided by 3.0m/s following winds.

The men’s 200m races were similarly wind aided, and while the 2.9m/s tailwind meant that Danny Talbot’s 19.86 couldn’t count as a British record, the European bronze medallist’s winning margin spoke volumes.

The 25-year-old finished 0.35 ahead of Canada’s Gavin Smellie as no one else came close to challenging the 20-second barrier.

Like 200m winners Miller-Uibo and Talbot, USA’s Tori Bowie was head and shoulders above her rivals in the women’s 100m. The Olympic silver medallist sped to a 10.80 (3.3m/s) clocking to comfortably win her heat. Haase produced the second-fastest time of the day with 10.94 (4.5m/s).

Times were a lot closer in the men’s 100m. With 16 preliminary heats being followed by a round of finals, Britain’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey topped the list with his 9.90 win (4.4m/s). China’s Xie Zhenye won his heat in 9.91 (4.1m/s), while world U20 champion Noah Lyles was also among the seven men to pick up a wind-assisted sub-10 clocking, winning his heat in 9.95 (4.3m/s).

Dutch heptathlete Nadine Visser was one of the few athletes to leave Clermont with a wind-legal performance to their name. The 22-year-old clocked a season’s best of 12.87 in the heats of the 100m hurdles with a legal following wind of 1.8m/s. The wind had picked up by the time of the final later in the day, though, and she sped to a 12.57 win (4.5m/s).

European indoor champion Andy Pozzi also impressed in the heats and finals of the 110m hurdles. He won his heat in a marginally wind-assisted 13.17 (2.2m/s) and followed it with a 13.13 (5.8m/s) win in the final.