Usain Bolt and Kendra Harrison star at Muller Anniversary Games in London
By Mark Crellin
Last Updated: 23/07/16 8:43am
The great Usain Bolt made a winning return to action in the men's 200m at London's Olympic Stadium to cap a great night of athletics at the Anniversary Games.
Bolt was the headline act but a plethora of world class performers were on show at the Diamond League event and Kendra Harrison proved best of the bunch, setting a new world record in the women's 100m hurdles.
Bolt had not run since pulling out of the Jamaican trials last month with a hamstring strain but clocked 19.89 seconds in his first 200m of the year as he proved his fitness ahead of the Rio Olympics next month.
The six-time Olympic gold medallist and world record holder at 100m and 200m was not at his brilliant best and had to work harder than usual in the closing stages, but finished clear of Panama's Edward Alonso (20.04) and Britain's Adam Gemili (20.07).
Bolt, who turns 30 next month, said: "I thought it wasn't perfect.
"I came off the corner, just tried to hold my form and do the work. I'm happy with the execution and hopefully my coach is.
"I'm definitely feeling good. I'm glad I could come here, run, finish the race, no injuries.
"I'm happy about that and I'm going to Rio to defend my titles."
The performance of the night came in the women's 100m hurdles, as Harrison destroyed the field to set a new world record of 12.20 seconds.
Incredibly, the 23-year-old American will not be going to Rio, after she could only finish in sixth at the US trials two weeks ago.
However, she was in a different league on this occasion, coming home well clear to beat the old record of 12.21sec set by Bulgaria's Yordanka Donkova on August 20, 1988.
Brianna Rollins (12.57), Kristi Castlin (12.59) and Ali Nia (12.63), all Rio-bound after finishing 1-2-3 in the US trials, were left trailing by Harrison on this occasion.
"I'm just so full of emotions," said Harrison, whose previous best was the 12.24 she ran in May.
"Not making that Olympic team, I knew I had to come out here and show the world I still had it in me.
"My coach has been telling me since day one that I had it in me. I still have a few weeks to go, so I am going to try and lower that time."
Jessica Ennis-Hill came home last in the final but had earlier fired out a warning to her Olympic heptathlon rivals by running her second fastest ever time.
The 30-year-old, back at the Olympic Stadium where she memorably took gold at London 2012, clocked 12.76 seconds to finish third in her heat.
It smashed her season's best of 13.10 and was her fastest time since the London Games, when she ran 12.54.
"I'm so happy to run a season's best and it makes me confident, with Rio next," said Ennis-Hill.
"I would've liked to have gone quicker in the final, but just smacked a hurdle really bad and lost all momentum and that was it."
In the high jump, Ennis-Hill's team-mate and heptathlon rival Katarina Johnson-Thompson made a welcome return to form by jumping an outdoor personal best of 1.95m to finish in third.
The newly-laid track at the Olympic Stadium was clearly very fast and Great Britain's women's 4x100m relay team gave themselves a major pre-Olympic boost by setting a new national record and running the fastest time in the world this year.
The quartet of Asha Philip, Desiree Henry, Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita scorched round the track to claim an emphatic victory in 41.81.
There was also a brilliant performance from Laura Muir, who broke Kelly Holmes' British 1,500m record with a hugely impressive display, pulling well clear of the field to come home in 3:57.49.
The 23-year-old triumphed by more than three seconds and eclipsed double Olympic champion Holmes' mark of 3:57.90 from the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Muir said: "I'm over the moon with that. It's not just any record, it's Kelly Holmes' Olympic gold medal record. It's great to have.
"I've always said I run for times, I run for places. I run for medals. But to get the record along the way is one of the biggest achievements of my career."
Christine Ohuruogu completely justified her inclusion in the British team for the individual 400m in Rio by running the fastest time in the country this year at 51.05, but it was only good enough for fifth place as Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas took victory in a world-leading 49.55.
