Athletics: Jackson triumphs in Linz

Colin Jackson, the European champion, secured a superb 110 metres hurdles victory at the Raiffeisen Gugl Meeting in Linz, Austria, last night.

The Welshman clocked only 13.38 seconds into a slight headwind, but it was good enough to beat the European silver medallist, Stanislav Olijar, of Latvia, by 0.02sec, with Cuba's Olympic champion, Anier Garcia, third in 13.49.

Jackson, who intends entering another seven competitions before retiring at the end of the outdoor season in September, also exacted revenge on South Africa's Shaun Bownes, who took the Commonwealth title last month when Jackson hit the first hurdle. Bownes was fourth in 13.54sec.

Jackson overcame a similar error last night. "I hit the first hurdle really hard but didn't panic and try to rush straight to the front. I just told myself to keep going," he said. "I've now learned to pull the distance back gradually and rely on my finishing speed. Mind you, it's taken me 18 years to realise that and stop panicking to get to the front in a rush."

In the 3,000m steeplechase the Commonwealth Games finalist Stuart Stokes finished eighth in 8min 39.90sec, with Kenya's former world record holder, Wilson Boit Kipketer, securing a runaway win with a time of 8:19.52.

Tony Borsumato finished fourth, in 49.19 in a 400m hurdles race won by Hadi Al Somaily, the Olympic silver medallist, in 48.18.

Catherine Berry ran a personal best of 9:2.79 in the 3,000m, but that was good enough for only seventh place in a race won by the world junior 5,000m and 10,000m champion, Mesaret Defar. The Ethiopian clocked a personal best of 8:48.13.