Merry plays it safe

13 April 2012

Olympic 400 metres bronze medallist Katharine Merry has pulled out of the Nikiai Grand Prix One meeting as a precautionary measure.  

Merry, favourite for the World Championship gold medal next month in Edmonton, has been suffering from a chest complaint.

After scoring a splendid victory in last week's Great Britain versus United States and Russia triangular match, the Midlander rushed away from Glasgow's Scotstoun track suffering from a headache.

Manager Sue Barrett said: "It is only a precautionary measure. Kath is undergoing blood tests and will miss the Nice meeting. However, she will run in next week's World trials."

Whether Colin Jackson turns out in Birmingham is another matter.

The reigning champion insists he will not defend the World 110m hurdles title he won two years ago in Seville. Instead he is just running for enjoyment.

Last night, in the second Golden League meeting of the season, the Welshman was placed a creditable fourth as old foe Allen Johnson won with a best-of-the-year 13.15sec at the Stade de France in Paris.

Winner of the first Golden League meeting a week earlier in Rome, the world record holder was second out of the blocks and led for the first two flights of hurdles.

But a quality field - it included six of last year's eight Olympic finalists - then surged into action.

Cuba's Anier Garcia held on for second from Terrence Trammell, the American he beat for the gold medal in Sydney, by one-hundredth-of-a-second with a time of 13.23sec. Jackson clocked 13.42sec.

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