Americans win three golds

HELSINKI, Finland – The Americans are taking Helsinki by storm, and Justin Gatlin is the whirlwind leading the way.

Gatlin joined Maurice Greene as the only athletes to sweep the 100 and 200 at the world track and field championships. The 23-year-old sprinter, who outran kids racing him on bicycles as a child on the streets of Brooklyn, led an unprecedented 1-2-3-4 U.S. finish in the 200 meters on a damp, chilly Thursday night.

“Double gold,” Gatlin said. “I think I’ve sealed my fate right now as the king of sprints.”

Two other Americans took home gold – a surprise victory for Walter Davis in the triple jump and Michelle Perry in the 100-meter hurdles. Spokane’s Brad Walker added a silver behind winner Rens Blom of the Netherlands in the pole vault.

The powerhouse performance gave the United States 15 medals, seven more than second-place Russia. The Americans have nine golds. No other country has more than two.

The United States swept the 200 at the Athens Olympics, but other than Gatlin, this was a different group of sprinters who capped Thursday night’s onslaught with perhaps the most dominant performance since the world championships were first held in 1983.

The Americans had four entries in the 200 because John Capel had an automatic berth as defending champion. Gatlin, with his incredible long stride, pulled away down the stretch to win in 20.04 seconds. Wallace Spearmon was second at 20.20, and Capel third at 20.31, just ahead of Tyson Gay’s 20.34.

Gatlin was the only one of the four Americans who had run in the 100. Counting the preliminaries, the 200 final was his eighth race in six days, with the 400-meter relay still to go.

Davis celebrated with a stunning victory in the triple jump, going 57 feet, 7 3/4 inches on his fifth attempt to become the first American to win the event since Mike Conley in 1993.

Perry, who has the best three times in the world this year, won in 12.66 seconds, far ahead of Delloreen Ennis-London of Jamaica in 12.76.