JAMAICA'S TAYNA Lawrence was the fastest out of the blocks but America's Marion Jones recovered from a slow start to surge past her and clock a winning time of 11.01 in the finale of the Golden League jackpot series in Berlin yesterday.
Triple Olympic champion Jones hit the jackpot when she cruised to another comfortable win in the women's 100 metres for a quarter of the 50 kilos of gold divided between those who have won their event at all seven meetings in the series.
Lawrence finished a distant second in 11.12, while Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas finished third in 11.20.
Bridgette Foster, another Jamaican, cashed in with a 12.62 first place finish in the women's 100 metres hurdles, beating Americans Gail Devers (12.65) and Anjanette Kirland (12.75) who were second and third respectively.
Lacena Golding-Clark was fourth in that event with 12.96 seconds.
Lorraine Fenton managed a second-place finish in the women's 400 metres clocking 50.50 behind winner Ana Guevara of Mexico (49.91) and ahead of American Jearl Miles-Clark in third with 51.06.
The Jamaican men also made their presence felt when Michael Blackwood swept to victory in the men's 400 metres in 44.87.
Gregory Haughton finished fifth in the race in 45.26 while compatriot Michael Campbell was eighth in 45.93 seconds.
Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj, Mexican Ana Guevara and Felix Sanchez of the Dominican Republic also remained undefeated for their own pieces of the gold prize, worth 530,000 euros.
Olympic and world champion Maurice Greene, who used to be just as unstoppable as Jones, again looked only the shadow of his brilliant best, suffering his fifth defeat of the season to Britain's Dwain Chambers in the men's 100 metres.
Greene, who had dropped out of the gold chase after the first race in Oslo in June, looked shocked after finishing a lacklustre sixth in 10.20 in a race won in 10.02 by a confident Chambers.
Jones was never really challenged due to the absence of her main rival and world champion Zhanna Pintusevich-Block of Ukraine on a warm late-summer evening in the German capital.
It was the 15th consecutive 100 metres victory for Jones, who has lost only one final for that event since 1997 - when she was beaten by Pintusevich-Block at last year's world championships in Edmonton.
"The time is nothing special but the main thing was to win," she said.
"I crossed the finish line and looked at the clock and said to myself 'Oh Marion, you can run faster than that.' But winning is more important than the time."
European champion Chambers had no jackpot to worry about as he battled it out with American Coby Miller, who finished a close second in 10.07. Commonwealth champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis took third in 10.15.
"It wasn't an easy race but I'm always confident that I can perform well," said the 24-year-old Chambers, who looked sharp after missing the previous Golden League meeting last Friday in Brussels because of influenza.
"The thing that's given me success is the confidence I've obtained."
Greene, who has shone only in patches this season as Chambers shattered his supremacy, said his mind was already set on next year, with the world championships in Paris on the agenda.
"It will be a different story," he said. "I'll be ready."
El Guerrouj, the men's 1,500 metres world champion, was expected to snatch some of the precious metal and did in style, entering the final lap in the lead before destroying the field by accelerating with 250 metres remaining to win in three minutes 30.00 seconds.
Bernard Lagat finished nearly three seconds behind, beating fellow Kenyan Laban Rotich into third.
The dominant middle distance runner in the world for years, El Guerrouj concentrated on winning but will have another goal in two days time in Italy.
"I'll definitely try to beat the world record on Sunday in Rieti," said the 27-year-old, dreaming of crowning his season by bettering his own best mark of 3:26.00 set in 1998.
Guevara, the new dominant force in the women's 400 metres, was equally impressive over two laps, beating Jamaica's Fenton and Jearl Miles Clark into second and third respectively. Guevara clocked 49.91.
"I must admit it was quite easy," she said. "This is something special but my main goal has not changed and that's an Olympic gold medal in 2004."
World 400 hurdles champion Sanchez, who has not lost since July last year, overcame a stride pattern problem running into the first hurdle to complete the golden jackpot-winning quartet.
"I felt pretty confident and I was able to fulfil my golden dream," Sanchez said after beating Saudi Arabia's Hadi Soua'an Al-Somaily and American Joey Woody easily.
