With eight World leading performances, the Dunlop Shanghai Grand Prix, thrilled the Chinese public who acclaimed the final race of the evening as their idol, Xiang Liu, brought the house down with a resounding victory over favourite, David Oliver of the USA, and firmly announced his return to the big time.
After this victory, the Chinese 2004 Olympic champion has resurrected his career in the best way possible after exiting the Beijing Games when he was struck down cruelly by injury.
As the curtain came down on an excellent night of athletics, Liu's time of 13.07 was the final World leading performance of the programme, while in second Oliver registered 13.18, his slowest of the season and his first defeat indoors or out this year.
While it was assumed that Liu would be the one to do the chasing, it was nothing of the kind as he sprang out of the blocks and rose marginally in the lead to the first hurdle. After carrying it all before him last year, the American appeared fazed by the unusual sight of having someone ahead of him and found it difficult to find his rhythm.
Liu, meanwhile, was enjoying an untroubled view of the hurdles and with his consummate technique claimed his most important scalp for three seasons. Even more significantly, it was Liu's fastest time for four years. The Athens Olympic champion is back with a bang.
Both men’s and women’s 100m saw Jamaicans claim victory. Asafa Powell was untroubled, crossing the line first in 9.95, the second fastest time in the World this year, while Veronica Campbell-Brown created something of an upset in her 100m debut this season by defeating World leader, Carmelita Jeter of the USA.
Jeter, starting alongside the Jamaican 200m Olympic champion, was left adrift from the gun and despite attempting to get on equal terms half way through the race, the Jamaican was not going to let this go and maintained her form to the finish.
Calvin Smith of the USA came through in the last few strides to take a closely fought 400m in 45.47. David Neville led from the gun and entered the straight challenged by Japan's Yuzo Kanemaru, but as Kanemaru's strength faded it looked like Neville had the race sewn up. But he too started to struggle and first Greg Nixon and then Smith swept past with one metre separating the three Americans on the line.
Nixon Chepseba fought off the Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop to add a win here to his 1500m victory in Doha last week in a World leading 3:31.42, also a meeting record.
The pacemaker took the field through 400m in 54.41 with Kiprop looking relaxed in sixth. 800m passed in 1:52.18 with Kiprop still in the pack, biding his time, but as the 1200m mark (2:50.90) was reached, he strode into the lead.
Fellow Kenyan Chepseba, however, refused to give way and held pole position until they entered the straight. It then all looked set up for Kiprop to win, but Chepseba proved too strong and forged ahead over the final metres. As last week in Doha, Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremedhin came through for third.
Olympic champion, Brimin Kipruto set a World leading time by over 10secs of 8:02.29 in the steeplechase, breezing past fellow-Kenyan Paul Kipsiele Koech in the final metres. The field went through the first kilometre in sub-8min pace of 2:39.63, but that was too ambitious so early in the season and in the second kilometre the pace slowed slightly to stop the clock at 5:24.14, four seconds outside the 8min benchmark.
At the bell, Kipruto was in the lead followed by Koech and a third Kenyan, Hillary Yego. With 250m to go, Koech sprinted past Kipruto and was still ahead as they took the water jump almost neck and neck. But the Olympic bronze medallist was clearly feeling the pace and had no answer as the upright Kipruto swept past.
World indoor silver medallist Jenny Meadows of Great Britain ran away from the field to win the 800m in 2:00.54. The pacemaker took the field through the bell in 1.00.68 with Meadows tracking her closely, but as the pacemaker dropped out, Meadows opened up an immediate gap with 300m to go that she was to extend to the finish.
World 5000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya won the 5000m in a swift World leading time of 14:31.92 with Ethiopian Sentayehu Ejigu second and World 10000m champion, Linet Masai, also of Kenya, third.
The early pace was steady with Cheruiyot reeling off the laps at around 71sec until Masai took over with four laps remaining. With over a lap to go Cheruiyot regained the lead from the taller Masai with Ejigu moving into third. As the final 400m unfolded, the Ethiopian challenged for the lead but Cheruiyot responded, while Masai had to settle for third.
Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica surprised USA's Lashinda Demus with a well-judged surge to win in 54.20, a World lead for 2011 by over half a second. Running from lane four, Demus rose to the first hurdle in the lead and quickly made up the stagger on Olympic and World champion, Melaine Walker of Jamaica, outside her.
But it was the slow starting Spencer who was to have the strength over the last two hurdles to cruise past the American and cross the line first with Walker third.
In the field, business as usual was almost resumed in the javelin as Norway’s Andreas Thorkildsen improved on his lowly fifth place in Doha to finish second. The winner with a World-lead equalling 85.33 was the Norwegian’s old enemy, Tero Pitkamaki of Finland. With an injury to his ankle, Petr Frydrych of the Czech Republic, who won in Doha, slumped to a sixth place unable to get the spear over 80m.
Mitchell Watt of Australia showed that his long jump career best of 8.44 in the Australian summer was no fluke by repeating it to establish a meeting record. In second, Xiongfeng Su of China improved his outdoor best by 2cm to register 8.19, but is still 7cm shy of his indoor best.
An out of sorts Blanka Vlasic won the high jump against little opposition, but found 1.97 too much for her. Her 1.94 still equalled the season’s leading jump, while former Olympic champion, Yelena Slesarenko’s comeback from injury stalled as she finished ninth and last on 1.80.
There was a German one-two in the pole vault, but winner Silke Spiegelburg did not look entirely comfortable with her season’s best 4.55. She had one failure at her opening height of 5.40 and then needed three attempts at her winning height before three failures at 4.65.
Yargelis Savigne won the triple jump by the slender margin of 6cm from an inspired Yanmei Li of China who registered 14.35 for an outright career best by 8cm.
After a 14.05 opener, the Cuban's winning jump of 14.41 came in round three. Double Asian Games gold, Olga Rypakova of Kazakhstan, opened her season with a modest 14.15 for third.
Sandra Perkovic confirmed her status as the World's leading discus thrower with a comfortable victory. Her winning throw of 65.58 came in the fourth and final round, but any of her three valid throws would have won the competition.
Continental Cup winner, China's Yanfeng Li, had to settle for second more than two metres in arrears with a third round 62.73. World champion Dani Samuels of Australia moved up to third with her final throw of 61.98.
China’s World bronze medallist, Lijiao Gong, took the shot with a season’s best by 1cm of 19.94 with team-mate Ling Li in third. The threat from Olympic silver medallist, Natallia Mikhnevich of Belarus, never materialised and she finished down the field in fifth.