Jamaica's world and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce wins the 100m at the Paris Diamond League meeting in a 2015 best of 10.74 ©Getty Images

Despite the absence through injury of Usain Bolt in tonight’s International Association of Athletics Federations’ Paris Diamond League meeting, Jamaican sprinters dominated the men’s and women’s 100 metres, with Asafa Powell and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce winning in 9.81sec and 10.74 respectively.

Although Bolt had pulled out of the 100m in Paris - and next week’s Diamond League in Lausanne - four days earlier because of a persistent leg injury, his compatriot rose to the challenge to clock the third best time of 2015 behind the 9.74 and 9.75 recorded by Justin Gatlin of the United States.

Home sprinter Jimmy Vicaut followed Powell home in 9.86, a national record which equalled the European mark set in 2004 by Portugal’s Francis Obikwelu.

Fraser-Pryce, who will concentrate on the 100m this season having won the 100/200m double at the 2013 World Championships, took 0.05 seconds  off the previous 2015 best she had shared with English Gardner of the United States.

Elsewhere, it was a night of shocks in the Stade de France with defeats for the men’s and women’s IAAF World Athlete of the Year, pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and New Zealand’s Valerie Adams.

Also beaten on the night were Grenada’s world and Olympic 400m champion Kirani James, David Oliver, the US world champion in the 110m hurdles, and the man who leads this year’s world high jump rankings with 2.41 metres, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar.

France's Renaud Lavillenie suffered a rare defeat in the pole vault in front of his home crowd at the IAAF Paris Diamond League meeting, finishing fifth with 5.71m
France's Renaud Lavillenie suffered a rare defeat in the pole vault in front of his home crowd at the IAAF Paris Diamond League meeting, finishing fifth with 5.71m ©Getty Images

Lavillenie, the Olympic and European pole vault champion who set a world record of 6.16m last year, could only manage 5.71m in front of his home crowd, which earned him equal fifth place in a competition won by Greece’s Konstadinos Filippidis with 5.91m.

James lost to South Africa’s Wayde van Niekirk, who clocked 43.96, just 0.01 seconds off James’s world-leading performance for the year, with the Grenada runner second in 44.17.

 Oliver was beaten to the line in the 110m hurdles by Cuba’s Orlando Ortega, who clocked 12.94 to the American’s 12.98.

Meanwhile Barshim, who led last year’s high jump world rankings with 2.43m - which only the world record holder, Javier Sotomayor of Cuba, has ever bettered – had an off night as he finished equal fifth with 2.29m in an event won by Russia’s Daniyil Tsyplakov, who cleared 2.32m.

Adams, New Zealand’s double Olympic and four-times world champion shot putter, got a reality check as she made her return to top flight competition after having elbow and shoulder surgery last September.

Adams could only manage fifth with 18.79m in a competition won with a personal best of 20.31m by Germany’s European champion Christina Schwanitz.

It was the 30-year-old IAAF World Athlete of the Year’s first loss in almost five years, ending a run of 56 successive victories dating back to August 2010.

"I'm happy to be back," Adams said.

"I took the risk and came to compete against the best current girls.

"I knew the winning streak was in danger and I lost it, but I do not feel that sorry. We can start again."

Colombia’s world triple jump champion Caterine Ibarguen maintained her own long winning run, though, with a best effort of 14.87m.

Evan Jager of the United States hits the deck after the final hurdle in the 3,000m steeplechase in Paris before getting back up to run the second best time of 2015 behind Kenya's eventual winner Jairus Kipchoge Birech
Evan Jager of the United States hits the deck after the final hurdle in the 3,000m steeplechase in Paris before getting back up to run the second best time of 2015 behind Kenya's eventual winner Jairus Kipchoge Birech ©Getty Images

There was drama in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase, where US runner Evan Jager led into the final hurdle, but tripped on the other side of it, allowing Kenya’s Jairus Kipchoge Birech, winner of last year’s Diamond Race, to move past him for victory in 7min 58.83sec, the fastest time run this year.

Jager still managed to pick himself and finish in 8:00.45, the second fastest of 2015.

The attempt on the world 5,000m record by Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana ended not only in failure but defeat, as she finished behind her compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, who herself sought without success to better the mark of 14:11.15 set by her elder sister Tirunesh in 2008 when she ran at last month’s Oslo Diamond League meeting.

Dibaba won in 14:15.41, with Ayana - whose 2015 world-leading time stands at 14:14.32 - a distant second in 14:21.97.



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June 2015:
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June 2015: Muir upstages Mutaz on Bislett’s 50th Anniversary night in the Diamond League
June 2015: Yego produces javelin highlight at Birmingham Diamond League after withdrawal of Farah
June 2015: Gatlin beats Bolt’s meeting record with 9.75 at IAAF Rome Diamond League
May 2015: Ibarguen, Lavillenie and Barshim are head of the field at Eugene Diamond League