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Fraser-Pryce blasts to victory

Sopot - Debutant Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took her outstanding outdoor form indoors by blasting to victory in the women's 60m at the World Indoor Athletics Championships at Sopot on Sunday.

Fraser-Pryce, who emulated male teammate Usain Bolt by winning treble gold at last summer's Moscow outdoor worlds, timed 6.98 seconds, the seventh fastest time ever clocked over the distance.

"I'm one of those people who doesn't watch times, I don't think I need to run this or that time," she said.

"I believe in my potential, to start well. If I start well, then I know I have a chance. That's always been my tactic.

"There's nothing special about it, just to start fast."

Ivory Coast's Murielle Ahoure, the current double world outdoor sprint silver medallist, was second in a season's best of 7.01sec, with American Tianna Bartoletta claiming bronze (7.06).

Fraser-Pryce's teammate Veronica Campbell-Brown, back on the track after a 10-month lay-off because of a botched doping case, finished fifth (7.13) behind Briton Asha Philip (7.11).

Fraser-Pryce, twice an Olympic champion over 100m, was fast out of her blocks and propelled her diminutive frame to the head of the field and remained through the finish line on the bright blue track at the Ergo Arena.

It crowned a successful outing in the world indoors for the 27-year-old, whose career focus has always been on outdoor racing, climaxing when she won the 100 and 200m at the Moscow worlds and collected a third gold as part of the Jamaican 4x100m quartet.

Fraser-Pryce warned, however, that her appearance in these world indoors could realistically be her last.

"The next world indoors are in the Olympic year (in Portland in 2016 before the Summer Games in Rio), so I am not sure if I will do any more," she said.

"Winning this gold medal feels like I have never won it before, like it was my first gold.

"That is why I always try to do my best. I'm very excited for the gold because it is very tough at 60m."

Her stellar performance also overshadowed the drama surrounding the return to athletics of Campbell-Brown, the two-time Olympic 200m gold medallist and defending two-time world 60m champion.

Sopot was Campbell-Brown's first run-out since losing the right to compete after testing positive for a banned diuretic, hydrochlorothiazide, last May.

She had contested, however, that IAAF rules had not been respected in her case and "had compromised the integrity of the urine sample she gave", arguing that there was no proof that she had violated anti-doping laws.

The three-person appeal panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agreed and last month cleared her to compete at the world indoors.

The ruling was a personal triumph for Campbell-Brown as it was she who had demanded the CAS judge her case after the Jamaican authorities handed her a two-year suspension on the recommendation of the IAAF anti-doping commission after initially only giving her a slap on the wrist.

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