Haile Gebrselassie set a new world marathon record while running in the Berlin Marathon – again.

Gebrselassie broke Paul Tergat’s world mark in last year’s Berlin race, with a time of 2:04.26. Last Sunday, the Ethiopian topped his own record by 27 seconds, winning in 2:03:59.

Four pacemakers helped keep Gebrselassie on track through 32 kilometers of the 42.2- kilometer (26 miles, 385 yards) event. But Gebrselassie wasn’t alone for the final 10 kilometers, as Kenyans James Kwambai and Charles Kamathi maintained their challenges, pushing Gebrselassie from behind. The Ethiopian finally pulled away in the final five kilometers. Kwambai finished second (2:05:36) and Kamathi third (2:07:48).

Gebrselassie’s mark is subject to standard IAAF verification procedures.

A pair of U.S. Olympians scored victories at Sunday’s USA 5-kilometer Championships in Providence, R.I.

Shalane Flanagan, the Olympic 10,000-meter bronze medalist, won her second consecutive women’s title in 15:28. Anthony Famiglietti, the U.S. Olympic Trials steeplechase champion, won the men’s race for the second time, finishing in 13:42.

Flanagan took an early lead and wasn’t challenged seriously. She held a five-second lead over Mary Cullen, of Ireland, after one mile and eventually won by 18 seconds. Cullen was the runner-up in 15:46. Kenya’s Jane Gakunyi was third. Americans Renee Metivier Baille (15:53) and Molly Huddle (15:56), were fourth and fifth overall, respectively.

On the men’s side, another 2008 U.S. Olympian, Matt Tegenkamp, was an early leader, along with Kenya’s Luke Kipkosgei and American Dan Browne. Tegenkamp held a solid lead at the two-mile mark, but Famiglietti gradually reeled him in and took the lead with about 800 meters remaining. Tegenkamp finished second in 13:50. Kipkosgei was third overall (13:58) and Browne fourth (14:01).

The event was the seventh stop for men and the sixth for women on the 2008 USA Running Circuit (USARC), a distance running competition that includes events ranging from five kilometers to the marathon. The top 10 U.S. runners in each race earn points toward the USARC championship, with the winners earning 15 points. Browne leads the men’s list with 44 points, followed by James Carney with 37. Deena Kastor leads all women with 45 points, well ahead of Magdalena Lewy Boulet, who has 24.

Many of track and field’s biggest names, including numerous Olympic champions, competed in cool and occasionally rainy conditions in the World Athletics Final (WAF) in Stuttgart, Germany, Sept. 13-14. One of the Beijing gold medalists in attendance, Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic, provided the meet’s signature moment when she broke the women’s javelin throw world record with a toss measuring 72.28 meters (237 feet, 1.7 inches). The former mark of 71.70 meters (235-2.8) was set by Cuba’s Osleidys Menendez in 2005. Spotakova’s record is subject to standard IAAF verification procedures.

Spotakova’s record was set on Saturday, the WAF’s first day of competition. The day began with a light drizzle, but the rain stopped prior to the javelin competition. Spotakova unleashed her record effort in the first round of the four-round competition. Her previous personal best of 71.42 (234-3.8) earned her the gold in Beijing.

On the men’s side, the highlight was the 400-meter race, where Americans LaShawn Merritt and Jeremy Wariner faced off for the seventh time this season. Proving that his victories can no longer be termed upsets, 2008 Olympic Champion Merritt edged 2007 World Champion Wariner in 44.50 seconds to Wariner’s 44.51, giving Merritt his fourth win of the year to Wariner’s three. Wariner led the race down the stretch but Merritt caught up and out-leaned Wariner at the line.

Merritt won the season’s top races this year, including the Olympic and Olympic Trials finals, as well as the WAF. He also beat Wariner in the Golden League opener in Berlin. Wariner topped Merritt in three other Golden League events.

The women’s WAF events featured a pair of double-winners.

American Sanya Richards won the 200 meters on Saturday in 22.50 seconds, then followed with a victory in the 400 on Sunday. The latter race resembled the Olympic 400 as Richards took the lead with Great Britain’s Christine Ohuruogu closing the gap in the final 100 meters. Unlike Beijing, Richards held on to win in 50.41 to Ohuruogu’s 50.83.

Ethiopian Meseret Defar won both the 5000 and 3000 in battles with Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot. Defar won the 5000 in 14:53.82 to Cheruiyot’s 14:54.60 on day one. The following day Defar pulled away in the final 250 meters to win the 3000 in 8:43.60. It was Defar’s fifth consecutive victory in the WAF 3000 meters.

Pamela Jelimo, the seemingly unbeatable 18-year-old Kenyan won the 800 in a WAF record time of 1:56.23. Jelimo has won 14 consecutive races, including the Olympic 800-meter event. Olympic champion Gulnara Galkina of Russia won the steeplechase in a WAF record time of 9:21.73. Yet another Olympic champion, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser, won the 100 in 10.94, ahead of countrywoman Kerron Stewart in second and American Marshevet Hooker in third, both timed at 11.06. Maryam Jamal of Bahrain won the 1500 in 4:06.59.

Spain’s Josephine Onyia won a tight 100-meter hurdles race in 12.54, edging American Lolo Jones and Jamaica’s Delloreen Ennis-London, both timed in 12.56. Jamaica’s Melaine Walker won the 400-meter hurdles convincingly, in 54.06.

Croatia’s Blanka Vlasic tied the WAF record while winning the high jump in 2.01 meters (6 feet, 7.1 inches). Naide Gomes of Portugal won the long jump with a best effort measuring 6.71 (22-0.2). Russia’s Anna Pyatykh won the triple jump with a third-round leap of 14.78 (48-5.9). Fellow Russian Tatyana Lebedeva finished second in both the long and triple jumps. Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva withdrew from the pole vault competition due to a stomach ailment, opening the door for Germany’s Silke Spiegelburg to win the event in a jump-off with Russian Svetlana Feovanova. Both vaulters cleared 4.70 (15-5).

Valerie Vili of New Zealand won the shot put with a first-round effort of 19.69 (64.7.2), although all three of her attempts were better than second place Nadine Kleinert of Germany. Cuba’s Yarelis Barrios had the top three throws and won the discus with a leading toss of 64.88 (212-10.3). Cuba’s Yipsi Moreno won the hammer throw at 74.09 (243-0.9).

In men’s running events, Paul Kipsiele Koech led a Kenyan sweep in the steeplechase, winning in 8:05.35, ahead of Ezekiel Kemboi and Richard Mateelong. Usain Bolt did not compete in Stuttgart but fellow Jamaican Asafa Powell maintained his country’s sprint dominance by winning the 100 in 9.87. Stephane Buckland of Mauritius won the 200 in 20.57. American Bernard Lagat pulled away from the pack in the final 250 meters to win the 3000 in 8:02.97. Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya won a slow 800 in 1:49.05. Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop edged countryman Haron Keitany by .01 seconds in an exciting 1500 race, winning in 3:37.92. Another Kenyan, Edwin Soi, finished strong to win the 5000 in 13:22.81.

American David Oliver won the 110 hurdles in13.22. Olympic silver medalist Kerron Clement of the U.S. came from behind after the final hurdle to edge Danny McFarlane in the 400 hurdles, winning in 48.96, just .04 seconds ahead of the Jamaican.

In the jumps, Americans finished one-two in the pole vault with Derek Miles leaping 5.8 meters (19-0.3) to defeat Brad Walker. Olympic champion Andrey Silnov of Russia won the high jump in 2.35 (7-8.5), edging 2004 Olympic champ Stefan Holm of Sweden, in the 32-year-old Holm’s final international competition. Portugal’s Nelson Evora, another Beijing gold medalist, jumped more than 17 meters three times and won the triple jump competition with a second- round best of 17.24 (56-6.7). Fabrice Lapierre of Australia won the long jump with a third-round effort of 8.14 (26-8.5).

In throwing competition, Latvia’s Vadims Vasilevski threw a season’s best 86.65 (284-3.4) to upset Olympic javelin champ Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway and 2007 World champ Tero Pitkamaki of Finland. Olympic gold medalist Gerd Kanter of Estonia won the discus throw with a toss of 68.38 (224-4.1). Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski of Poland won the shot put with a third-round effort measuring 20.88 (68-6.0). Olympic silver medalist Christian Cantwell of the U.S. held the early lead with a first-round toss of 20.73 (68-0.1) but had to settle for second place. Slovenia’s Primoz Kozmus won the hammer throw with a final-round effort of 79.99 (262-5.2).

Less than one month after his Olympic triumph, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt might have run the best race of his life.

It won’t go into the record books, but Bolt’s 100-meter victory in 9.77 seconds at the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme, held in Brussels on Sept. 5, was at least as impressive as his world record 9.69-second run in Beijing. That’s because Bolt’s 9.77 was run into a headwind measuring 1.3 meters per second. There is no record of anyone posting anywhere near that time while running into a similar headwind.

Bolt accomplished his feat despite having the slowest start of anyone in the nine-man field. Indeed, his countryman, Asafa Powell, led for most of the race before the hard-charging Bolt reeled him in. Powell finished second with an impressive 9.83 clocking.

American Tyson Gay pulled out of the event one day earlier, stating that he was not fully recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and did not want to risk further injury in the cold conditions forecast for race day.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s Pamela Jelimo made the biggest splash - financially, at least - in Brussels when her victory in the 800 meters secured her the $1 million AAF Golden League Jackpot outright. Jelimo earned the prize by winning the 800 at all six Golden League events this year. Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic won the first five events and would’ve earned half of the jackpot by winning in Brussels, but she was edged by Germany’s Ariane Friedrich.

The Golden League Jackpot was open to competitors in the following disciplines in 2008: The men’s 100, 400, 1500, 400 hurdles, long jump and javelin throw, plus the women’s 200, 800, 100 hurdles and high jump.

Jelimo was a virtual unknown at the start of 2008. The 18-year-old first appeared on the international radar screen by winning the African 800-meter championship in May.

Jelimo began the Golden League season in June with a victory at Berlin, in what was apparently just her fifth 800-meter competition, running a then-personal best 1:54.99. She followed with victories in Oslo (1:55.41), Rome (1:55.69), Paris (1:54.97), Zurich (1:54.01) and Brussels. She also won the Olympic gold medal in Beijing (1:54.87), which is not a part of the Golden League tour.

Jelimo currently holds the African and the world junior records at 800 meters. With a current personal best of 1:54.01, it seems only a matter of time before Jelimo breaks Jarmila Kratochvilova’s world record of 1:53.28, set in 1983.