World record holder Tim Montgomery edged out Australian Patrick Johnson to win a hotly contested 100 metres in 10.04 at the Japan Grand Prix in Osaka on Saturday.Running his second race since setting a new world mark of 9.78 last September, Montgomery almost turned his ankle over after 75 metres but hung on, dipping first at the tape to snatch a morale-boosting victory by just 0.01 seconds. ‘‘I went to hit it like I always do but I went over on my left ankle and had to catch myself from falling on him,’’ said the 28-year-old American, who was matched stride for stride by the powerful Johnson. ‘‘That messed up a nine-second race. But it was a big race for me to establish confidence. I knew he was sharp but I’m still trying to find my rhythm.’’Johnson set an Australian record of 9.93, the fastest time in the world this year, in Mito, Japan on Monday and put a positive spin on his narrow defeat in Osaka. ‘‘The best in the world beat me by one hundredth. I lost it on the dip. But the 9.93 is still the tip of the iceberg for me,’’ said the 30-year-old, who did not start running competitively until 1996. (Reuters)
