Miller, McLeod among Olympic champs to win at Millrose

NEW YORK: Rio Olympic champions Shaunae Miller of Bahamas, Omar McLeod of Jamaica, Derek Drouin of Canada and Katerine Stefanidi of Greece won titles Saturday at the 110th Millrose Games indoor athletics meet.

Miller, who dove across the line to edge American Allyson Felix for 400-meter gold last year in Rio, won the 300m in 35.71 seconds, matching the sixth-best time at the distance to beat American Ashley Spencer by .56 of a second.

“This is an amazing feeling,” Miller said. “It’s a nice start to 2017, a good win. I’m looking forward to it.”

McLeod, the reigning Olympic 110 hurdles champion and world indoor 60 hurdles king, took the 60 hurdles in 7.46 with American Aleec Harris second in 7.56.

“It was a good run. Technically it wasn’t a great race. But it shows I’m still around,” McLeod said. “Pressure is there but I’m looking forward to it.”

Stefanidi defended her Millrose women’s pole vault crown by clearing 4.82m with American Sandi Morris second at 4.72 in a rematch of their Rio Olympic duel also won by the Greek star.

Reigning world and Olympic high jump champion Drouin, who won in Rio despite stress fractures in his back, cleared 2.27 on his first attempt to edge compatriot Mike Mason for the victory on fewer misses.

American Dezerea Bryant won the women’s 60m in 7.12, the fastest time in the world this year, with compatriot Morolake Akinosun second by .05 and China’s Wei Yongli third in 7.26.

Reigning world and Olympic long jump champion Tianna Bartoletta, a member of the US Rio gold 4x100 relay, was sixth in 7.30.

Ajee Wilson, last year’s world indoor 800 runner-up, won the Millrose 800 in 1:58.27, the year’s best time and an American record, breaking the 15-year-old US mark of 1:58.71 by Nicole Teter.

Also setting an American record was Courtney Okolo in winning the 500m in 1:07.34.

Unheralded Clayton Vaughn edged 2010 world indoor runner-up Mike Rodgers by .003 of a second to win the 60 in 6.611 from lane seven. Dutch standout Sifan Hassan, the world indoor 1,500 champion, won the women’s mile in a meet record 4:19.89.

Canada added two more titles with Kate Van Buskirk taking the women’s 3,000 in 8:52.08 and Phylicia George winning the women’s 60 hurdles in 7.98. Other US winners were Vernon Norwood in the men’s 500 in 1:00.11, Brannon Kidder in the men’s 1,000 in 2:19.92, Eric Jenkins in the men’s mile in 3:53.23 and Ben True in the men’s two mile in 8:11.33.