Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Lauryn Williams, three sprinters with painful memories of the Beijing Olympics, were back to winning ways with impressive performances at the British Grand Prix in Gateshead on Sunday.

Gay, who failed to make the Olympic 100 meters final after losing form and fitness following a hamstring strain, won the 200 meters in 20.26 seconds.

Wallace Spearmon, disqualified after finishing third behind Usain Bolt in the Olympic 200 final, was second in 20.41.

"Getting the victory means a lot, it's nice to get a win under my belt," Gay told the BBC.

Looking back to his Olympic experience, he said: "It was very frustrating, I was going there to get the gold. It was tough to watch (Bolt), I know I would have given him a better race."

Powell was another to have missed out on an individual medal in Beijing, though he did anchor Jamaica to a world-record breaking gold in the 4x100m relay.

Two years ago he equalled his own previous 100m world record of 9.77 at Gateshead and, on a sodden track in lashing rain on Sunday, his 9.87 victory was almost as impressive.

"Pretty easy, 9.87, I'm very happy," said Powell, who managed only 9.95 for fifth place in Beijing.

"On a personal level I was very disappointed (with the Olympics) I wanted gold or silver in the 100.

"Usain has come on to the scene and is running very well and I'm very happy for him. Next year I'll try not to get any injuries and maybe I'll join him."

American Williams, who finished fourth in the 100m behind three Jamaicans and was then involved in the mix-up that led to the US dropping the baton in the 4x100m relay heats, completed a 100/200 double in north-east England.

In the 100m she gained some personal satisfaction by beating Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser in 11.23 seconds in a race featuring five of the Beijing finalists.

She then won the 200 in 22.65 from Debbie Ferguson of the Bahamas.

"I was maybe looking for a bit of vengeance and I wanted to show the world that whatever happened in the Olympics that I'm still a great athlete," Williams claimed.

Two athletes with no regrets, however, were Kenenisa Bekele and Christine Ohuruogu.

Bekele continued his superb season with a convincing win in the 3,000 meters. The Ethiopian, who won the 10,000m and 5,000m in Beijing and set a year's best time in the 5,000m in Zurich on Friday, looked as fresh as ever to win in seven minutes 31.94 seconds, the fastest in the world this year.

Ohuruogu, Britain's sole athletics gold medalist when she won the 400 meters, finished off Sunday's action by splashing home over the same distance in a tired-looking 51.27 seconds.

"It's pouring down with rain and I'm just so thankful for those who came out to watch," she said.

(Agencies via Shanghai Daily September 2, 2008)