Constant rain during the day and early into the meet cleared up to provide still conditions for the 2011 Sydney Track Classic, held at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre on Saturday evening.

Mitchell Watt, World championships bronze medallist, who missed most of 2010 with an injury, leapt a great early season best of 8.38m.

“That is further than I jumped in Berlin for my bronze,” he said. But he didn’t have the ideal start opening the competition with three fouls.

“When I get a crowd like this, the adrenalin gets pumping which made me run a bit faster,” said Watt.

After three fouls, he leapt 8.08m in the fourth round, then a fouled another in the fifth, before producing the big one on his final attempt.

“That really takes the pressure off and hopefully I can go even further in Perth in a couple of weeks.

“My number one goal was to get the A (for the World Championships) before nationals and I didn’t know how I was going to go as I’d been out for so long.”

Men’s 800m with record holder David Rudisha and Olympic 1500m champ Asbel Kiprop, helped a domestic field of developing half-milers from Sydney.

Rudisha was a comfortable winner in 1:44.80, with Beijing Olympian, Lachlan Renshaw, sprinted to the line in 1:46.08. In third was former 400 metre athlete, James Gurr, who just missed his recent personal best clocking 1:46.62 in Sydney.

Hills university student, James Kaan, set a second personal best in two weeks, clocking 1:46.74, just ahead of Asbel Kiprop who won gold over 1500m in the Beijing Olympics.

“I don’t know if I left my run too late, usually I go at about 250m,” said Kaan. “I beat Kiprop, an Olympic champion and I got one back on him for beating me in Melbourne. “

Olympic hurdles silver medallist, Sally Pearson, concentrating on sprints this season, claimed her fourth consecutive sprint double on the 2011 Australian Athletics Tour, after previous wins in Brisbane, Hobart and Melbourne.

In both sprints, she defeated 11.02 American sprinter Miki Barber, with the Australian clocking times of 11.21 and 23.12. The 100m was a meet record, lowering Melinda Gainsford-Taylor’s 1998 winning time of 11.31.

Not surprisingly, Gainsford-Taylor, who was commentating at the meet for local television, rated it the best track performance of the night.

"I'm exhausted, but the 100m I'm so happy with, as I didn't really prepare for it. I've been doing a bit of endurance and also training for the relay. The 200m wasn't as good, the first 100m was a bit slow but I'm not too disappointed because my 100m was so good."

One of the night’s leading performances was by New Zealand’s Valerie Adams, who putted 20.55m.

“Didier Poppe said he wanted me to throw 20.50, before I go back (to Europe) in a couple of weeks,” referring to her Switzerland- based coach.

“You don’t know how happy I am with that.”

The wet conditions didn’t suit World discus champion, Dani Samuels, who threw a best of 58.34m.

“I was quite disappointed actually, I threw a few decent ones out there and I felt good, but it just didn’t really happen,” she said.

“The rain made it a bit slippery and it wasn’t as good as Melbourne.

“I go to Perth now and then on to the European season on the way to the World Championships.”

Two-time Olympic 400m hurdles champion Angelo Taylor swept the 200m and 400m and was a fan favourite on the night.

Taylor began with a convincing 200m win over rising Australian star Nicholas Hough, 17, in a time of 20.71. Hough, who is the Youth Olympic gold medallist in the 110m hurdles, became Australia’s fastest 200m performer this season with his run of 21.03.

“I had a blinder of a straight,” the Sydney athlete said. Hough seemed very comfortable racing in this elite company.

“I thought it might be a little intimidating, but I wasn’t.”

It was also the second occasion on the Australian Athletics Tour he was the first Aussie across the line in the 200m.

“It has been a bit of a surprise, I went into these meets, just for the experience,” he said.

“The 200m tonight felt good and I would never have expected that a few weeks ago.”

In the 400m, the American returned only 60 minutes later to produce another strong finish to power home over a promising local contingent of Ben Offereins and 17-year-old Steven Solomon.

Feeling the effects of his previous race Taylor took a steady approach to the first 200m before unleashing his trademark finish.

“I was a little tired after the 200m, but it was strong finish,” he said.

“My preparations in Australia have been great, the crowd was great and hopefully this will help me later in the year.”

For the second occasion in eight days, the Australian women’s 4x100m relay team of Sally Pearson, Charlotte van Veenendaal, Laura Whaler and Mel Breen, just missed a World Championship’s qualifier of 44.00.

Last week the team clocked 44.05 and 44.02 tonight.

‘We’re so so disappointed to miss out by such a close margin. We’ve trained all week to get the qualifier and to miss out is so disappointing,” said the team anchor, Breen.

In the men’s 5000m race walk Beijing Olympic silver and bronze medal winner Jared Tallent overcame a slow start to take victory in 19:01.00.

Three-time Commonwealth Games silver medallist Luke Adams opened up an early break, but with half the distance to go Tallent picked up the pace and eventually drew clear. Having just returned to Australia, Tallent was reasonably pleased with the race.

“I’ve just got back from Mexico this week and was feeling really flat and didn’t train much so I wasn’t sure how I would go. The pace wasn’t that quick, so Luke (Adams) going out in front wasn’t much of a concern.”

Both Tallent and Adams will head to China to continue their campaigns towards to the World Championships in South Korea. In the women’s race, Tallent’s wife Claire took victory in 22:09.11.

A surprise performance on the evening was recorded by Commonwealth games silver medallist, Kimberley Mickle, who competing in the javelin throw, added 33cm to her personal best with a sixth round throw of 63.82 metres. She defeated Sydney’s Laura Cornford, who threw 57.74 metres, to also raise her personal best.

David Tarbotton and Lloyd Green for the AOC