American sprinter Leroy Burrell matched the best...

American sprinter Leroy Burrell matched the best performance of the year by winning the 100-meter dash in 9.96 seconds at a track and field meet in Sestriere, Italy.

Burrell had been trying for a world record, aided by the high altitude.

Michael Johnson ran the 200 meters in 19.88 seconds, the second-fastest performance in the world this year. Johnson, who missed the world mark of 19.72 set by Italy’s Pietro Mennea in Mexico City in 1979, said a slow start and a bad curve compromised his record chances.