This Time She Keeps Running to Victory : Track: Favor-Hamilton does not repeat her mistake of last outing and wins mile. Joyner-Kersee and Privalova dominate the sprints.

Suzy Favor-Hamilton, who two weekends ago was up for the Leon Lett Award after a world-class mistake at the Mobil meet in Fairfax, Va., ran an entire mile at the 35th Sunkist Indoor Track Meet at the Sports Arena on Saturday night.

Before 11,569, Favor-Hamilton pulled away with a lap-and-a-quarter to go and easily won the women’s race in 4 minutes 38.43 seconds.

Women highlighted the meet Saturday.

Heptathlon champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee ran a fast 50-meter hurdles race; Irina Privalova of Russia set a meet record in the 50 sprint, and world 800 champion Maria Mutola barely missed a world indoor mark in the half mile.

In the men’s mile, Marcus O’Sullivan of Ireland passed Marcus Dunbar of Oregon as the final lap began, then withstood a challenge by Lhoussine Siba of Morocco to win in 4:00.31. Siba was was second in 4:01.35.

Two weeks ago, Favor-Hamilton had the Mobil meet race in hand with a lap left when she inexplicably quit running and raised her arms in a victory gesture. It allowed an amazed Hassiba Boulmerka of Algeria, who continued running, to win.

Later, Favor-Hamilton explained she had lost count of the laps.

“In Fairfax, I just couldn’t see the lap counter and tonight I could,” she said.

Favor-Hamilton finished strides ahead of Sarah Thorset of the University of Wisconsin, who was finished in 4:40.1.

“Tonight’s race was a slow pace,” Favor-Hamilton said. “I felt comfortable and very strong throughout. I want fast times like everyone else, but I’m also working on feeling good in a race, being strong and having fun, too.”

Mozambique’s Mutola was thought to have the best chance for a world record in this meet, and she came close.

She won in 2:00.21, just shy of Mary Decker-Slaney’s 1980 record of 1:59.7. Mutola finished nearly eight seconds ahead of Arizona State’s Kim Toney.

Mutola, who lives in Eugene, Ore., was an unbeaten world champion in 1993. This year, she hopes to set the 800-meter world outdoors record outdoors. She also wants to add variety to her running.

“My goal is to do well at 200, 400 and 1,500 meters, in addition to the 800,” she said.

Joyner-Kersee jumped on a strong women’s 50-meter hurdles field and won easily, in 6.87 seconds. Her time was the fourth-fastest by an American. Still, she was not happy.

“I was pleased I won, but I had sort of a pause at the first hurdle, and I should be accelerating through the first three hurdles,” she said.

“I should be transferring what I do on the practice field to the competition, and tonight I didn’t.”

Joyner-Kersee easily outpaced San Yiing Chan of USC (7.03), and Doris Williams (7.08).

The women’s 50-meter dash was a featured event, until Privalova entered late last week and Olympic champion Gail Devers pulled out, demanding more money.

The result: No contest. At least for a night, Privalova was the fastest woman in Los Angeles. She took an instant lead, and flew down the wooden track in 6.08, breaking Devers’ 1993 meet record of 6.10.

Privalova said she would have run faster with Devers pressing her.

“If Gail had been here, we might have had a faster time,” she said. “Two people running together makes for better concentration. It is hard to run alone.”

In the men’s 880, David Kiptoo of Kenya edged Ibrahim Aden of Central Arizona College by 0.01 of a second. Kiptoo’s time was 1:51.25. Kiptoo unaccountably slowed down at the tape, mistakenly believing Aden was a distant second.

In a 50-meter hurdles for decathletes and jacks of other trades, UCLA long jumper Avery Anderson, in a near-blanket finish, beat decathletes Chris Huffins and Dan O’Brien, the world record holder. Anderson finished in a 6.63, O’Brien in 6.66.

Toni Li, a Hong Kong hurdler by way of Washington State, won the men’s 50-hurdle race in 6.50, then said his 1994 outdoor goal is a time of 13.10 in the 110 hurdles.

In the pole vault, Brent Burns, formerly of Cal, cleared 18 feet 8 1/4 inches, and Dean Starkey, formerly of Illinois, went 18-4 1/2. Outdoor and indoor world record holder Randy Barnes won the shotput by nearly five feet, at 66-3 1/4.

The most outstanding high school performer was junior sprinter Bryan Howard of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs, who won the Football 50 meters in 5.69 seconds, the world’s 14th best time. It also shattered the national prep record of 5.80.