TRACK AND FIELD : Knight Enjoys Quite a Day in Hurdles at Jenner Meet

Derek Knight, a late substitute who flew to the meet hours before competing, upset a strong field to win the 110-meter hurdles Saturday at the Bruce Jenner Classic track and field meet.

Michael Johnson won the 200 in the year’s best time, but Jackie Joyner-Kersee was beaten in the women’s 100 hurdles at the meet, a Grand Prix event that nearly was canceled because of a lack of sponsorship.

The event was saved when the marketing arm of the International Amateur Athletic Federation assumed sponsorship and gave the meet $150,000 to spend--a fraction of the budget for most Grand Prix meets worldwide.

Knight won the hurdles in 13.42 seconds, barely holding off two-time decathlon world champion Dan O’Brien. Knight, whose personal best before this year was 13.71, ran a 13.41 last weekend at the Oregon Classic in Portland.

“I was blessed to get a lane. I think I was really lucky today to win,” said Knight, who found out Monday he would be competing in the Jenner meet and flew to San Jose from Los Angeles on Saturday morning.

O’Brien set his personal best by finishing second in 13.47. His previous best was 13.81. O’Brien later placed fourth in the long jump.

Knight shocked a strong field that included top-ranked American Mark Crear, two-time Olympic champion Roger Kingdom, Courtney Hawkins and 1992 Olympic silver medalist Tony Dees.

Kingdom, who won the hurdles in a wind-assisted time of 13.18 last weekend at the New York Games, finished third in 13.48. Dees was fourth in 13.46, Hawkins sixth in 13.78 and Crear seventh in 13.91.

Johnson won the 200 in a wind-aided 19.99, the fastest time in the world this year under any conditions. Johnson, whose last loss in the 200 came last July, pulled away from the field in the final 50 meters.

Joyner-Kersee was third in the 100 hurdles in 13.30. Doris Williams won in 13.02 and Jackie Humphrey was second in 13.07.