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 Gateshead yesterday.

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

Wallace Spearmon 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".

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 4x100 relay.

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

American Williams, who finished fourth in the 100 metres behind three Jamaicans and was then involved in the mix-up that led to the U.S. dropping the baton in the 4x100 relay heats, completed a 100/200 double in north-east England.

In the 100 she gained some personal satisfaction by beating Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser in 11.23 seconds.

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