MANCHESTER, England — NCAA decathlon champion Claston Bernard of LSU, led almost from start to finish in capturing the decathlon title of the 2002 Commonwealth Games being held in England this week.
Bernard, representing Jamaica, scored 7,830 points to win the two-day competition, outdistancing Matt Mcewen of Australia with 7,685 points. Jamie Quarry of Scotland was third at 7,630.
The only time Bernard trailed was in the first two events when Georgios Andreou of Cypress out timed him in the 100 meters (10.86 to 10.92) and Bernard took seventh place in the long jump.
Bernard won the shot put, the high jump and stood some 270 points ahead of Quarry of Scotland after the first day.
On the second day of competition, Bernard opened with the best time in the two heats of the 110-meter hurdles and was never threatened through the final four events to post the win.
LSU’s Alleyne Francique, representing Grenada, won both his semifinal heats in the 400 meters, before finishing fifth in the final in a time of 45.47 seconds. Michael Blackwood of Jamaica was the winner at 45.07 seconds. Pete Coley of LSU and Jamaica was second in his preliminary heat but did not advance past the second round.