By Kevin Fylan

STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Asafa Powell had to recover from another poor 100 metres start to extend his winning run at the World Athletics Final on Saturday.

Powell was slow out of the blocks, just as he had been in Brussels two weeks ago, and had to work harder than expected to clinch victory in a championship record 9.89 seconds, ahead of the Americans Leonard Scott and Tyson Gay.

It was a 12th legal sub-10 seconds 100 metres of the season for the Jamaican, who had been eyeing a $100,000 bonus for breaking his own world record of 9.77 seconds, a mark he has equalled twice this year.

Still unbeaten in 2006, he had to settle for the $30,000 for first place, part of a prize pot of $3 million at the two-day meeting.

"I just felt dead in the first half of the race," Powell said.

America's Jeremy Wariner likewise maintained his dominance in the 400 metres, while world record holder Xiang Liu was roared on by a large Chinese contingent in the crowd at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion as he won the 110 hurdles in 12.93 seconds.

Lashinda Demus blew away the field in the women's 400 hurdles to win in 53.42 ahead of fellow American Tiffany Ross-Williams.

Allyson Felix outpaced Sanya Richards in another American one-two in the women's 200. Jamaican Sherone Simpson, who will be among the favourites for the 100 on Sunday, had to settle for third place.

SLOW START

The crowd had come hoping to see a world record from another Jamaican but Powell was unsettled by a long delay following a false start.

"I just stayed in my blocks a little too long," the 23-year-old said. "But I told myself I could run as fast as any of these guys and I picked up my stride to come through in the end."

Wariner, who like Powell and Richards won $250,000 for completing a perfect Golden League season in Berlin last weekend, had to give everything to hold off Gary Kikaya of Congo and the American LaShawn Merritt and win in 44.02.

"That was a great way to finish my season," said the world and Olympic champion. "Those guys have been on my hips all season and today they dug in and ran really well."

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi won a tactical men's 800 race in 1:46.99. The South African broke from deep with 60 metres to go and held off the fast finishing Dutchman Bram Som, who was second in 1:47.10.

The women's 5,000 metres was another slow race but it brought a fantastic finish.

World champion Tirunesh Dibaba came in a hair's breadth ahead of Olympic gold medallist Meseret Defar, as the two Ethiopians brought the crowd to their feet with a sprint down the home straight.

Dibaba finished in 16:04.77, a hundredth of a second ahead of Defar, to take a small measure of revenge for the defeat she suffered to her great rival in a similar finish in Berlin last weekend, a result that cost her $125,000 of jackpot money.

With world record holder Tatyana Lysenko not competing, Germany's Betty Heidler delighted the crowd by winning the women's hammer with her second throw of 75.44 metres, a championship record.

"I'll buy some property with the prize money," Heidler said. "If I win next year, I'll buy the place next door."