TYSON Gay put down a marker for Usain Bolt with the fastest time of the year in the final of the 100m at Crystal Palace in testing weather conditions.

Torrential downpours heralded the start of the first day of the Aviva London Grand Prix athletics event and some tired British athletes dampened expectations after their European Championships heroics.

But Gay was supreme. Recording a time of 9.78 seconds in chilly conditions and a slight head wind.

The only one of the sub 9.9 seconds triumverate vying to be the world's fastest man, with both world record holder Bolt and Asafa Powell injured, to compete in the Diamond League event, which was set up in the hope it would encourage more head-to-heads among the world's best.

Still Gay looked a class act. He had Jamaican Yohan Blake, with a personal best of 9.89 seconds, to push him and five other runners who have been under 10 seconds in the final.

There were a few worrying grabs at his troubled hamstring after the race, but he has proved himself the fastest man of the year and someone who genuinely challenge Bolt's dominance over the sprint.

He qualified in first from his heat with a time of 10.02 with the American starting carefully in the wet and easing up over the last 10 metres.

European bronze medallist Mark Lewis-Francis and Christian Malcolm, inches away from gold in Barcelona in the 200m, both went out in the 100m heats.

The night also saw one track record with Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep clocking 12.52 in the 110m women's hurdles, the best time in the world this year and the third fastest of all time.

Phillips Idowu tested himself in the triple jump against France's Teddy Tamgho, who has the third longest jump in history at 17.98m.

The World and European gold medallist was well below his best, though, finishing way down the feild with a best of 16.54. It was former Olympic champion Christian Olsson from Sweden with a season's best 17.41.

Mo Farah, given a rapturous reception from the sold-out Crystal Palace crowd for his double gold in Barcelona, was beaten into second place by 35-year-old American Bernard Lagat in a fast and fiercely-fought 3000m.

Herne Hill Harrier and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Jade Johnson was way off her personal best in the long jump, one of the evening's first events and severely hampered by the rain.

The Russian Darya Klishina, who has jumped over 7m this season, was first with a best jump of 6.65m.

World champion and recent European gold medallist Blanka Vasic breezed past strong field in the women's high jump.

She went out of reach of all the other competitors without a failure to her name and finished with a height of 2.01m.

British gold and silver medallists at the Europeans David Greene and Rhys Williams came up short against the world number one Bershawn Jackson in the 400m hurdles.

Jackson fought off Javier Culson of Puerto Rico with the pair way out in front of Greene, who battled hard to claim third.

Run out of the medals in Barcelona, there was a spirited third place for Lisa Dobriskey in the women's 1500m, with Diamond League leader Kenyan Nancy Lagat first to finish.