American Allyson Felix takes Olympic gold at 200 meters; Merrit led a 1-2 U.S. finish in 110-meter hurdles

Shown here in an earlier race, United States' Allyson Felix, center, today won the gold in the women's 200-meter race at the London Olympics.

LONDON — No more heartbreak for Allyson Felix. No more silver, either.

She finally did it.

Denied twice on the world's biggest stage, Felix won the Olympic gold medal she's been yearning for, taking the 200 meters Wednesday night to fill in the last, and biggest, hole in her otherwise stellar resume.

Felix won the race in 21.88 seconds, topping Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won the 100 four nights earlier, by .21 seconds. American Carmelita Jeter added bronze to go with her silver in the 100 meters.

One more spot back was Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, who defeated Felix in the Athens and Beijing Games and was trying to become the first woman to win the same individual track and field event in three consecutive Olympics.

Meanwhile, Aries Merritt led a 1-2 finish for the United States in the Olympic 110-meter hurdles, winning in 12.92 seconds Wednesday night. Defending champion Dayron Robles of Cuba pulled up midway through and clutched his right hamstring.

Jason Richardson, the world champion, was second in 13.04. Hansle Parchment of Jamaica took the bronze in 13.12.

Robles, the world-record holder, began limping early and came to a stop after clearing the sixth hurdle, then shoved another barrier down to the track.

The 2004 Olympic champion, Liu Xiang of China, got injured in the first round of qualifying and stopped before reaching the first hurdle.