Cantwell wins shot put, hurdler Johnson makes U.S. team

BOSTON (Reuters) - Christian Cantwell won a tension-packed shot put showdown and 36-year-old Allen Johnson made the U.S. world indoors championship team with a second-place hurdles finish at the American championships on Sunday.

Cantwell, the 2004 world indoor gold medalist, surprised world outdoor champions Reese Hoffa and Adam Nelson with a first-round throw of 21.51 meters in the clash of the world's top-three shot putters.

Hoffa claimed second at 21.40m and Nelson was a shock third at 21.25m to miss selection for the March 7-9 IAAF world indoor championships in Valencia, Spain. Only the first two qualified.

Nelson's setback came nine days after he unleashed the third-longest put of all-time at 22.40m. Cantwell ranked second on the year's top-performer list behind Nelson at 22.18m with Hoffa third.

Johnson, who will be 37 on Saturday, booked his place with a 7.53-second finish behind David Oliver in the 60m hurdles. Oliver ran 7.47 seconds, the fastest by an American this year.

Johnson, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist and a seven-time world indoor and outdoor champion, had the slowest qualifying time of the eight hurdles finalists. But he edged Joel Brown by one-hundredth of a second in the final for the trip to Valencia.

SCOTT INJURED

World 60m champion Leonard Scott missed out on selection after he pulled his right hamstring midway through his preliminary and did not finish the race. Michael Rodgers won the final in 6.54 seconds.

Two-time world indoor silver medalist Angela Williams dominated the women's 60m, winning in 7.11 seconds to runner-up Alexis Joyce's 7.21 seconds. World 100m bronze medalist Carmelita Jeter was three-thousandths of a second behind Joyce.