Eilidh Child continued to get up to speed for the Commonwealth Games with an encouraging performance in Rome last night.

The Scot recorded a season's best time of 54.82 for a third-place finish in the women's 400m hurdles - a time which was also enough to consolidate her place at the top of the UK rankings. Jamaican athlete Kaliese Spencer, who is the favourite for the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, won in Italy with a time of 53.97. It is the best time posted in the world this year.

Adam Gemili simply recorded his best time of the season as he took third place in the 100 metres in Rome. The British youngster crossed the line in 10.07 seconds, 16 hundredths of a second behind American winner Justin Gatlin. Jamaica's Nesta Carter finished in second place with a time of 10.02, while Britain's Richard Kilty placed last in 10.26secs.

There was disappointment in Rome too for he world and Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as she finished in eighth place in the women's 100m. It was the second time in successive events that she has finished in that position, with Tori Bowie of the United States running winning in 11.05.

The women's 100m hurdles proved to be a much tighter affair, with world champion Brianna Rollins only just getting the better of fellow American Dawn Harper-Nelson - winning the event by just one hundredth of a second.

Rollins - who ran in 12.53 - had appeared comfortable during the initial stages only for her compatriot to make a late surge and force a photo finish. Another American, Queen Harrison, was in pursuit in third.

It seemed a comprehensive success for the States, if not the expected outcome. Rollins' main challenge had been expected to come from Olympic champion Sally Pearson only for the Australian to be forced to pull out of the competition earlier in the day.

Pearson later confirmed that she would have risked injury by running the race and had elected to withdraw as a precaution. "I am not injured but if I ran I either would've torn my hamstring or ran well off my best - either way was not an option for me," she later added on social media.

Kenya's Silas Kiplagat would also leave it late before reeling in world indoor champion Ayanleh Souleiman and take victory in the men's 1500m with a time of 3:30.44. There would be further Kenyan success as Eunice Sum won the women's 800m in 1:59.49.

World 400m champion LaShawn Merritt also breezed to victory in 44.48, while Ethiopian Genzebe Dibaba dominated in the women's 5000m and Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim won the men's high jump with a 2.41m clearance.