EUGENE, July 17 — In-form Fred Kerley led a quartet of US sprinters into the final of the men’s 100m at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday.
Kerley, who ran a sensational heat-winning 9.79 seconds in round 1 on Friday, came through his semi-final with ease in a more sedate 10.02sec.
Second was teammate and defending champion Christian Coleman, who missed last year’s Tokyo Olympics after missing three doping tests.
Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse, also a two-time 100m bronze medallist, failed to advance from Kerley’s heat after finishing in 10.21.
A third American, Trayvon Brommell, was second in a photo-finish with South African Akani Simibine (9.97sec) in the first of the three heats.
And the fourth, Marvin Bracey, trailed in second in the final heat won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville in 9.90sec.
With just two sprinters automatically qualifying from each semi-final for the final scheduled for 0250 GMT, the two other fastest qualifiers were Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown and Canada’s Aaron Brown. — AFP