The American men swept the medals in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships on Saturday night. Fred Curley was the Olympic gold medalist, Marvin Bracey who was off the hook. Kerley’s time was 9.86 seconds and Bracey’s time was 9.88 seconds. The Bronze Medalist was Trayvon Bromell in 9.88 seconds (judges went to milliseconds to decide second and third; Bracy scored 9.874 to 9.876 for Bromell). Three gold medals were awarded in Saturday’s evening session, and the Americans took two of them: Chase Ealy won the women’s shot put just before the 100. A 27-year-old Texan, a few years ago it looked like Kerley’s glory would come in the 400 meters — he was the NCAA indoor and outdoor champion in the distance in 2017 as well as a World bronze medalist in 2019. But by the Tokyo Olympics, he had fallen to 200 and 100 meter races. Others thought it was crazy, but Curley knew what he was doing: After a silver medal in the 100 in Tokyo, he sprinted to a 9.76 at the U.S. championships last month that makes him one of the eight fastest men in history, and now it has world gold. Bracy, a 28-year-old from Florida, burst onto the world stage in 2014 when he won silver at the World Indoor Championships in the 60m. But although he made the U.S. team for the 2016 Olympics, international success eluded him for years. Bracey won bronze in the 60m at this year’s Indoor Worlds and then put together three great laps in the 100m, going fastest in each. Brommel, 27, also from Florida, bounced back from a highly disappointing performance last year at the Olympics: he came to Tokyo as the fastest man in the world but didn’t even make the final. A World 100m bronze medalist in 2015, Brommel ruptured his Achilles running the 4x100m relay at the 2016 Games and it took years and several surgeries before he could return to full health and speed. It was the third time in world history that a country swept the men’s 100 — the United States also won all three medals at the 1991 and 1983 World Championships. The story continues The USA had four men in the finals as 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman also made it. But Coleman, who had to serve an 18-month ban for repeatedly missing scheduled drug tests, got off to a good start but couldn’t sustain it and his form seemed to collapse in the last 15 meters or so. He finished sixth in 10.01 seconds. After a streak that saw Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake win the event from 2009-2015, an American has now won Worlds gold three times in a row, with Justin Gatlin winning in 2017, Coleman in 2019 and now Kerley. Italy’s Marcel Jacobs, the surprise gold medalist in the event at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, withdrew from the semifinals and did not compete. He looked stiff and like he worked Friday night in the qualifying round. Jacobs has been dealing with an injury this season. Ealey won the women’s shot put in spectacular fashion: she hit the first shot of the first round of the finals and let everyone know, throwing 20.49 meters (67 feet, 2.75 inches), just two centimeters short of her lifetime best . This throw lasted six rounds and made him a World Champion. Ealey is the first American to win gold at Worlds in the event. China’s Gong Lijiao, the two-time defending World Champion who has had a quiet season, got better with each round but was unable to overtake Ealey. won the silver medal at 20.39 meters. Jessica Schilder from the Netherlands took the bronze (19.77m). Ealey, 27, has been consistently outstanding this season – she won silver at the World Indoor Championships in March and won every outdoor event she entered, including a lifetime best of 20.51m at the US championships last month. The third gold of the session was in the men’s long jump, won by China’s Wang Jianan (8.36 meters or 27 feet, 5.1 inches). In Saturday’s afternoon session, Poland’s Pawel Fajdek won the men’s hammer throw (81.98 meters or 268 feet, 11.5 inches) and Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey won the women’s 10,000 meters in 30:09.94. Sunday’s finals include the men’s marathon, men’s 10,000m, women’s hammer throw, women’s pole vault, men’s shot put, men’s 110m hurdles and women’s 100m.
