Eugene, United States, July 16 (AFP\/APP):In-form American Fred Kerley fired out a warning shot to rivals for the men’s world 100m crown with a sensational heat-winning 9.79 seconds in round 1 in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday.<\/p>\n
Kerley, who set a world lead of 9.76sec when winning the US trials on the same Hayward Field track o go eighth in the all-time fastest list, had a slick start and cruised through the line without seeming to break sweat.<\/p>\n
If Kerley underlined his status as favourite for the blue riband event, three other Americans won their heats to raise the prospect of a third-ever cleansweep at the world championships.<\/p>\n
Marvin Bracey won his heat in 10.05sec before Trayvon Bromell clocked a rapid 9.89sec, both sprinters basking in the partisan support.<\/p>\n
Then came the turn of defending champion Christian Coleman, who missed the Tokyo Olympics after missing three doping tests.<\/p>\n
Coleman eased up well before the line, clocking 10.08sec ahead of Olympic 200m champion Andre de Grasse of Canada, also a two-time Olympic 100m bronze medallist.<\/p>\n
De Grasse pegged Kerley as a good bet in what he dubbed “a good era for track and field right now”, with the Americans, Jamaicans and others running fast.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to take something fast to win,” the Canadian said.<\/p>\n
“Kerley has no pressure. He’s a 400m runner who dropped down to the 100 and 200, he’s having fun. A lot of us have been doing it for a long time, it’s natural for him.<\/p>\n
“He has that 400m strength as well, that’s helping him get that top-end speed.”<\/p>\n
But De Grasse insisted: “It’s anybody’s race. Everyone’s competitive, you never know who’s going to win.”<\/p>\n
Jamaica will be represented in Saturday’s semi-finals by Oblique Seville, who clocked a heat-winning 9.93sec, and 2011 world champion Yohan Blake.<\/p>\n
– Not at 100% –<\/p>\n
Reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy, a shock winner in Tokyo who has struggled with injury this season, advanced on the coattails of Seville.<\/p>\n
Jacobs admitted he had struggled.<\/p>\n
“I am not at my 100%,” the Italian said.<\/p>\n
“Running 10.04 at half capacity of what I can run, I can say my physical shape is fine. I just need to get my legs ready.”<\/p>\n
Blake finished behind Botswana teenage sensation Letsile Tebogo, whose heat-winning time of 9.94sec was a new under-20 world record.<\/p>\n
Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown won the final heat in 9.98sec ahead of Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who ran 9.77sec last September to go ninth on the all-time list.<\/p>\n
It was a remarkable result for Omanyala, who only just managed to secure a last-minute visa to travel to the United States and took to the track only hours after touching down on US soil.<\/p>\n
“It looks like everybody is talking about me, but I hope it is for a good reason,” Omanyala said. “It’s a motivating thing that you can attract so much attention like that.<\/p>\n
“I just want to focus on the race and not the other things around. The main thing was get to the semifinals. I’m glad I did.”<\/p>\n
Omanyala added: “My body feels heavy now. But even if I did not make it from the heats, the journey would be worth coming here. I really feel I have something to offer.”<\/p>\n
De Grasse sympathised with the Kenyan’s late arrival, but added that battling with jetlag was part and parcel of the elite one-day circuit.<\/p>\n
“It’s very tough,” he said of Omanyala’s last-gasp show.<\/p>\n
“I do it all the time for Diamond League. That’s part of the sport. And for championships you usually come five, six days before so you’re fresh.”
\nSaturday sees the semi-finals scheduled for 0100 GMT, with the final to be run at 0250 GMT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eugene, United States, July 16 (AFP\/APP):In-form American Fred Kerley fired out a warning shot to rivals for the men’s world 100m crown with a sensational heat-winning 9.79 seconds in round 1 in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday. Kerley, who set a world lead of 9.76sec when […]<\/p>\n
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