He was the favorite and he did not disappoint. At 27, Fred Kerley led an impressive American hat-trick in the 100m at the world athletics championships in Eugene (Oregon), snatching a roar at Hayward field on Saturday.
In the absence of the injured Italian Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, Fred Kerley won in 9 seconds 86 (-0.1 m/s of wind), ahead of Marvin Bracy (9.88) and Trayvon Bromell (9.88), tied to a thousandth of second.
For the first time since 1991, they achieved this hat-trick on the queen distance, succeeding legends Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell. After the Usain Bolt era, this is the third consecutive title over the distance with three different winners for the USA, following the victories of Justin Gatlin in 2017 and Christian Coleman, 6th Saturday, in 2019.
Under the «U-S-A, U-S-A» chanted by the crowd, the United States achieved the “sweep” (sweep, the hat-trick) they dreamed of at home, the first over 100m at the Worlds since 1991 (Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell).
“We announced it and we did it, USA baby!”Kerley immediately reacted to the stadium microphone, before saying he was “proud” of his success, he who previously shone in the 400m, the distance over which he had won bronze at the last Doha Worlds in 2019.
Olympic vice-champion in 2021 in Tokyo, Kerley could not take revenge on the Italian Marcell Jacobs, who gave up on Saturday for the semi-finals, injured in a thigh after a difficult start to the season.
Behind Kerley, who will also line up in the 200m, the little-known Bracy (28) won his first international outdoor medal, he is the indoor specialist (silver in the 60m at the Worlds in 2014, bronze in 2022) .
In tears, Trayvon Bromell won a new world bronze on the straight after 2015 at the age of 27. In the meantime, serious injuries had almost cost him his career.