Worlds 2022 Eugene: Fred Kerley new world champion in the 100m in 9.86, historic American triple

He had gone the fastest this season. It will not have surprised anyone that it is so again, Saturday in Eugene. Fred Kerley is the new boss of the world sprint. The Texan won the 100 meters of the World Championships in 9”86, with almost zero wind (-0.1m/s), and just ahead of two of his three compatriots who shared the poster for the final with him, Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell. The two men, flashed in 9”88, were separated by two tiny thousandths of a second. The United States sign an exceptional hat-trick. They alone had already achieved this feat in the 100m, in 1983 and 1991.

In 1983, on the occasion of the first World Championships in history disputed in Helsinki, Carl Lewis had beaten Calvin Smith and Emmit King. Eight years later, King Carl once again led a trio of 100% Star-Spangled Banner medalists. It was in Tokyo and Lewis won in 9”86 (like Kerley), ahead of Leroy Burrell in 9”88 (like Bracy and Bromell) and Dennis Mitchell.

Started extremely strong, while Christian Coleman (6th in the end) had signed a supersonic reaction time (0″104) and the three medalists had left the blocks barely less quickly, this final was played with a knife, with a Fred Kerley, who jumped all these little people in the last meters, arms outstretched when crossing the line, the one who had to “settle” for the money in Tokyo, behind the improbable Jacobs (note: the Italian withdrew before the semi-finals), went after his dream.

“We announced it and we did it, USA baby!”, he launched into the microphone, to the attention of the spectators of Hayward Field. Descended from the 400 meters to try to conquer the straight line, Fred Kerley is a sprinter of a new kind. At 27, he is also and above all the new king of planetary sprinting.