TOKYO: Two new 100m world champions were crowned on Sunday night as Jamaica’s Oblique Seville led a double podium finish that rewrote men’s sprint history while Melissa Jefferson-Wooden of the US ran a championship record — all that happening as Usain Bolt watched from the stands of a sold-out Japan National Stadium.
The 21-year-old Seville crossed the finish line in a 9.77 personal best ahead of Thompson in 9.82 and the USA’s reigning champion Noah Lyles, who won bronze with a season’s best 9.89.
“It was a good run because these two actually pushed me to run a personal best,” Seville, the youngest 100m champion, said at the post-race press conference. He became the third Jamaican sprinter to win this title.
“To come out here and run a 9.77 is something amazing, and in Japan is where I made my debut; to get a medal is something great for me.”
Jefferson-Wooden came in as the world lead and left Tokyo with a gold medal, proving her superiority to round off a season unbeaten. Tina Clayton continued Jamaica’s podium finish just minutes earlier when she blasted a 10.76 personal best while Olympic champion Julien Alfred took bronze with 10.84.
“This year has been nothing short of a dream. I’ve been working so hard for this moment to come out here and focus on my execution,” 24-year-old Jefferson-Wooden said. “To put on the perfect race at the perfect time, I’m just so happy and grateful.”
For Clayton, a medal wasn’t even a goal coming into her first senior championships.
“The goal was to execute,” Clayton told the press conference with a shyness poles apart from the confidence that won her a medal an hour earlier. “Silver was not in my thoughts, but God did so, and I’m grateful.”
The American women led the country’s gold medal rush as Olympic Champions Tara Davis-Woodhall and Valarie Allman were crowned world champions for the first time in the long jump and discus throw, respectively.
The men’s 10,000m also saw a rewriting of the script with two European medalists in a sport long dominated by the Ethiopians and Ugandan Joshua Cheptegi. France’s Jimmy Gressier eclipsed Ethiopia’s Yomif Keljecha in the last 10 metres to win gold, with Sweden’s Andreas Almgren taking bronze.
World championship silver medalist Jakob Ingebrigsten suffered a shock exit in the men’s 1500m heats due to an injury.
“I gave it my best today. It just wasn’t enough. I knew this could happen,” the 24-year-old Norwegian said in a post on Instagram soon after. “But giving up isn’t in my nature. I will be back.”
Much like his run at the Paris Olympics, Ingebrigsten could bounce back in the 5,000m — the heats scheduled on his 25th birthday — and win a third world title in the event.
Uruguay won their first medal of the competition and Julia Paternain didn’t even realise it when she crossed the finish line in third.
Earlier in the night in the women’s 100m semi-finals,there was a false start by reigning champion Sha’Carri Richardson. Veteran sprint queen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was a shock entrant into the final after a second place finish in her semis.
Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon cruised into the women’s 1500m final (4:00.34) ahead of countrywoman Dorcus Ewoi in 4:00.65. Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu fell in the first 100m of her semi-final but caught up to the pack in a flash and qualified for the final in 4:01.03.
