Eugene, Oregon, July 17 (BUS): Fred Curley led a clean American attack in the 100m final, his first since 1991, to send home fans home and give the sport’s dominant nation a night to remember as they host the world. Championships for the first time.
Curley timed him perfectly back to 9.86 seconds with Marvin Brassey taking the silver and Trayvon Brommel the bronze, both with a time of 9.88 seconds, but Brassey outperforming them by two thousand seconds.
The fourth American in the final, defending champion Christian Coleman, was sixth, Reuters reported.
Carl Lewis led clean sweep campaigns in 1983 and 1991 but no state has run them since.
There was nothing between the medalists once they were on their way, and with Brommel out in the eighth lane and the other two side by side in three and four, it was impossible to call him.
As each name, along with stars and stripes, appeared on the giant screen, the host audience increased the volume of their cheers, welcoming the 1-2-3 match confirmation by chanting “USA”.
It would have been even more impressive had the 12,500-capacity stadium filled anywhere on what should have been the biggest night of the tournament. The empty seats will be a huge disappointment for the organizers and world athletics.
Curley, of course, wasn’t worried about that. “I said we were going to do it and we did – USA, baby,” he said in a trackside interview.
Olympic silver medalist Curley was a figure runner in the field. He set a best time of the year and a personal best of 9.76 on the same track as Eugene when he won the US Trials last month, and Friday’s 9.79 was the fastest world championship time ever.
He is one of only three men, along with South African Wade van Niekerk and fellow American Michael Norman, to break 10 seconds in the 100 metres, 20 seconds in the 200 metres, and 44 seconds in the 400 metres.
The 27-year-old is the only man to win a medal in both the 100m and 400m after finishing third on a single lap in 2019.
For Brommel, the second-fastest player in the world this year, the bronze was a kind of solace after the Tokyo Olympics, as he failed to reach the final after entering the Games as the favourite.
Jamaica’s Oblek Sevilla, the fastest in the semi-final qualifiers, finished fourth with a time of 9.97, while Italian Olympic champion Lamont Jacobs withdrew before the semi-finals due to injury.