History-making Fraser-Pryce bags fifth 100m title

AFP

Eugene, July 19 : Jamaica's Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce made history Sunday as she bagged a fifth world 100m title on Sunday, as Team USA claimed four other crowns on offer in Eugene.

Fraser-Pryce, a 35-year-old mother, led from gun to tape in a consummate display of sprinting that belied her age.

The Jamaican, who previously won the blue riband event in 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2019, won in a championship record of 10.67 seconds.

Shericka Jackson took silver in a personal best of 10.73sec, with four-time Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah claiming bronze (10.81).

It was the first time a nation had swept the medals in the women's 100m at the worlds and came just a day after Fred Kerley led a US sweep of the men's 100m.

In a startling day of results for Team USA on home soil, Ryan Crouser led another American clean sweep, this time in the shot put alongside Joe Kovacs and Josh Awotunde.

There were also 1-2 finishes in the women's pole vault thanks to Katie Nageotte and Sandi Morris, and the 110m hurdles as Grant Holloway retained his title ahead of teammate Trey Cunningham.

The morning session saw Uganda's Stephen Cheptegei retain the men's 10,000m, Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola win the men's marathon and American Brook Andersen claimed gold in the women's hammer throw.

Tola makes a decisive kick 8km from the finish line to win gold in the men's marathon.

Tola, who won Olympic 10,000m bronze at the 2016 Rio Games and marathon silver at the 2017 London worlds, clocked a championship record of 2hr 5min 37sec, smashing the previous best of 2:06.54 set by Kenyan Abel Kirui in Berlin in 2009. 

There was an Ethiopian 1-2 with Mosinet Geremew taking silver, as he also did in the 2019 worlds in Doha, in 2:06.45. Belgium's Bashir Abdi took bronze a further 4sec adrift.

Cheptegei, like Tola, was in total control of his race, leading for long periods and holding off all-comers as a large pack went through the bell for the final lap.

The Ugandan world record holder sprinted clear and was never in danger as he finished in 27min 27.43sec, leaving the chasers to battle it out for the minor medals.

Kenya's Stanley Waithaka Mburu claimed silver in 27:27.90, with another Ugandan, Jacob Kiplimo, taking bronze (27:27.97) in an unusually close finish.