USA’s Jordan Anthony lived up to his rising reputation as he earned 60m gold in a world-leading 6.41 at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26 on Friday (20).

The 21-year-old NCAA champion had already marked his opening year as a professional by beating his training partner Noah Lyles, the Olympic 100m champion, to the US 60m title, clocking the then fastest time of the year, 6.43.

In a talent-packed final, however, he faced the renascent challenge of his 30-year-old teammate Trayvon Bromell who, 10 years after he won this title in Portland, Oregon, reached the final in 6.42, equalling his personal best.

Just over an hour later, the eight fastest men – including Jamaica’s world and Olympic 100m silver medallist Kishane Thompson and Britain’s defending champion Jeremiah Azu, who set a PB of 6.45 in his semifinal – took to the track again.

And this time it was Anthony, the new kid on the block with towering ambitions, who elevated his performance to a winning level.

He announced ahead of the competition that his goal was to beat the 6.34 world record set by his compatriot Christian Coleman: “I am not going to sugarcoat it. Why not break it at the world stage where I am basically racing the world?”

Maybe next time. Don’t rule it out.

Silver went to Thompson, who lowered his personal best to 6.45, finishing just one thousandth of a second ahead of Bromell, who returned to the world indoor podium after a turbulent and injury-wracked decade.

“Winning the gold feels great but, to be honest, I feel more excited for the fans than for myself,” Anthony said.

“I am happy to sign autographs and just hang out a bit with them. Before the semifinal, I talked to Trayvon Bromell's coach Antonio. I said to him that Trayvon will set the pace in his race and I will follow him. When I saw he ran 6.42, I was like: 'OK, right, now I need to run faster'.

“The final was a great race, but I still have a lot left in the tank. Most importantly, I did my debut right and I am bringing the gold medal back to the USA.

“I used to play college football (American football), and I performed in front of a lot more people, but coming out here today made me a bit more excited. This felt easy for me. This proves to me I picked the right sport. I am looking forward to the outdoor season.”

Azu was desperately close to a medal, clocking 6.46 after getting a fine start to finish fourth.

Fifth place in 6.58 went to Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who equalled the national record of 6.52 in his semifinal.

Taymir Burnet of the Netherlands was sixth in 6.61, while Jamaica’s world 200m bronze medallist Bryan Levell was seventh in 7.69.

Belgium’s Simon Verherstraeten, who ran out of his skin to reach the final, failed to finish and required medical attention on the track.

Another global silver for Thompson will be bittersweet, but he has once again underlined his huge talent as he has become consistently swifter over the 60m distance – a promising augury for his 100m progress.

While the golden achievement of the super-confident former wide receiver did not come as a huge surprise, the return of Bromell was perhaps as remarkable.

Since earning that world indoor gold, Bromell’s career has resembled a rollercoaster ride. The Florida-born sprinter required two achilles tendon surgeries before 2016 was up, the latter following a dive which appeared to have secured Rio Olympic bronze for the men’s 4x100m team until they were disqualified for an illegal first baton change.

Bromell has since earned two world 100m bronze medals and last year a relay redemption as he helped the United States take 4x100m gold at the World Championships in Tokyo.

“It is a blessing to come back after so many injuries and win another world indoor medal after 10 years,” Bromell said.

“Looking at Jordan (Anthony), I see a mirror image of myself from 10 years ago. I also won the world title as a young, unpolished athlete. You do not see too many talents like him. It is athletes like him that keep me motivated and on top of my game. I know he has a great team and I expect him to have a great career ahead of him.”

Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

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