A look back at the key moments of 2022 in the sprints

2022 review: sprints

It&rsquo;s a now familiar sight: Joseph Fahnbulleh using his superb top-end speed to chase down his dreams on the hunt for sprint stardom.
That powerful finish was most recently on display at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Zagreb earlier this month, Fahnbulleh capping his season with one final win to celebrate his 21st birthday in style.
That season finale also offered Fahnbulleh the opportunity to reflect on an impressive couple of years that have seen him go from collegiate star to global stage, successfully transitioning to the senior ranks. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/633466ad0264e999dd086651.jpg" alt="Joseph Fahnbulleh on his way to a 200m win at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb" />
Joseph Fahnbulleh on his way to a 200m win at the Boris Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb (&copy; Zagreb Meeting)
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Fahnbulleh started his athletics journey as a cross country runner at Hopkins High School in Minnesota but is now a world and Olympic sprint finalist, one who made history for Liberia by becoming the nation&rsquo;s first athlete to reach the top eight at either the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games with his performances in Oregon and Tokyo.
&ldquo;After the Olympics, then having the NCAA season I had and going to the World Championships, it has been mad, but at the same time, I&rsquo;ve asked for it,&rdquo; says the three-time NCAA gold medallist. &ldquo;It has been a learning experience, I&rsquo;ve been taking it all in. Not really having any expectations on what I have been doing. Having a season where I can just reflect at the end of it and move on to the next with bigger goals.&rdquo;
There&rsquo;s certainly lots to reflect on, and a lot to look forward to. Then still a teenager, Fahnbulleh broke 20 seconds for 200m for the first time last year, storming to a 19.91 PB to win his first NCAA title in Eugene. That set him up for making his Olympic debut in Tokyo, where the 19-year-old ran 19.99 in the semifinals and then 19.98 in the final to finish fifth.
Under the guidance of coach Mike Holloway at the University of Florida, Fahnbulleh took that form through to 2022. It led him to a memorable sprint double on his return to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, where he won the 100m and retained his 200m title within the space of just 45 minutes. He ran national records in both races &ndash; 10.00 for 100m and 19.83 for 200m &shy;&ndash; again leaving fans mesmerised as the long-striding sprinter first chased down, and then breezed past, his rivals in the closing stages.
Next up was the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, where he won his heat, finished second in his semifinal in 19.92 and then finished fourth in the final in 19.84, just 0.04 behind his training partner Erriyon Knighton, who completed a US top three behind Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek.
&ldquo;People have different journeys,&rdquo; says Fahnbulleh, who turned pro after the World Championships, signing with ASICS. &ldquo;My first major international competition was the Olympics. Coach Holloway always says: &lsquo;act like you&rsquo;ve been there&rsquo;, so I really wasn&rsquo;t scared. I was just more excited to run with the best because you see Andre De Grasse, you see Noah Lyles. I watched Andre in high school four years ago and I was like, &lsquo;I want to be there&rsquo;. So, you work hard and you put in the daily grind.
&ldquo;That set me up and it gave me confidence going into the NCAA season, and the NCAA season gave me the confidence going to Worlds. It&rsquo;s a continuous build &ndash; each year you just get better.&rdquo; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/63346561f168593a0f7945d4.jpg" alt="Joseph Fahnbulleh competes in the 200m semifinals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo" />
Joseph Fahnbulleh competes in the 200m semifinals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (&copy; AFP / Getty Images)
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And Fahnbulleh has no doubt as to the people who have helped him as he grows. From his sixth grade teacher Miss Rossow who first encouraged him to try cross country, to his high school coach Nick Lovas who got him into sprints (&ldquo;I loved cross country, but I would sprint the last 800m of the race and they were like, &lsquo;you&rsquo;re in the wrong sport!&rsquo;&rdquo;) and now the Florida Gators team. From great family support, to being welcomed as an ASICS-sponsored athlete, Fahnbulleh hasn&rsquo;t done it alone.
&ldquo;Just being around greatness all the time, it only forces you to be great,&rdquo; explains Fahnbulleh, who says he has learned from the likes of multiple world and Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor, two-time world 110m hurdles winner Grant Holloway and two-time world indoor triple jump gold medallist Will Claye at Florida. &ldquo;Being under Coach Holloway coming out of high school, it was the best plan for me. My mom is a single mother and so with that, my high school coach was like a father figure to me, and I wanted a father figure going into college because I feel like that&rsquo;s how I grow. Coach Holloway, he has kids of his own, he treats his athletes like his kids, and it&rsquo;s a family.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s never a bad day with Coach Holloway or any of the staff. They push you and if you don&rsquo;t take the push as a constructive push, you&rsquo;re only going to fight them and when you fight them, you&rsquo;re not going to do well.&rdquo;
Coaching is also a path Fahnbulleh&nbsp;can see himself taking one day. &ldquo;I took educational sciences (at the University of Florida) because I wanted to learn how the brain works and in the future I want to be a coach as well,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;So finding out how people learn and getting comfortable with the different mindsets that people have when it comes to different scenarios. After I get that degree, I&rsquo;m going back to do sports marketing.&rdquo;
And the &lsquo;Sound Mind, Sound Body&rsquo; approach of ASICS also fits with the ideals of Fahnbulleh, who still enjoys going on slightly longer runs when training allows.
&ldquo;When I am alone and when I have down time, I do like to go for a run,&rdquo; says&nbsp;Fahnbulleh, who is also passionate about art and enjoys working with watercolour to create portraits. &ldquo;You find the rhythm of running and it feels good as a release.&rdquo;
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<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/633466fb0405888f7058ded5.jpg" alt="Joseph Fahnbulleh is proudly sponsored by ASICS" />
Joseph Fahnbulleh is proudly sponsored by ASICS (&copy; ASICS)
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Fundamentally, it's clear why Fahnbulleh works as hard as he does. His on track goals help the sprinter to achieve what is most important to him off of it.
&ldquo;Growing up, it was just me and my mom,&rdquo; says Fahnbulleh, whose mother, Charlotte, is a nurse. &ldquo;She loves what she does but life as a nurse is tiring. That pushed me in high school to be like, &lsquo;all right mom, I&rsquo;m going to do well in my life so I can make sure that you are well in yours&rsquo;.&rdquo;
She is the reason Fahnbulleh represents Liberia. It&rsquo;s to represent her.
&ldquo;Competing for my mom was probably the best thing that I could do,&rdquo; he says.&nbsp;&ldquo;She had to flee the country (Liberia) when she was like 12. My uncle and my two aunts went to London and my mom went to the States to live with my grandmother. Since that has happened, I wanted to represent my mom the best way that I could and at the best level that I could. Competing for Liberia and always having the ability to be on the biggest stage is phenomenal.
&ldquo;If I can work hard now and in a few years I can make sure that she is good and she is relaxed, then I have fulfilled life.&rdquo;
One of the two necklaces Fahnbulleh always wears &ndash; a cross and chain &ndash; was given to him by his mother before the World Championships final. The other &ndash; made of beads &ndash; was made for him by a friend. The beads spell the word &ldquo;bullet&rdquo;.
&ldquo;It came from high school,&rdquo; he says, explaining the significance of 'bullet'.&nbsp;&ldquo;The end of my last name &ndash; they dropped the &lsquo;h&rsquo; from &lsquo;bulleh&rsquo; and added the &lsquo;t&rsquo;. I call myself that a little bit because I am like a bullet. My mom gave me this other one before the final at Worlds and so I wore it for good luck. Since then, I haven&rsquo;t taken it off.&rdquo;
And&nbsp;Fahnbulleh &ndash; Bullet by nickname &ndash; already has some key targets he hopes to hit in the future.
&ldquo;The next huge aims are, next year at Worlds &ndash; to make the podium,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve gone from fifth to fourth. Next year podium. No time goals really, we just chase execution.
&ldquo;Having a good support system around me, whether that be my coach, friends, my mom &ndash; make that stronger. And take the ASICS brand to new heights.
&ldquo;Those are my main goals right now. I&rsquo;m working. I&rsquo;m not at the level yet where on a bad day I run 19.6. I&rsquo;m going to be there, but I have to put in the work in order for me to be there.&rdquo;
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

It’s a now familiar sight: Joseph Fahnbulleh using his superb top-end speed to chase down his dreams on the hunt for sprint stardom.

'Bullet' Fahnbulleh targets the top

More than 1500 athletes from 145 teams are set to compete at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 between 1-6 August.
Here we take a look at the women's and men's sprint events at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium. 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 100m</h2>
Jamaica&rsquo;s Tina Clayton is among the eight athletes in Cali who will be defending the titles they claimed in Nairobi last year and given her performances this season, the 17-year-old looks in form to gain another gold. Clayton dipped below 11 seconds for the first time last month, breaking the Jamaican U20 record with her world U20-leading time of 10.96 &ndash; a mark that puts her fifth on the world U20 all-time list.
Clayton also formed part of Jamaica&rsquo;s world U20 record-breaking 4x100m quartet in Nairobi last year, alongside Serena Cole, Kerrica Hill and her twin sister Tia Clayton. Cole joins Tina in contesting the 100m in Cali and will be looking to join her compatriot on the podium having improved from 11.42 to 11.13 this year.
Also expected to be in the medal mix will be South Africa&rsquo;s 17-year-old Viwe Jingqi, who has progressed from 11.67 to 11.22 this season, and Nigeria&rsquo;s Tima Seikeseye Godbless, who reached the semifinals in Nairobi.
Shawnti Jackson is the daughter of 2005 world 400m hurdles champion Bershawn Jackson and the 17-year-old won the US U20 title in a wind-assisted 11.07 (2.7m/s) to secure her place on the team for Cali, where she&rsquo;ll be joined by her 16-year-old teammate Mia Brahe-Pedersen. Nia Wedderburn-Goodison recently won the European U18 title, running a&nbsp;11.39 PB. 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 100m</h2>
The stand-out performer in the men&rsquo;s equivalent is expected to be Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, following his 9.94 world U20 record in the heats at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 a fortnight ago. The 19-year-old 100m victor and 200m silver medallist in Nairobi also boasts a 10.12 fifth-place finish from the Wanda Diamond League in Eugene back in May, further illustrating his fine credentials ahead of a title defence few would bet against Tebogo succeeding in.
His nearest challengers are likely to come in the form of 2021 silver medallist Benjamin Richardson and their fellow Nairobi finalist, Godson Oke Oghenebrume.
South Africa&rsquo;s 18-year-old Richardson &ndash; a member of the winning 4x100m relay team last year &ndash; has clocked a 10.08 lifetime best this season, whilst Oghenebrume of Nigeria, 19, was timed at 10.12 for a personal best in April.
Japan&rsquo;s Hiroki Yanagita, 19, has also been in top form with a 10.16 clocking this season, further pointing towards a fierce battle ahead for the podium.&nbsp; 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 200m</h2>
Jamaica&rsquo;s 18-year-old Brianna Lyston is gunning for her first major championship medal in light of her notable progression this year, which has seen her improve from 23.18 to 22.53 in the 200m and 11.44 to 11.14 in the 100m. She leads the 200m entries with that PB, which she ran into a -2.2m/s headwind at the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Champs in April.
US pair Jayla Jamison and Mia Brahe-Pedersen will be eager to take some silverware off the back of their recent respective 22.93 and 22.98 personal bests. Jamison has progressed from 23.65 this summer and won the US U20 title, while Brahe-Pedersen was runner-up in Eugene to ensure her inclusion on the athletes to watch list. Another looking to make an impact will be South Africa&rsquo;s Viwe Jingqi, who has run 23.03 and competed at last year&rsquo;s World U20 Championships in the half lap event as well as being a member of the 4x100m squad. 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 200m</h2>
Thailand&rsquo;s 16-year-old Puripol Boonson stormed into the spotlight in May, running 20.37 to win at the South East Asian Games &ndash; a time that put him fifth on the world U18 all-time list. There was even more to come and he improved to 20.19 at the Qosanov Memorial in Almaty the following month, becoming the third-fastest U18 200m sprinter in history behind only Erriyon Knighton and Usain Bolt. Despite being the youngest in an entry list featuring 70 athletes, he tops the lot, with South Africa&rsquo;s Benjamin Richardson his closest challenger on paper thanks to the 20.38 PB he ran earlier this month.
Third in the senior British Championships, 19-year-old Jeriel Quainoo has improved from 21.60 to 20.40 this summer, and the 2021 European U20 4x100m relay gold medallist will have his eye on a first individual major championships medal in Cali.
Other athletes to keep an eye on are Australia&rsquo;s Calab Law and Aidan Murphy, who both competed at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon &ndash; Law reaching the semifinals and Murphy running in the heats &ndash; and the experience gained from competing on the senior stage will no doubt aid their aspirations.
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana claimed 200m silver along with his 100m gold last year and also returns in this event.&nbsp; 
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 400m</h2>
The stage is set for a duel between the current finest one lap runners in Jamaica and USA, as Dejanea Oakley and Mekenze Kelley face off in the 400m event.
Oakley &shy;&ndash; who ran in the mixed 4x400m heats in Nairobi last year &ndash; has registered a 51.81 personal best this season, while her fellow 18-year-old Kelley has improved from 53.65 to 51.98 this summer, and a fierce battle is predicted for the closely-matched pair.
Canada&rsquo;s Ella Clayton was sixth in the 2021 edition of these championships but having progressed from 54.10 to 52.04 this season, the 19-year-old is a strong contender for a medal this time around.
Nairobi mixed 4x400m bronze medallist Priya Habbathanahalli Mohan of India has a best of 52.37 this campaign and the 19-year-old will be aiming to get into the medal mix following a fourth place finish in the individual event in 2021. 
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 400m&nbsp;</h2>
The pair of US runners look set to assert their dominance here, with breakthrough runner Steven McElroy expected to lead the way.
The 19-year-old US U20 champion has progressed from 47.86 to 44.93 this year, establishing his authority in the event, while his compatriot Ashton Schwartzman, 19, has enjoyed a similar eye-catching improvement in 2022 &ndash; clocking 45.16 after a 47.24 2021 best &ndash; and he finished runner-up at the US U20 Championships.
Another athlete to watch should be Botswana&rsquo;s Busang Collen Kebinatshipi. The 18-year-old 2021 4x100m gold medallist also has a 45.40 400m clocking to his name and will be determined to spoil the US gold medal hunt. Others to watch include Bahrain&rsquo;s Yusuf Ali Abbas, who won at the Arab U20 Championships in May, as well as Jamaican U20 champion Shaemar Uter, who helped his team to fourth place in the mixed 4x400m relay in Nairobi.
Nicola Sutton for World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

A look at the women's and men's 100m, 200m and 400m

WU20 Cali 22 preview: sprints

On this day 70 years ago (26 July), Marjorie Jackson flew around the bend of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on her way to victory in the 200m. Having equalled the world record in the heats and broken it in the semifinals, Jackson now ran 23.7 to win the final by almost five metres.
The win completed an Olympic sprint double. Jackson had won the 100m with similar ease four days earlier, Australia&rsquo;s first ever women&rsquo;s Olympic gold medal in athletics. In between the two flat sprints, Shirley Strickland won the 80m hurdles. In winning the 200m, however, Jackson created a significant piece of Australian Olympic history. At the first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896, Edwin Flack had won the 800m and 1500m and now Australia&rsquo;s first women&rsquo;s gold medallist likewise completed a golden double.
Jackson could so easily have shared a third Olympic triumph in the 4x100m. Having set a world record in the heats, the Australians were heading for victory at the last changeover in the final. The hand-over apparently &lsquo;complete&rsquo;, the baton fell after striking the leg of either the incoming Winsome Cripps, or Jackson. Jackson regained it on the bounce, but the USA were away, heading to the gold medal. A few days later, Australia beat the US in another world record (4x110yd) at the traditional British Empire v USA dual match.
World records either side of the Olympic final, then, but no gold medal. It&rsquo;s a salutary tale that has been told and re-told in Australian athletics ever since.
But it is not the story of Jackson&rsquo;s success at the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games; neither should it detract from that success. The trajectory of Jackson&rsquo;s meteoric rise from promising junior to double Olympic champion and world record-holder, all before turning 21, is full of elements that, frankly, you couldn&rsquo;t make up.
Setback as an U20 champion? Check. Rise to wider fame by defeating the world&rsquo;s best athlete? Check. Small-town girl fanatically supported by the locals to the extent of constructing a cinder track where she could train under the headlights of her coach&rsquo;s car. Check that box, too. Returns from Helsinki having met the love of her life? First woman to be appointed as manager of an Australian Commonwealth Games team? Governor of the state of South Australia? Still going strong at 91? Tick, tick, tick, tick.
Jackson was born at Coffs Harbour on the north coast of New South Wales. Her family moved to Lithgow, in the Blue Mountains some 140km west of Sydney, soon after. For those heading to next year&rsquo;s World Athletics Cross Country Championships, Lithgow is on the road and rail route to Bathurst. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/a7920fed-0ae7-4a99-bb7e-b23b69af983b.jpg" alt="80 Years of Women Athletics at Olympic Games - Marjorie Jackson - 1952" />
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Jackson showed evident talent as a junior. Her record (accurately) suggests that she is a well-grounded person, though she recalls some wise counsel from her father after she had won a state country title. Everyone had their own special talents, her dad said, and hers seemed to be running. It didn&rsquo;t make her better than others, but she should develop it.
Jackson&rsquo;s talents were soon more widely deployed. She won regularly in Sydney competition. But a stumble in the blocks (which she, wrongly, thought would lead to a recall), saw her miss out on an invitation to the final London 1948 Olympic trials.
Lithgow seethed with indignation. Perhaps this motivated supporters to turn up in numbers the following year when Jackson was invited to run against Dutch superstar Fanny Blankers-Koen. Apparently, Blankers-Koen and her husband-coach Jan Blankers were under the impression that her Australian tour would be a largely an exhibition. Shirley Strickland was not at top form and &ndash; who else was there, anyway.
Enter 17-year-old Jackson to cause a sensation at the Sydney Sports Ground on 5 February. The next day&rsquo;s Sunday Herald front page report, with photo, ran: &ldquo;Marjorie Jackson, 17-year-old Lithgow typist, defeating the Olympic champion, Fanny Blankers-Koen, in a 100-metres race at the Sydney Sports Ground yesterday afternoon.&rdquo;
A week later, Jackson again defeated Blankers-Koen, this time in the New South Wales 100 yards championship. A Melbourne sports paper published a three-part series on Jackson, who had quickly gathered nicknames - the Lithgow Flash or Lithgow Flier. &ldquo;Second child of a family of three girls,&rdquo; the introduction ran, &ldquo;a frolicsome lass, never still and ran everywhere she went.&rdquo;
Lithgow was as elated now as it had been despondent a year earlier. The Sunday Herald sports section reported: &ldquo;Twenty Lithgow miners caused laughter among the crowd &hellip; when they wildly cheered Marjorie Jackson after her 100 metres victory.&rdquo; Deeper down came mention that this celebration occurred at the Sports Ground beer booth.
The contingent caught the train back to Lithgow, arriving at 11pm to find the station thronged with people. Jackson was presented with a huge garland of flowers.
In the run-up to Helsinki, Jackson would have further reason to be grateful for local support. Australia had few cinders tracks. Sydney had one, but that necessitated a 300km round trip. There were cinders aplenty in Lithgow, however: Jackson&rsquo;s coach &ndash; Jim Monaghan, but to this day Mr Monaghan to Jackson &ndash; and the miners rolled out a straight section of cinders so that Jackson could train on the sort of surface she would find at the Olympics. Throughout winter, with Lithgow often enshrouded by fog and misty rain, Jackson ran along the track, starting in the pitch dark at one end, running towards the headlights of Monaghan&rsquo;s car at the other.
It paid off in Helsinki, when rain throughout much of the opening ceremony left the track damper and softer for the heats of the women&rsquo;s 100m two days later. &ldquo;Whacko! I&rsquo;m back in Lithgow,&rdquo; Jackson thought as she went out to race. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/3b7bb6c8-185a-4873-ac3d-c64fa3b50704.jpg" alt="Marjorie Jackson" />
Marjorie Jackson (&copy; Giancarlo Colombo)
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Jackson was one of the favourites for the Olympic sprints, but the Australian preparation for the Games had more obstacles than a 3000m steeplechase. The team spent over a month based in London and racing around Britain. They had very little support, the athletes&rsquo; daily allowance was 15 English shillings (equivalent to 75 pence now). Jackson recalls that transport to the track and lunch cost around 18 shillings for a net loss of three shillings a day.
The cinder tracks were harder, too. Many of the Australians &ndash; Jackson included &ndash; ran in spikes hand-made from kangaroo skin by Melbourne shoemaker, Hope Sweeney. The fixed spikes were suited to grass tracks, but too long for harder surfaces. &ldquo;After a couple of sessions our shins were so sore we could hardly walk,&rdquo; says Jackson. They persevered. Despite everything, Jackson impressed at every race she ran. A Belfast paper came up with a variation on her nickname. Noting she worked as a typist, the memorably titled Northern Whig and Belfast Post dubbed her &ldquo;The Typing Tornado&rdquo;.
Helsinki had suffered in the war years, though not as severely as London. The long daylight hours made sleep difficult for some, but Jackson says the Australian team was &ldquo;wonderful, like family.&rdquo; Like many athletes, she found the call room an unnerving experience &ndash; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a chatterbox,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;but no-one is talking. I walked out on to the track nattering to myself: &lsquo;I&rsquo;m as good as they are&rsquo;.&rdquo;
She felt the pressure, too. &ldquo;I felt the whole of Australia was sitting on my back&rdquo; &ndash; but, really, she need not have been bothered. Jackson ran away from her competition, defeating South Africa&rsquo;s Daphne Hasenjager 11.5 to 11.8 (11.67 to 12.05 electric), Strickland and Cripps. In a post-race interview, Jackson sent a &lsquo;cheerio&rsquo; to &ldquo;Mum and Dad, all the family, Mr Monaghan and the people of Lithgow.&rdquo;
Jackson went on to complete the double four days later. She returned to a hero&rsquo;s welcome. Crowds lined the streets and over 20,000 were estimated to have turned out in Lithgow alone.
Jackson also returned with a budding interest in Peter Nelson, a member of the Olympic cycling team. Nelson lived in Adelaide but the romance blossomed by correspondence. They were married in 1953 and together until his early death from leukaemia in 1977. Jackson set up a research foundation in his memory and worked tirelessly to raise funds. As Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, she was South Australian state governor from 2001 to 2007, during which time she took part in the delivery of the Queen&rsquo;s Baton at the opening ceremony for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Jackson, the penultimate runner, passed the baton to Helsinki teammate and Victorian governor, John Landy.
Athletically, Jackson retired after winning the sprint double at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver. In her career, she won every individual gold medal &ndash; Olympics, Commonwealth, national and state level &ndash; that she contested.
&ldquo;I remember when I got back to Lithgow, Dad said to me: &lsquo;You&rsquo;re an Olympic champion now and kids will look up to you for the rest of your life&rsquo;.
&ldquo;Peter and I both tried to live by the Olympic ideals.&rdquo;
Len Johnson for World Athletics&nbsp;

The trajectory of Jackson’s meteoric rise from promising junior to double Olympic champion, all before turning 21, is full of elements that you couldn’t make up

Remembering Jackson's Olympic sprint double in Helsinki, 70 years on

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has donated her singlet from her winning 100m performance at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 to the <a href="https://worldathletics.org/heritage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Museum of World Athletics (MOWA)</a>. In a ceremony during the eighth evening of competition on Friday (22), Fraser-Pryce presented the singlet to World Athletics President Sebastian Coe.&nbsp;&nbsp;
In presenting the singlet, on which Fraser-Pryce has signed herself as the &lsquo;mommy rocket&rsquo;, the Jamaican sprinting ace said: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited to join two other Jamaicans (Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown) who have their memorabilia in the museum. I&rsquo;ve built a legacy that I hope inspires other women to believe in themselves and be relentless at pursuing their dreams.
&ldquo;As a now five-time world 100m champion, I&rsquo;m happy to share this moment in history for me and so many others with the Museum of World Athletics, where champions live on forever.&rdquo;
Coe, upon receiving Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s singlet, said: &ldquo;I am delighted to accept the generous donation of the Oregon22 singlet from 10-time world and three-time Olympic gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce in Hayward Field. These championships have already seen her win her fifth world 100m title, and yesterday the 200m silver.
&ldquo;The World Athletics Heritage Collection and the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA) are honoured to receive this item, which represents the illustrious career of one of the all-time greats of sprinting. We thank Shelly-Ann for her support of our Heritage programme, which celebrates and honours our sport&rsquo;s history - a history which she is now indelibly a part of.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/732989233?h=665b753060" width="100%" height="475" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 Fraser-Pryce became a five-time World Championships gold medallist in the 100m on day three of this year&rsquo;s championships, then earned a silver medal in the 200m on day seven. In four Olympic Games, the diminutive sprinter has also collected two golds, a silver and a bronze in the 100m and 200m. For the high level of her performances and the length of her career, Fraser-Pryce is widely proclaimed the women&rsquo;s 100m &lsquo;GOAT&rsquo; &ndash; the greatest of all time.
As a student at Wolmer&rsquo;s High School for Girls, she won the 17-and-under 100m at &lsquo;Champs&rsquo;, the Jamaican High School Championships, in 2004. The next two years she finished second and fourth in the 19-and-under 100m, before enrolling at UTech, the University of Technology in Kingston, where she met UTech and MVP coach Stephen Francis.
As a first-year university student in 2007, Fraser-Pryce finished fifth in the Jamaican Championships, and was selected for the national relay team, earning a silver medal in the 4x100m at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan. From then on, Fraser-Pryce was on a rocket to greatness.
In 2008, she broke 11 seconds for the first time in the 100m when she finished second at her national championships, then won the first of her global titles with her victory at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Fraser-Pryce won her first World Championships 100m in 2009 and ran second leg on Jamaica&rsquo;s victorious 4x100m team, the first of four such titles she has won.&nbsp;
The fallow year of 2010, with no major international championship events, and 2011, when she finished fourth in the World Championships in Daegu and led off the silver medal-winning 4x100m team, were down years for Fraser-Pryce. But she came back with a vengeance in the Olympic year of 2012, winning the London Games 100m and earning silvers in the 200m and the 4x100m.
The World Championships of 2013, held in Moscow, may have been the pinnacle of Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s astounding career. She won a sprint triple, with victories in the 100m, 200m and relay. To top off the year, she was named the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year.
In 2014, Fraser-Pryce won the World Indoor Championships 60m, one of her few forays into indoor athletics. Since then, she has maintained her form in the 100m with three more World Championships golds, and silver and bronze in the Olympics. In the 4x100m, she has helped Jamaica to wins in the World Championships of 2015 and 2019, and Olympic gold in 2021 and silver in 2016, with this year&rsquo;s World Championships 4x100m final yet to come.
Dave Johnson for World Athletics Heritage&nbsp;

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has donated her singlet from her winning 100m performance at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22

Fraser-Pryce donates Oregon22 100m singlet to MOWA

It might be a familiar sight &ndash; witnessing Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce flowing towards the finish line on her way to yet another global gold &ndash; but the awe it inspires doesn&rsquo;t diminish.
In front of a packed passionate Hayward Field crowd on day three of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the Jamaican sprint star secured a record-extending fifth world 100m title, leading a Jamaican sweep of the medals in a championship record of 10.67 (0.8m/s).
It's almost 14 years since her first global title &ndash; 100m gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics &ndash; but Fraser-Pryce continues to make history. With her run in Oregon on Sunday (17), the 35-year-old becomes the first athlete to win five world titles in a single individual running event, leading the first ever sweep of the medals in this discipline at the World Championships.
Behind her, Shericka Jackson continued to demonstrate her impressive versatility, running a PB of 10.73 to add world 100m silver to the two 400m bronze medals she won in 2015 and 2019, while five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah claimed her first world 100m medal with a 10.81 run.
In the deepest ever women&rsquo;s World Championships 100m final, seven of the eight finalists dipped under 11 seconds, with best ever marks for fourth, sixth and seventh. In fourth was Britain&rsquo;s reigning world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith, who equalled her British record of 10.83. Switzerland&rsquo;s world indoor 60m champion Mujinga Kambundji finished fifth in 10.91, while USA&rsquo;s Aleia Hobbs was sixth in 10.92, Ivory Coast&rsquo;s Marie-Josee Ta Lou seventh in 10.93 and USA&rsquo;s Melissa Jefferson eighth in 11.03.
"I can't even imagine the amount of times I've had setbacks and I've bounced back and I'm here again," said Fraser-Pryce. "I continue to remind myself that sometimes it's not because you don't have the ability, but it's the right time. Today was the right time." 
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 Fraser-Pryce sits third on the world 100m all-time list with the 10.60 she ran in Lausanne last August, putting her behind only USA&rsquo;s Florence Griffith-Joyner with her 10.49 world record from 1988 and Thompson-Herah with her 10.54 at Hayward Field almost a year ago. On Sunday evening it was all about the win, though the fierce competition meant it took a championship record to achieve it.
Showing superb consistency, it is Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s third 10.67 of the season, each mark having been achieved in a different continent.
She is now a 20-time global medallist &ndash; with 13 of those being gold &ndash; and she has the chance to add even more to that tally in Oregon as she is also entered for the 200m and 4x100m.
The first of Fraser-Pryce&rsquo;s world 100m title wins came in Berlin in 2009, when she ran 10.73 as the Olympic champion to lead a Jamaican top two ahead of Kerron Stewart. She then claimed a sprint double in Moscow in 2013, regaining her 100m title and winning her first global 200m gold. She retained her world 100m title in Beijing two years later and returned to World Championships action in Doha in 2019 as a mother &ndash; her son Zyon arrived in 2017, with Fraser-Pryce having gone into labour while watching the world 100m final that year. In Doha she won 100m gold for the fourth time and again formed part of the victorious Jamaican 4x100m team to claim her fourth world relay win.
Added to this, Fraser-Pryce secured world 4x100m silver medals in 2007 and 2011 and then of course there are her three Olympic titles, four Olympic silver medals and one Olympic bronze.
The first to achieve five world titles in a single individual running event, only three other athletes in World Championships history &ndash; Sergey Bubka (pole vault), Pawel Fajdek (hammer) and Lars Riedel (discus) &ndash; have also won the same single disciple five or more times.
"I feel blessed to have this talent and to continue to do it at 35, (after) having a baby, still going, and hopefully inspiring women that they can make their own journey," added Fraser-Pryce.
Now she will prepare for the 200m, for which the heats take place on Monday. Jackson, Thompson-Herah, Asher-Smith, Kambundji and Ta Lou will be among those joining her.
&ldquo;I'm just grateful. Last year when I switched to the 100m I was scared, but I took my time and here I am today," said Jackson, who improved her 200m PB to 21.55 &ndash; the third-fastest ever time behind Griffith-Joyner&rsquo;s 21.34 world record and Thompson-Herah&rsquo;s 21.53 from Tokyo last year &ndash; when winning the Jamaican title. "Feeling good to be part of history and coming for more."
After her four individual Olympic gold medal wins, Thompson-Herah remains on the hunt for her first individual world title.
"I'm happy to get my first 100m medal and be on the podium for the first time," she said. "I've been working really hard, even though I had some struggles during the season."
The Jamaican trio had led the way in the semifinals, Thompson-Herah winning her race in 10.82 and Jackson taking hers in 10.84, while Fraser-Pryce eased to a 10.93 win in the third semifinal.
Asher-Smith went quickest in the heats the day before, running 10.84 for the second-fastest 100m heat time in World Championships history, just 0.01 off her own British record achieved when claiming silver in Doha. Fraser-Pryce won her heat in 10.87. The Oceania record also fell, New Zealand&rsquo;s Zoe Hobbs advancing to the semifinals with 11.08.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">WOMEN'S 100m MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce 🇯🇲 JAM</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">10.67 CR</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Shericka Jackson 🇯🇲 JAM</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">10.73 PB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Elaine Thompson-Herah 🇯🇲 JAM</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">10.81</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/women/100-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022

The 20-time global medallist leads a Jamaican 100m sweep ahead of Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah

Record-breaker Fraser-Pryce wins fifth world 100m title in Oregon

Chants of &ldquo;USA! USA! USA!&rdquo; rang out across Hayward Field on Saturday night (16) after Fred Kerley led a US sweep of the men&rsquo;s 100m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
Kerley&rsquo;s decision last year to drop down from the 400m to the 100m paid off in spectacular fashion as he powered past Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell in the final strides to win the gold in 9.86 and claim the title of the world&rsquo;s fastest man.
Bracy-Williams and Bromell, who were both timed in 9.88, took silver and bronze respectively.
It marked the third US sweep of the 100m medals and the first since 1991, when Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell went 1-2-3 at the World Championships in Tokyo.
This time, the sweep came on home soil in front of a full crowd at the first World Championships held in the United States.
&ldquo;We said we were going to do it and we did it,&rdquo; the 27-year-old Kerley said after winning his first individual global title. &ldquo;USA baby!&rdquo;
&ldquo;All three of us wanted the gold,&rdquo; Bromell said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just happy we could get the sweep at home.&rdquo; 
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 The build-up to the final featured a flypast by two military jets, which proved to be a symbolic precursor to a super-fast race in which four of the eight athletes finished inside 10 seconds.
Half of the finalists were from the host nation; the fourth US athlete was the defending world champion Christian Coleman, who finished sixth in 10.01.
Kerley was in lane four, with Bracy-Williams next to him in lane three, and Coleman and Bromell on the outside in lanes seven and eight.
Coleman got off to the quickest start, but it was Bracy-Williams who quickly moved to the front and paced the field through 70m and 80m, with Bromell charging hard from the outside.
But the tall, powerful Kerley built up momentum at the halfway mark, accelerated towards the line and edged in front in the final five metres, out-leaning the others at the line.
Kerley waited for the result to be posted on the scoreboard, and when his name finally went up as the winner, he threw up his arms in triumph, pounded his chest and took off on a victory lap.
&ldquo;The gold medal means more than anything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing to do it on home soil with the home crowd behind us. It&rsquo;s a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep.&rdquo;
Fourth place went to 21-year-old Jamaican Oblique Seville, who ran 9.97 after clocking the fastest time in the semifinals (9.90). South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbini was fifth in 10.01 &ndash; his fifth consecutive top-five finish at a global championships. Rounding out the field were Coleman, Japan&rsquo;s Hakim Sani Brown (10.06) and Canada&rsquo;s Aaron Brown (10.07).
After Kerley switched to the short sprints at the start of 2021, many experts scoffed at the decision. But he justified the move by earning the silver medal in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics. And he has been dominant this year, clocking a world-leading 9.76 in the semifinals and 9.77 in the final of the US Championships in Eugene last month.
Kerley ran 9.79 in Friday&rsquo;s heats but ran only 10.02 in winning his semifinal on Saturday &ndash; the first time in nine 100m races this year that he did not break 10 seconds.
But, in the final, Kerley showed the power and determination needed to finally get an individual gold on the world stage. He earned bronze in the 400m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and holds gold and silver from the 4x400m relay.
Kerley will now focus on adding to his tally. He will be getting ready for the heats of the 200m on Monday and for the relay.
&ldquo;This win means I can do 100m, 200m and 400m,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a medal in 400m and 100m. There&rsquo;s only one next.&rdquo;
Winning a medal represented redemption for Bromell, who has battled injuries throughout his career and failed to make the final at the Tokyo Olympics last year after being considered the title favourite.
Bromell broke down in tears on Saturday while being interviewed on the track after the US sweep.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been seven years since I got a medal through my injuries and everything I dealt with,&rdquo; he said. I know so many people counted me out.&rdquo;
And for Bracy-Williams, he was celebrating his first world outdoor medal on the global stage.
&ldquo;It feels great to get my first medal at home and with an American sweep,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What else could I ask for? All the hard work has paid off with the injuries, the critics. This shows me I've got what it takes to get it done.&rdquo;
Some big names failed to make the final.
Italy&rsquo;s Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs pulled out before the semifinals after failing to fully recover from the hamstring injury that had sidelined him for most of the outdoor season.
&ldquo;A painful choice, I am forced to stop,&rdquo; Jacobs tweeted. &ldquo;I am a fighter and this is why I decided to be in Eugene. Now, in order not to compromise the rest of the season by risking a more serious injury, I have to postpone the challenge. I promise I will do my best to make you dream!&rdquo;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Yohan Blake, the 2011 world champion and five-time national champion, missed out after finishing fourth in his semifinal in 10.12. Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse, the Olympic 200m champion who has struggled with injury and illness this season, was fifth in his semi in 10.21. And African champion Ferdinand Omayala of Kenya, who had made it just in time for Friday&rsquo;s heats after delays in getting his US visa, was fifth in his semifinal in 10.14.
But this day was about those who came through when it counted, and it was Kerley, Bracy-Williams and Bromell who showed the world that US athletes are the king of the sprints once again.
Steve Wilson for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 100M MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Fred Kerley 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">9.86</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Marvin Bracy-Williams 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">9.88</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Trayvon Bromell 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">9.88</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/100-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

Kerley wins in 9.86 from US compatriots Bracy-Williams and Bromell

USA, USA, USA: Kerley leads American sweep of men’s 100m in Oregon

<h2>Women's 100m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/timetable/bydiscipline/women/100-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/100m/women?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/sprints/100-metres/outdoor/women/senior/2022?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/sprints/100-metres/outdoor/women/senior?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/sprints/100-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
If the US men look dominant in the 100m, the Jamaican women appear downright invincible.
The trio of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson headline a Jamaican team that threatens to sweep the medals in Eugene at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
Hayward Field could easily see a repeat of last year&rsquo;s Tokyo Olympic Games, where Thompson-Herah, Fraser-Pryce and Jackson finished 1-2-3. Only the order could be different this time as all three have shown the form to take the top spot.
The three Jamaicans top the world list in the 100m, led by reigning champion Fraser-Pryce with 10.67 ahead of Jackson&rsquo;s 10.77 and Thompson-Herah&rsquo;s 10.79. All three are also scheduled to contest the 200m in Eugene.
While Thompson-Herah and Jackson are both seeking their first individual world titles, Fraser-Pryce is looking to burnish an already astounding medal collection.
The 35-year-old &ldquo;Pocket Rocket&rdquo; has established herself as the favourite as she aims for a fifth world 100m title to go with her two Olympic golds in the event. Fraser-Pryce could add to her world outdoor collection of nine individual and relay gold medals and 11 overall.&nbsp;
Fraser-Pryce has shown amazing longevity over her career, with her first global title dating back to her 100m victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Fourteen years later, she looks as fast and dominant as ever.
Fraser-Pryce has posted the three fastest times of the year, clocking 10.67 in Nairobi in May and at the Diamond League meeting in Paris on 18 June. She ran&nbsp;10.70 in the heats of the Jamaican Championships, where she pulled up in the semifinals and skipped the final, knowing she has a wildcard into the World Championships.
Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah have been edging closer to the world record of 10.49, set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Thompson-Herah ran 10.54 at the Prefontaine Classic last year, and Fraser-Pryce set a PB of 10.60 last year in Lausanne.
&ldquo;This season I am definitely looking forward to run 10.5 and possibly 10.4 because that&rsquo;s the aim," Fraser-Pryce said in April. "And I think I am on my way to that. I just have to continue to trust that goal and I&rsquo;ll just continue to put in work.&rdquo;&nbsp;
The 30-year-old Thompson-Herah, winner of back-to-back Olympic 100m and 200m titles, showed her World Championship credentials by winning the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field on 28 May in her season&rsquo;s best 10.79. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62ccaccf3b49f92488910783.jpg" alt="Elaine Thompson-Herah competes in Doha" />
Elaine Thompson-Herah competes in Doha (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
At the Jamaican Championships, without Fraser-Pryce in the final, Thompson-Herah got off to a slow start and settled for third place in 10.89 as Jackson sped to the upset win in 10.77 and Kemba Nelson grabbed second in a PB of 10.88.
Jackson, a two-time world 4x400m gold medallist, looks to be peaking at the right time. The 27-year-old has run under 11 seconds in each of her last four races, capped by her impressive performances at the national championships in Kingston, where she claimed a 100-200m double.
The Jamaicans&rsquo; main challengers will once again be the US athletes. Melissa Jefferson was the surprise winner at the US Championships, running a wind-aided 10.69 (2.9m/s) in the final. She upset pre-race favourite and former national champion Aleia Hobbs, who finished second in 10.72, with Twanisha Terry taking third in 10.74.
Jefferson&rsquo;s victory came only two weeks after she had finished eighth at the NCAA Championships on the same track in 11.24. Now she faces the prospect of going head-to-head with the powerhouse Jamaican sprinters.
&ldquo;I have not (run against them) and I&rsquo;m glad I get the opportunity to,&rdquo; Jefferson said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m ready for any challenge and anything that may come my way.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
<h2>Men's 100m</h2>
<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/timetable/bydiscipline/men/100-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Timetable</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/world-rankings/100m/men?regionType=world&amp;page=1&amp;limitByCountry=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world rankings</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/toplists/sprints/100-metres/outdoor/men/senior/2022?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 world list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/records/all-time-toplists/sprints/100-metres/outdoor/men/senior?regionType=world&amp;timing=electronic&amp;page=1&amp;bestResultsOnly=true&amp;firstDay=1900-01-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world all-time list</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldathletics.org/disciplines/sprints/100-metres" target="_blank" rel="noopener">how it works</a>
Many experts scoffed when Fred Kerley decided last year to drop down from the 400m to the 100m. No one is doubting him now.
The tall, powerfully-built US athlete goes into the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 as the man to beat in the 100m as he chases his first individual gold on the global stage.
Kerley had already built an impressive resume in the 400m: two-time national champion, bronze medallist at the 2009 Doha World Championships and world gold and silver medallist in the 4x400m relay.
After switching to the short sprints at the start of 2021, Kerley justified the move by winning the silver medal in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics in 9.84.
Kerley has only improved in 2022, running sub-10 in all seven of his 100m races, culminating with stunning back-to-back performances at the US Championships at Eugene&rsquo;s Hayward Field on 24 June.
In a span of two hours, Kerley ran a personal best 9.76 in the semifinals and then clocked 9.77 in the final &ndash; the world&rsquo;s two fastest times this year. He also set the meeting record and the fastest ever time by a US athlete on home soil.
&ldquo;I put the work in,&rdquo; Kerley said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the day I was supposed to have.&rdquo;
Kerley is one of only three men, along with South Africa&rsquo;s Wayde van Niekerk and US runner Michael Norman, who have broken 10 seconds in the 100m, 20 seconds in the 200m and 44 seconds in the 400m. Kerley said his 400m background is paying dividends at the shorter distance.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the speed coming at the right time,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When everybody&rsquo;s dying, I&rsquo;m just passing.&rdquo;
As for what to expect at the World Championships, he said: &ldquo;You have to wait for that one. I know it&rsquo;s going to be something special.&rdquo;
The championships offer the prospect of something special for the home fans &ndash; a possible US sweep of the 100m medals. The US contingent includes Trayvon Bromell, Marvin Bracy and Christian Coleman.
&ldquo;Anyone betting against us getting first, second and third, they&rsquo;re probably crazy,&rdquo; Bromell said.
Bracy ran 9.86 in the semifinals and 9.85 in the final to finish second behind Kerley at the US Championships. Bromell, the world&rsquo;s fastest man in 2021, is No.2 on the world list this year behind Kerley. He clocked 9.81 in the semifinals and 9.88 in the final to finish third at the national championships.
Coleman, the reigning world champion, ran 9.87 in the semifinals at the US Championships before skipping the final by virtue of having a bye into the World Championships.
Eugene offers the opportunity of redemption of sorts for Bromell, who went in as the favourite at the Tokyo Olympics but failed to make the final after running 10.00 in the semifinals.
&ldquo;I feel like I wasn&rsquo;t able to put my best foot forward at the Olympics,&rsquo;&rsquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m motivated because of the all things I had to deal with last year, like not making the Olympic final, all the backlash. My mindset is different from last year. I&rsquo;m hungry every time I step on the track.&rdquo;
Bromell, who says he is capable of running 9.60, predicts big things from the US 100m sprinters at the first World Championships in the US.
&ldquo;The Worlds are about to be a showstopper,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When it&rsquo;s on home soil that gives us more motivation. We don&rsquo;t want to lose in our own home. What you saw (at the nationals) is just icing. The whole cake is coming, I promise you that.&rdquo;
The US athletes will have plenty of challengers.
The Jamaicans are led by 32-year-old Yohan Blake, the 2011 world champion who ran 9.85 to win his fifth national 100m title. He&rsquo;s joined by 21-year-old Oblique Seville, who finished second in the national championships in 9.88.&nbsp;
The field also includes African champion Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, whose season&rsquo;s best 9.85 makes him the third-fastest man of the year, and South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbine, winner at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm in 10.02
Question marks surround reigning Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs, the Italian who stunned the track and field world last year when he stormed to the 100m gold in Tokyo. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/62ccadb03b49f92488910786.jpg" alt="Marcell Jacobs competes at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019" />
Marcell Jacobs competes at the World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
Jacobs started the year going unbeaten at 60m and winning gold at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade. But his outdoor season has been cut short by injuries, forcing him to pull out of numerous events, including Diamond League meetings in Eugene, Rome, Oslo and Stockholm.
In his most recent appearance, on 26 June, Jacobs won his fifth national title, running a modest 10.12 in Rieti. Whether he will be fit to contend for a medal at the World Championships looks uncertain at best.
"I'll be in Eugene to test the waters," Jacobs posted on Instagram. &nbsp;&ldquo;I am the first to want to get on the top step of the podium, for me and for all of you.&rdquo;
Also dealing with fitness issues is Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse, the reigning Olympic 200m champion and 100m bronze medallist. After being troubled by a foot injury early in the year, he ran a season&rsquo;s best 10.05 to win the 100m at the Diamond League meeting in Oslo on 16 June, but then missed the Canadian Championships after contracting Covid-19.
Steve Wilson for World Athletics

Expected highlights in the women's and men's 100m

WCH Oregon22 preview: 100m

The Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah was in pandemonium tonight as local hero Soufiane El Bakkali, Morocco&rsquo;s golden champion of the Tokyo Olympics, won the steeplechase in a meeting record and world lead of 7:58.28 at the Meeting International Mohammed VI d'Athletisme de Rabat on Sunday (5).
Earlier the large crowd, relishing the return of the Wanda Diamond League to this arena for the first time in three years, had voiced huge dismay as Norway&rsquo;s Olympic 400m hurdles champion and world record-holder Karsten Warholm, making his keenly anticipated 2022 debut, pulled up and held his right hamstring after clearing the first hurdle.
After that downswing, the final upswing created such excitement that El Bakkali, having once more defeated the man he beat to gold in Tokyo &ndash; Ethiopia&rsquo;s Lamecha Girma &ndash; was mobbed by youngsters as he attempted to leave the arena.
He had tracked Girma all the way before choosing his moment, always appearing in control of his fortunes. It was a huge marker for his prospects of adding world gold this summer to the silver and bronze he already owns.
Girma also dipped under eight minutes, clocking 7:59.24, with his compatriot Hailemariyam Tegegn, who had kept in touch with the two leaders until the final lap, third in a personal best of 8:06.29.
Behind him, the revived and recuperated 2016 Olympic champion Conseslus Kipruto took fourth place in 8:12.47, with India&rsquo;s Avinash Mukund Sable fifth in a national record of 8:12.48. A momentous race.
For Warholm, however, the night ended swiftly and unexpectedly.
On the eve of the meeting the Norwegian had commented: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s always a lot of nerves when it comes to the season starter because you know you have been putting in a lot of training but you don&rsquo;t know what to expect.&rdquo; True enough. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/629d227f263094c40bc17507.jpg" alt="Khallifah Rosser in the 400m hurdles in Rabat" />
Khallifah Rosser in the 400m hurdles in Rabat (&copy; Diamond League / Matt Quine)
</div>
 At the start of a sequence he was hoping would take him smoothly on to a third world title and, perhaps, an even faster time than his monumental world record of 45.94, the amiable 26-year-old was suddenly faced with the downside of this sporting life.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s probably a cramp in my hamstring &ndash; my leg seized up,&rdquo; Warholm said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fun to stop like this. It&rsquo;s not something I expected, I felt very, very good. So we will just have to see what is happening.&rdquo;
As the world and Olympic champion was convening despondently on the first bend with his long-time coach Leif Olav Alnes, the departed field arrived at the line, with Khallifah Rosser crossing first in a meeting record of 48.25 from Estonia&rsquo;s Rasmus Magi, who clocked 48.73.
So Alison dos Santos, the 21-year-old Brazilian who took Olympic bronze last year, looks like he might be safe for a while yet at the top of this year&rsquo;s world list with the 47.23 he clocked at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Eugene.
A third meeting record was set in the women&rsquo;s 100m.
Jamaica&rsquo;s double Olympic 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, who had maintained on the eve of competition that she was &ldquo;not in the best shape&rdquo; nevertheless delivered a smooth performance that brought her victory in 10.83.
Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast was second in 11.04, from Natasha Morrison of Jamaica, who clocked 11.22. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/629d222e263094c40bc17501.jpg" alt="Elaine Thompson-Herah in the 100m in Rabat" />
Elaine Thompson-Herah in the 100m in Rabat (&copy; Diamond League / Matt Quine)
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<h2>&nbsp;</h2>
<h2>Ceh and Tentoglou maintain momentum</h2>
Kristjan Ceh retained his current hero status in the men&rsquo;s discus. The 22-year-old Slovenian, who retains his glasses during competition, has something of the look of Clark Kent &ndash; but he is currently throwing like Superman.
Having set a Diamond League and Slovenian record of 71.27m in Birmingham, improving on his previous PB of 68.75m and moving up to 10th on the all-time list, Ceh repeated the trick with a massive effort of 69.42m.
That took over the lead from Sweden&rsquo;s Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl, who had managed 67.16m in the previous round. And after Ceh improved still further to 69.68m in the final round, Stahl could only muster 62.53m.
Australia&rsquo;s Matthew Denny also excelled himself on the night, taking third place with a personal best of 67.07m.
Greece&rsquo;s Olympic long jump gold medallist Miltiadis Tentoglou made good on his vow to &ldquo;defend the long jump pride&rdquo; by beating decathlete Simon Ehammer of Switzerland, who cleared a world-leading 8.45m at last weekend&rsquo;s combined events competition in G&ouml;tzis. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/629d22a5263094c40bc1750a.jpg" alt="Miltiadis Tentoglou in the long jump in Rabat" />
Miltiadis Tentoglou in the long jump in Rabat (&copy; Diamond League / Matt Quine)
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 While Tentoglou, who added another gold to his collection in March at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, carried the day with his fourth-round effort of 8.27m, the Swiss still rides high.
Ehammer &ndash; reported to be contemplating doubling up at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 &ndash; had taken the lead with his third-round distance of 8.11m.
He improved that to 8.13m in the final round after Tentoglou, who had thrown his arms up in frustration as a handsome-looking fifth attempt was ruled out, had failed to register a final distance.
Olympic bronze medallist Maykel Masso of Cuba was third with 8.08m.
<h2>Convincing 1500m wins for Meshesha and Wightman</h2>
Ethiopia dominated the women&rsquo;s 1500m, with Hirut Meshesha, who was five metres clear when the second of the two pacers stepped away with 500 metres remaining, held on to her lead despite the challenge around the final bend of Freweyni Hailu, who moved out into lane two to try to move past her compatriot but lacked the strength to make any further impression.
Meshesha crossed in a personal best of 3:57.30, with the 21-year-old Hailu second in 3:58.18 and Axumawit Embaye taking third place in 3:58.80 ahead of Australia&rsquo;s Georgia Griffith, who gamely kept in touch with the lead throughout and was rewarded with a personal best of 4:00.16. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/629d2259263094c40bc17504.jpg" alt="Hirut Meshesha wins the 1500m in Rabat" />
Hirut Meshesha wins the 1500m in Rabat (&copy; Diamond League / Matt Quine)
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 Britain&rsquo;s Jake Wightman ran a perfectly judged race to win the men&rsquo;s 1500m in 3:32.62 ahead of his compatriot, fellow Olympic finalist and namesake Jake Heyward, who clocked 3:33.54.
Wightman made his move on the final lap, moving clear down the home straight to finish in composed fashion, with home athlete Abellatif Sadiki finishing strongly to take third place in 3:33.93 as Spain&rsquo;s Mohamed Katir, a front-runner until the final 100 metres, falling all the way back to seventh place.
Kenya&rsquo;s 17-year-old Emmanuel Wanyonyi, the world U20 800m champion, followed up his victory in Ostrava on Wednesday with another assured display that belied his age, maintaining himself within striking distance of the lead throughout and finishing strongest in 1:45.47.
Botswana&rsquo;s fast-finishing 2012 Olympic silver medallist Nijel Amos was second in 1:45.66 with France&rsquo;s Gabriel Tual striving hugely for third place in 1:45.71.
Kenya&rsquo;s Collins Kipruto dropped away to fourth over the final 50 metres, but his compatriots Emmanuel Korir and Ferguson Rotich, the respective Olympic gold and silver medallists, had an even less happy time in warm but blustery conditions, finishing eighth and 10th respectively in 1:46.93 and 1:47.72.
Like the men&rsquo;s steeplechase, the women&rsquo;s 3000m produced sustained competition as Kenya&rsquo;s Mercy Cherono and European indoor champion Amy-Eloise Markovc battled all the way down the finishing straight before the Kenyan edged home in 8:40.29, 0.03 clear.
Cherono had tracked the US-based Briton round the final bend before striking for home, but Markovc resolutely refused to let any light develop between them and was rewarded with a personal best of 8:40.32, with Ethiopian teenager Medina Eisa third in 8:41.42.
Three years after making his international debut at this meeting &ndash; where he finished fourth in 20.51 &ndash; Kenny Bednarek returned as the Olympic 200m silver medallist, and he gave a performance in keeping with that standing as he won in 20.21 from lane seven, comfortably clear of South Africa&rsquo;s Luxolo Adams, who clocked 20.35.
The women&rsquo;s 400m saw the Dominican Republic&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist and world leader Marileidy Paulino finishing two metres clear in 50.10, with Sada Williams of Barbados second in 50.74 and Stephenie Ann McPherson of Jamaica third in 51.37.
<h2>Jumps victories for Morris, Mahuchikh and Lafond</h2>
Sandi Morris, set on following successive world pole vault silvers with gold in the home setting of Eugene, Oregon this summer, maintained her winning form with a confident display.
By contrast, her training partner Katie Nageotte, the Olympic champion, failed to clear her opening height of 4.30m. Morris, meanwhile, did not enter the competition until 4.55m, clearing at the second attempt, and a first-time clearance at 4.65m confirmed victory. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/629d233f263094c40bc1750d.jpg" alt="Triple jump winner Thea Lafond in Rabat" />
Triple jump winner Thea Lafond in Rabat (&copy; Diamond League / Matt Quine)
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 Australia&rsquo;s Nina Kennedy was also clear first time at 4.65m, despite making 4.55m on her third attempt, but then had to retire. Greece&rsquo;s 2016 Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi was third, clearing 4.55m first time but then being unable to make 4.65m.
Ukraine&rsquo;s Olympic bronze medallist and world silver medal-winning high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who has already earned world indoor gold this year, maintained her winning momentum with a first-time clearance at 1.96m before skipping up to take three unsuccessful attempts at 2.01m.
Like her two compatriots Iryna Gerashchenko and Yuliya Levchenko, the 20-year-old was sporting a badge pinned to her vest in support of Ukraine&rsquo;s resistance to the Russian invasion.
Gerashchenko cleared 1.93m and took second place on countback ahead of Australia&rsquo;s Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olsylagers &ndash; formerly McDermott &ndash; and Kazakhstan&rsquo;s Nadezhda Dubovitskaya.
Thea Lafond of Dominica won the women&rsquo;s triple jump with a fifth-round effort of 14.46m, with Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica second with 14.43m and Slovenia&rsquo;s Neja Filipic third, a centimetre behind.
Mike Rowbottom for World Athletics

World and Olympic 400m hurdles champion Karsten Warholm pulls up after the first barrier

El Bakkali rocks Rabat with world-leading steeplechase victory

&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about the start; what&rsquo;s important is the finish&rdquo;. That&rsquo;s the advice world U20 100m champion Letsile Tebogo will pay heed to when he takes his place alongside some of the big names in track and field as he makes his Wanda Diamond League debut at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon on Saturday (28).
Barely a year ago, the teenager was a relatively unknown sprinter who had just started to make a name for himself in his home country of Botswana. However, Tebogo&rsquo;s career has undergone such a remarkable transformation in the past year that he has since demonstrated his readiness to roll with the big boys.
And so his Diamond League appearance in the men&rsquo;s 100m &ndash; which boasts a star-studded line up including world and Olympic medallists such as Christian Coleman, Trayvon Bromell, Andre De Grasse, Noah Lyles and Fred Kerley &ndash; will serve as a rite of passage of some sort.
Tebogo will be in good company as he also squares off with USA's world U20 200m record-holder Erriyon Knighton, who stormed to an incredible 19.49 on the same day the Botswana youngster also clocked his own world U20 100m record of 9.96, shaving 0.01 off Bromell&rsquo;s previous mark set in 2014.
The teenagers will be going head-to-head for the first time after Knighton missed last year&rsquo;s World Athletics U20 Championships Nairobi 21, which turned out to be a defining moment in Tebogo&rsquo;s budding career. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6136098f943f98a751e19ed4.jpg" alt="Letsile Tebogo and Udodi Onwuzurike" />
Letsile Tebogo and Udodi Onwuzurike (&copy; Roger Sedres)
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The 18-year-old has no doubt paid his dues since switching fully to athletics in 2018 after failing in his attempt to become a football star. Hailing from a country best known for its quarter-milers who have since become household names, such as Isaac Makwala and Baboloki Thebe, the much younger Tebogo opted for a road less travelled by focusing on the 100m and 200m and has made history in the process.
At the start of 2021, Tebogo began to make waves after setting a national U20 record of 10.39 in the 100m. He also posted an amazing 20.36 in the 200m at the BAA Series Meet in April and then at the Botswana U20 Championships in May, he further lowered the U20 100m record to 10.24, making him a strong contender for a medal at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi.
There Tebogo was simply sublime as he dominated his 100m heat with a time of 10.22 in Nairobi, then raised the stakes with a national record of 10.11 to maintain his unbeaten run. He was unstoppable in the final as he raced to gold in 10.19 to become the first ever athlete from Botswana to win a global title in the 100m. He would also claim silver in the 200m behind Nigeria&rsquo;s Udodi Onwuzurike.
"I learnt that I need to put in more work to succeed all round," says&nbsp;Tebogo, reflecting on his experience in Nairobi. "However, the support from my country was really good. The secret to my spectacular performances are hard work and the people around me who motivate me."
The significance of his historic feat in Nairobi wasn&rsquo;t lost on his compatriots, as they now consider the talented athlete a pacesetter in Botswana Athletics.
"This is our first big achievement in this event (the 100m) and it shows we are cooking something good in these areas," says national coach Chilume Ntshwarang.
"Normally, our medal prospects are in the 400m, but it&rsquo;s very exciting to see us getting a medal in this event. Definitely we will be looking more at the 100m because we have young athletes who are coming up who are really good. Letsile set the pace." 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6290afb3c0070be164ac0312.jpg" alt="Letsile Tebogo with his fellow world U20 100m medallists Benjamin Richardson and Shainer Rengifo Montoya" />
Letsile Tebogo with his fellow world U20 100m medallists Benjamin Richardson and Shainer Rengifo Montoya (&copy; Roger Sedres)
</div>
Tebogo returned home to prepare for the 2022 season and started the year with a bang by setting a national record of 10.08 at the Botswana Athletics Association Championships in February.&nbsp; His next race was at the Gaborone International Meet at the end of April.
Shooting out of the blocks, the Motswana was unstoppable as he stormed past the rest of the field, which included the likes of the South African duo of Benjamin Richardson and Henricho Bruintjies, crossing the line in that world U20 100m record of 9.96. The result saw him become only the second U20 athlete in history after Bromell to run inside 10 seconds for the discipline.
"It feels really good to be called a world record-holder because it&rsquo;s something one has always dreamed of,"&nbsp;Tebogo says. "It wasn&rsquo;t part of the plan to be the first person from Botswana to do a sub-10, and so early in the season too, but we have accomplished something very huge."
It was not surprising, therefore, that Tebogo was named the most outstanding male athlete of the year by his country nearly two weeks after his world record-breaking display.
"What the country is doing is a good thing, so it helps us and motivates us to do even greater things for the country," he says of the honour bestowed on him by Botswana.
With a stacked schedule this year, which features the African Championships, the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22, not forgetting his new status as a Diamond League entrant, Tebogo is still trying to juggle the forthcoming events.
"I will go to the African Championships, World Championships and then the World U20 Championships," he says. "The African Championships is just for me to go out there and see what the big men are doing to be fast. I expect them to push me.
"For the World U20 Championships, I think I will have to go and defend my title. I still have to decide with my coach."
In the meantime, the multiple world U20 medallist is living his dreams. Sharing his advice for younger athletes who consider him a role model, he adds: "Rome wasn&rsquo;t built in a day, so they should not give up on their dreams. They should keep pushing."
Yemi Olus-Galadima

The world U20 100m record-holder has started a busy season in sensational style.

World U20 champion Tebogo comes of age ahead of Diamond League debut

It was at an early age that a young sprinter from the parish of Saint&nbsp;Catherine in Jamaica garnered attention from around the world thanks to her eye-catching performances.
Meet Brianna Lyston, who has had her fair share of setbacks since her breakthrough season but is hoping to stamp her mark at the World Athletics U20 Championships Cali 22 in August.
Her confidence is the result of some remarkable success this season, winning all but one of her races. Two of those performances earned her&nbsp;PBs of 11.14 (0.7m/s) in the 100m and 22.53 (-2.2m/s) in the 200m.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure of how fast I can go,&rdquo; says Lyston, who prefers the 200m. &ldquo;But, I think for the World U20 Championships, I&rsquo;d like to go sub-23 seconds again.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6283dc6627554b556b05f2d3.jpg" alt="Brianna Lyston celebrates breaking the Champs 200m record" />
Brianna Lyston celebrates breaking the Champs 200m record (&copy; Athelstan Bellamy)
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Lyston&rsquo;s rise to prominence started in 2017, two months out from her 13th&nbsp;birthday, at the ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships (Champs). There the fiercely competitive sprinter established a world U13 best and was a member of the championship record-breaking 4x100m team. Five years later, those records remain untouched.
When Lyston ran a wind-assisted 23.46 (+2.2m/s) in the semifinals to signal her arrival, many spectators shifted in their seats, while others stood up. Two days later, she stormed to a 23.72 (-0.6m/s) championship record in the final to complete a magnificent Champs sprint double. She had no idea how the achievement would suddenly affect her life. After all, it was the fastest any 12-year-old had darted around the half-lap event in athletics history. It created an unexpected euphoria.
In an instant, she became an overnight sensation. Not even the legendary Usain Bolt, with&nbsp;whom comparisons surfaced, drew&nbsp;so much attention at that age. Ultimately, it was too much for Lyston, who was not accustomed to celebrity status.
An emotionally drained Lyston went into a shell.&nbsp;&ldquo;I was very young and it had me shaken up,&rdquo; she says with a tinge of sadness.
The following year at Champs, Lyston lost to rising stars Tia Clayton and Serena Cole in the class three 100m final and was fourth in the 200m final.
In 2019, the talented Clayton twins (Tina and Tia), who were once in Lyston&rsquo;s shadow, were now occupying the front row and they finished 1-2 in both the 100m and 200m, with Lyston third on both occasions. While acknowledging the quality of the twins, Lyston reveals that she was unhealthy during those two seasons.
&ldquo;After my first year in high school, I picked up a few injuries,&nbsp;such as&nbsp;hamstrings&nbsp;and quad,&rdquo; Lyston explains. &ldquo;I overcame the quad injuries, but the hamstring injuries persisted into class two. I always competed but not at my best. It was devastating because I was not getting better or performing how I wanted to.&rdquo;
The cancellation of Champs, and by extension the track and field season in 2020, provided many athletes with more free time than usual. It was during this period of inactivity when nothing interesting was on Netflix that Lyston reflected on her past as well as planned her future. She and&nbsp;her two confidantes decided it was time for a new&nbsp;environment.
&ldquo;During the pandemic, I was sitting down and thinking about how I&rsquo;m going to advance myself and decided I should switch schools and see if things would work out better for me,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I spoke to my mom and my best friend and we agreed on Hydel High as the best option. It is a school that I admired over the years.&rdquo;
However, the decision came with consequences. She had to sit out a year based on the Jamaican high school transfer eligibility rule, which states that athletes below 12th grade who have switched schools during the year must miss the next edition of Champs. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6283dc0f27554b556b05f2d0.jpg" alt="Brianna Lyston in the heats at the CARIFTA Games" />
Brianna Lyston in the heats at the CARIFTA Games (&copy; Athelstan Bellamy)
</div>
She spent&nbsp;the time away preparing&nbsp;for the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
&ldquo;I was still battling injuries, but I was far better than I was before,&rdquo; declares Lyston, who was relishing the opportunity to compete in Africa, a continent she had read and heard so many stories about.
While she embraced the Kenyan culture, the weather conditions were a different matter. &ldquo;The people made you feel at home, the food was good, but I never expected Kenya to be that cold. So, it was hard to adapt to the weather, we had to do extra stuff to get our bodies warm for the competition.&rdquo;
Lyston loves competing against the best and the Nairobi championships offered her that opportunity. &ldquo;It was my first U20&nbsp;championships&nbsp;and it was amazing,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;The competition was good as you met some talented athletes like Christine Mboma, Beatrice Masilingi and Favour Ofili, and it was a really good experience competing with them.&rdquo;
Lyston ran a PB of 23.18 in her 200m heat, which she equalled in the semifinals when finishing second behind Olympic silver medallist Mboma, who set a championship record.&nbsp;
In a fast final, she crossed the finish line fourth behind Mboma, Masilingi and Ofili, but a lane violation resulted in her disqualification. It was a learning moment and in the ensuing months, Lyston went about correcting that error and reinventing herself.
&ldquo;Seeing the mishap that happened at World U20s, I went back to training and worked on fixing how I ran the curve,&rdquo; she says.&nbsp;&ldquo;Also, I have been thoroughly going through my warm-ups and eating&nbsp;better, especially&nbsp;a lot of protein and drinking milk after workouts,&nbsp;and I have improved&nbsp;massively in the gym.&rdquo;
There is proof&nbsp;of those adjustments this season with a few fast times in her pet event. First, she clocked 22.66 at the CARIFTA Trials in March, followed by her stunning lifetime best of 22.53 into a 2.2m/s headwind at Champs, competing for her new school. The time erased Simone Facey&rsquo;s 18-year-old championship record of 22.71.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It was my most memorable performance to date,&rdquo; says Lyston, who was returning after a two-year hiatus.
&ldquo;I went into Champs injury free and went for the record,&rdquo; adds the 17-year-old, who now owns the girls&rsquo; 200m records for classes one and four.
Her association with record-breaking performances reached its peak at the 49th&nbsp;CARIFTA Games on 18 April. The dream quartet of Cole, Tina Clayton, Lyston and Tia Clayton &ndash; in that running order &ndash; triggered unrestrained celebrations inside Jamaica&rsquo;s national stadium when they broke the women&rsquo;s world U20 4x100m record with a 42.58 run. It improved on the previous record of 42.94 also set by a Jamaican quartet last year at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi.
&ldquo;It was an overwhelming feeling that we could do it for our country,&rdquo; says Lyston. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/625ec31934477281fb4db2bb.jpeg" alt="Tina Clayton, Serena Cole, Brianna Lyston and Tia Clayton celebrate their world U20 4x100m record at the Carifta Games" />
Tina Clayton, Serena Cole, Brianna Lyston and Tia Clayton celebrate their world U20 4x100m record at the Carifta Games
</div>
Nowadays, Lyston is more mature and prepared for interviews and press conferences. However, her biggest challenge is resisting the urge to read what detractors are saying on social media. She draws inspiration from her role model in managing high pressure situations while&nbsp;remaining&nbsp;true to herself and her supporters.
&ldquo;From a tender age, I&rsquo;ve always looked up to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce,&rdquo; says Lyston. &ldquo;I love her personality and how she conducts herself. She knows how to mix it up, she&rsquo;s outgoing and has a lot of vibes off the track but once she&rsquo;s in the zone, she&rsquo;s switched on.&rdquo; &nbsp;&nbsp;
In anticipation of&nbsp;the World&nbsp;U20 Championships in Colombia, Lyston expresses optimism.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve learned a lot from the Nairobi championships,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been working on a few things and been progressing really well.
&ldquo;I am banking on my speed endurance, which is my strongest asset, and hoping to put everything together and deliver in Cali.&rdquo;
Noel Francis for World Athletics

It was at an early age that a young sprinter from the parish of Saint Catherine in Jamaica garnered attention from around the world thanks to her eye-catching performances.

Jamaican sprinter Lyston ready to cap her comeback in Cali

Fred Kerley is an international man of mystery. He&rsquo;s a threat to win any race he enters, no matter if it&rsquo;s the 100m, the 200m or the 400m.
&ldquo;Fred is a Swiss Army knife,&rdquo; says US teammate Michael Cherry. &ldquo;He can do a lot of different sprint events.&rdquo;
Naturally, inquisitive minds want to know: What will Kerley run in June at the US Championships, where the team will be selected for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22?
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve got to wait and see,&rdquo; he says.
The meeting is only four days, with three rounds in each of Kerley&rsquo;s events. He quickly puts to rest any notion he&rsquo;d attempt the triple: &ldquo;No, it&rsquo;s a lot on the body.&rdquo;
And so the guessing game begins. Kerley is the only man in history who has won Wanda Diamond League races in the 100m, 200m and 400m.
In 2019, he contested only 400m races, culminating in the bronze medal at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Then Kerley stunned the athletics world by skipping the 400m at the US Olympic Trials and placing third in the 100m and fourth in the 200m. He became the surprise silver medallist in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics with a PB of 9.84. Switching back and forth between the two events, he finished his season with a spectacular 19.76 in the 200m at altitude in Nairobi. 
<div style="text-align: center;"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6268010b2b23f0f3232fb15d.jpg" alt="USA's Fred Kerley secures 100m silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games" />
USA's Fred Kerley secures 100m silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games (&copy; Getty Images)
</div>
On 16 April, the 26-year-old ran a sizzling 19.80 in the 200m at the USATF Golden Games in Walnut, California, bettering his own world-leading time of 20.04. Kerley chased down Michael Norman in the last 50 metres, his final burst taking him across the line at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.
As Kerley&rsquo;s momentum carried him around the curve, he held his arms out wide as if to say, &ldquo;How do you like that?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Boy, is he a gamer,&rdquo; said Sanya Richards-Ross, the Olympic gold medallist and television commentator. &ldquo;He shows up in finals every single time. This young man always kind of has this chip on his shoulder. He keeps wanting to prove to us&hellip; &lsquo;Fred, we see you. You&rsquo;re a champion.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Norman could feel him. Kerley was on his right, methodically gaining down the stretch. &ldquo;You just kind of get a sense of presence,&rdquo; the 24-year-old says, &ldquo;you know what I mean?&rdquo;
Norman ran 19.83 in his season opener and tweeted after the race that he &ldquo;can&rsquo;t be too mad&rdquo; because of his fast time. He added: &ldquo;Much respect for @fkerley99 but I&rsquo;m going to need that rematch sometime this year,&rdquo; to which Kerley replied: &ldquo;Respect.&rdquo; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Respect <a href="https://t.co/ENZi0vGAtH">https://t.co/ENZi0vGAtH</a>
&mdash; Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) <a href="https://twitter.com/fkerley99/status/1515510175066517512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
 While Kerley is a prolific tweeter, favouring the hashtag #IAMHISTORY, he is a man of few words.
His thoughts on reeling in Norman? &ldquo;I got the W.&rdquo;
His goals for the rest of the season? &ldquo;Win.&rdquo;
What about time-wise? &ldquo;Win,&rdquo; Kerley repeats. &ldquo;Time is not my concern, it&rsquo;s all about the Ws that come.&rdquo;
The 6-foot-3 Kerley is undefeated so far this season across all three distances. In early March, he clocked 44.47 in the 400m in a meeting in Grenada, a time that was No.1 until Cherry went 44.28 at the Golden Games, while Olympic champion Steven Gardiner has since improved the world lead to 44.22. Kerley posted a time of 9.99 in the 100m, which ranks fifth on the world list, in a meet in Florida in late March.
His next race will be a 100m on 7 May at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi, this season&rsquo;s next World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting.
<h2>Renewed rivalries</h2>
Kerley says he decides which distance to run based on where his training is taking him. Of course, the 100m and the 400m place different demands on his body. One requires explosiveness, the other a tolerance to pain.
&ldquo;Both of them got to give and take,&rdquo; Kerley adds. &ldquo;One got your head spinning and one got your legs spinning, too.&rdquo;
Kerley believes his versatility can help promote his sport. He has rivals at every distance, from Norman, Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman in the US to Kirani James, Marcell Jacobs and Andre De Grasse from the international ranks.
&ldquo;Hey, I like to compete, so rivalry&rsquo;s rivalry,&rdquo; Kerley says. &ldquo;I feel like it&rsquo;s very important to have a rivalry in the sport because that&rsquo;s what&rsquo;s going to get more attention to track and field&mdash; like football and basketball. They&rsquo;ve got rivalries. But if we have rivalries between us, we&rsquo;re going to be big.&rdquo; 
<div style="text-align: center;"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/626801f365219027c99d31f3.jpg" alt="Fred Kerley and Michael Norman go head-to-head at the USATF Golden Games" />
Fred Kerley and Michael Norman go head-to-head at the USATF Golden Games (&copy; Getty Images)
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Kerley and Norman are two of the three members of the exclusive, sub-10, sub-20, sub-44 second club. The other is Wayde van Niekerk, the 29-year-old 2016 Olympic champion from South Africa.
Head-to-head, Kerley has the faster time in the 100m &mdash; 9.84 to 9.86 &mdash; while Norman is quicker at the 200m &mdash; 19.70 to 19.76. Norman also has the better 400m time of 43.45 to 43.64. Van Niekerk&rsquo;s times, meanwhile, are 9.94, 19.84 and the world record of 43.03.
While Kerley and Norman are cordial, they are both also supremely competitive. &ldquo;He does the same events as me &mdash; everybody is my enemy once you touch the track,&rdquo; Kerley says.
Norman has a similar mindset. &ldquo;Nobody wants to lose to anybody,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;So every time we race each other, it&rsquo;s like who&rsquo;s going to get the best of who that race.&rdquo;
He adds of Kerley: &ldquo;He&rsquo;s cool. All respect to Fred, no beef or animosity, or nothing like that. He&rsquo;s a great competitor, he&rsquo;s a good guy.&rdquo;
Norman says their rivalry keeps the sport &ldquo;unpredictable&rdquo;.
&ldquo;When it comes having somebody who does an extremely similar thing as you,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;it just brings out the best in both of us and it elevates each other, so there&rsquo;ll be plenty more races down the road.&rdquo;
Kerley adds that marketability and popularity &mdash; the 100m is the more glamorous event in the public eye &mdash; will have no bearing on which events he will choose for the World Championships.
However, he did acknowledge last year that he does have a long-term goal.
&ldquo;I want to be a legend, like Usain Bolt,&rdquo; Kerley said.
<h2>No secret to success</h2>
Originally a 200m runner coming out of high school, Kerley moved up to the full lap in college. At Texas A&amp;M, he won two NCAA titles. 
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/626803120805e5d0c23187f2.jpg" alt="US sprinter Fred Kerley" />
US sprinter Fred Kerley (&copy; Getty Images)
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He says there&rsquo;s no secret to how he is able to compete in three distances now. &ldquo;Training,&rdquo; Kerley explains. &ldquo;Training. And training.&rdquo;
But there has to be something else.
Michael Johnson was the Olympic gold medallist and world record-holder in both the 200m (19.32) and 400m (43.18), but his best time in the 100m was 10.09.
Usain Bolt holds the world records in the 100m (9.58) and 200m (19.19), but went no faster than 45.28 in the 400m. Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens were triple threats combined with the long jump, not the quarter-mile.
Kenny Bednarek, the Olympic silver medallist in the 200m, is a member of the sub-10, sub-20 and sub-45 club.
&ldquo;What Fred&rsquo;s been doing is pretty incredible,&rdquo; Bednarek says.
He adds that the transition between events requires a lot of adjustments. &ldquo;In the 400,&rdquo; Bednarek says, &ldquo;we&rsquo;re never really explosive. It&rsquo;s more maintaining your rhythm and the lactate and see who has the most guts to finish that last 150 stretch. In the 400, you can make a mistake, but you can correct it. In the 200 and the 100, you don&rsquo;t really have time.&rdquo;
After Kerley completed his Diamond League triple last year by winning the 100m at the Brussels meeting, a certain Twitter account posed a question.
&ldquo;So&hellip; which event will @fkerley99 focus on next year? Asking for a friend,&rdquo; wrote the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
&ldquo;800,&rdquo; Kerley replied, followed by three laughing emojis. &ldquo;Naw I just playing.&rdquo;
Karen Rosen for World Athletics

Fred Kerley is a threat to win any race he enters, no matter if it’s the 100m, the 200m or the 400m.