World Champs Men’s 100 — Jamaica Resurgent After Decade Away

As Kishane Thompson, Noah Lyles & Kenny Bednarek waged war in interior lanes, Oblique Seville streaked past in corridor 7. (KEVIN MORRIS)

AFTER FOUR STRAIGHT world titles for Americans, the Jamaicans reclaimed 100-meter bragging rights, with Oblique Seville and Kishane Thompson going 1-2 ahead of defending champion (and last year’s Olympic gold medalist) Noah Lyles.

Seville’s meet opened inauspiciously when he had a lethargic start in the first heat (0.286 reaction time). He rallied to finish 3rd in 9.93 behind the PRs of South Africa’s Gift Leotlela (9.87) and Nigeria’s Kanyinsola Ajayi (9.88). Thompson (the world leader at 9.75 from the Jamaican Championships in June) and Lyles won the next two races comfortably in matching 9.95s. American Kenny Bednarek (10.01), Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (10.07), Nigeria’s Israel Okon (10.04) and South Africa’s Akani Simbine (10.02) won the remaining sections.

American T’Mars McCallum barely escaped a DQ in heat 6 (his reaction time came up as 0.099) but then struggled in the next try, finishing 4th in 10.25 and not advancing.

In the next day’s first semifinal, Lyles reeled in the fast-starting Jamaican Ackeem Blake by halfway and held off Ajayi, 9.92–9.93, with Simbine (9.96) on the bubble. Marcell Jacobs, who won Olympic gold here 4 years ago, was a non-qualifying 6th in 10.16, his fastest clocking of a challenging season.

Bednarek and Thompson ran side by side in the second semi and smiled as they glanced over at each other ahead of the finish, both clocking 9.85 with the American getting the win. Seville dominated the final section, chattering to the field during the second half of the race and shushing his doubters with a finger to his lips as he crossed the line in 9.86. With Tebogo 2nd in 9.94, Leotlela (9.97 for the 27-year-old surprise contender) joined countryman Simbine as the time qualifiers. American Courtney Lindsey (10.18) was 8th.

A little over an hour later, the final started with drama when Tebogo, the silver medalist two years ago, false started and was sent off the track. On the next try, Seville (0.157 reaction time), in lane 7, and Thompson (0.160), in lane 5, had the best starts, while Bednarek (0.211), in between the Jamaicans, was left behind. Thompson maintained the lead through 75 meters, but Seville ultimately turned on his jets to soar by, setting a new PR 9.77. He ripped open his jersey as Usain Bolt, Jamaica’s last 100 champ, enthusiastically cheered from the stands.

“Finishing strong in the last 30 to 40 meters was something I was struggling with the whole season; I just didn’t recognize it,” said Seville, who is coached by Glen Mills, the same man who guided Bolt to six global titles in the 100 (three in the Olympics and three at Worlds). “Now I have perfected it, and I was confident that if I could do it in the final, I would win.”

Thompson (9.82) held his form for silver, matching his hardware from the Olympics. In lane 4, Lyles (9.89) executed his typical late charge to work his way through the field and take the bronze, followed by Bednarek (9.92), Leotlela (9.95), ’25 Auburn soph Ajayi (10.00) and Simbine (10.04).

Though Seville has been among the world’s top sprinters for the last few seasons, he had come short of the podium, taking 4th in Eugene and Budapest and 8th in Paris over the last three seasons. “Track and field is both mental and physical,” he said. “I think I have mastered the mental part of it.”

Lyles was pleased with his performance, particularly in light of the ankle injury that disrupted his preparation and delayed his racing schedule this spring. “It was a short season with injury, not a lot of races under my belt,” he said. “But, hey, every time I showed up here, I was running faster and better than I ever have. I was very excited with the things that I saw today.”

MEN’S 100 RESULTS

(September 14; wind +0.3)

1. Oblique Seville (Jam) 9.77 PR (=10, x W);

2. Kishane Thompson (Jam) 9.82;

3. Noah Lyles (US) 9.89;

4. Kenny Bednarek (US) 9.92;

5. Gift Leotlela (SA) 9.95;

6. Kayinsola Ajayi (Ngr) 10.00;

7. Akani Simbine (SA) 10.04;

… fs—Letsile Tebogo (Bot).

(lanes: 2. Simbine; 3. Ajayi; 4. Lyles; 5. Thompson; 6. Bednarek; 7. Seville; 8. Tebogo; 9. Leotlela)

(reaction times: 0.157 Seville, 0.160 Thompson, 0.162 Simbine, 0.177 Ajayi, 0.184 Leotlela, 0.192 Lyles, 0.211 Bednarek)

QUALIFYING (September 13)

I(-0.8)–1. Chris Borzor (Hai) 10.41; 2. Zaid Al Awamleh (Jor) 10.62; 3. D’Angelo Huisden (Sur) 10.89; 4. Sanjay Weekes (Mnt) 11.08; 5. Titali Kolomalu (TGA) 11.29 PR; 6. Matthew Fiso (AmS) 11.40 PR; 7. Salin Tort (Cam) 11.42; 8. Marcos Santos (Ang) 11.72;… dnf—Abdul Rahim Abdullah (Bru).

II(-0.6)–1. Saif Raad Abdel Wahed (Irq) 10.56; 2. Dyland Sicobo (Sey) 10.79; 3. Olivier Mwimba (Con) 10.92; 4. Winzar Kakiouea (NRU) 10.93; 5. Stanislaus Kostka (Mic) 11.48 PR; 6. Tyson Chinn (Pau) 11.55 PR; 7. Ty’ree Langidrik (MHL) 11.68 PR; 8. Sean Penalver (Gib) 11.87.

III(-0.5)–1. Kuron Griffith (Bar) 10.47; 2. Alieu Joof (Gam) 10.60; 3. Favoris Muzrapov (Tjk) 10.67; 4. Hassan Saaid (MDV) 10.84; 5. Kenaz Kaniwete (Kyr) 11.10; 6. Ndong Gregorio (EqG) 11.48 PR; 7. Manuel Belo Amaral Ataide (TLS) 11.59; 8. Theodore Rodgers (NMI) 12.13.

HEATS (September 13)

I(0.3)–1. Leotlela 9.87 PR; 2. Ajayi 9.88 PR; 3. Seville 9.93; 4. Romell Glave (GB) 10.00 =PR; 5. Zhenye Xie (Chn) 10.21; 6. Taymir Burnet (Neth) 10.21; 7. Mamadou Fall Sarr (Sen) 10.25; 8. Al Awamleh 10.46.

II(0.1)–1. Thompson 9.95; 2. Eliezer Adjibi (Can) 10.19; 3. Ronal Longa (Col) 10.21; 4. Henrik Larsson (Swe) 10.22; 5. Simon Hansen (Den) 10.22; 6. Eloy Benitez (PR) 10.23; 7. Yuhi Mori (Jpn) 10.37; 8. Saaid 10.81.

III(-1.1)–1. Lyles 9.95; 2. Ackeem Blake (Jam) 10.07; 3. Terrence Jones (Bah) 10.16; 4. Ali Anwar Al-Balushi (Oma) 10.25; 5. Yoshihide Kiryu (Jpn) 10.28; 6. Borzor 10.36; 7. Kuron Griffith (Bar) 10.40; 8. Felipe Bardi (Bra) 10.54.

IV(-0.8)–1. Bednarek 10.01; 2. Jerome Blake (Can) 10.05; 3. Jeremiah Azu (GB) 10.10; 4. Phooripol Bunson (Tha) 10.15; 5. Rohan Browning (Aus) 10.16; 6. Owen Ansah (Ger) 10.21; 7. Carlos Florez (Col) 10.42; 8. Muzrapov 10.70.

V(-1.2)–1. Tebogo 10.07; 2. Andre De Grasse (Can) 10.16; 3. Courtney Lindsey (US) 10.19; 4. Rikkoi Brathwaite (BVI) 10.23; 5. Lucas Ansah-Peprah (Ger) 10.25; 6. Benjamin Azamati (Gha) 10.30; 7. Erik Felipe Cardoso (Bra) 10.32; 8. Sicobo 10.85.

VI(-0.6)–1. Israel Sunday Okon (Ngr) 10.04; 2. Zharnel Hughes (GB) 10.06; 3. Lamont Marcell Jacobs (Ita) 10.20; 4. T’Mars McCallum (US) 10.25; 5. Davonte Howell (Cay) 10.33; 6. Joshua Azzopardi (Aus) 10.41; 7. Retshiditswe Mlenga (SA) 10.42; 8. Joof 10.54.

VII(0.0)–1. Simbine 10.02; 2. Abdul-Rasheed Saminu (Gha) 10.09; 3. Ferdinand Omanyala (Ken) 10.12; 4. Elvis Afrifa (Neth) 10.15; 5. Xinrui Deng (Chn) 10.23; 6. Emmanuel Eseme (Cam) 10.24; 7. Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Jpn) 10.37; 8. Wahed 10.58.

SEMIS (September 14)

I(0.1)–1. Lyles 9.92; 2. Ajayi 9.93; 3. Simbine 9.96; 4. Azu 10.05; 5. Blake 10.12; 6. Jacobs 10.16; 7. Afrifa 10.20; 8. Adjibi 10.27.

II(0.2)–1. tie, Thompson & Bednarek 9.85 (.844); 3. tie, Blake & Hughes 10.03 (.022); 5. Omanyala 10.09; 6. Jones 10.10; 7. Bunson 10.17; 8. Longa 10.23.

III(0.0)–1. Seville 9.86; 2. Tebogo 9.94; 3. Leotlela 9.97; 4. Saminu 10.08; 5. De Grasse 10.09; 6. Glave 10.09; 7. Okon 10.14; 8. Lindsey 10.18.

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