Oregon 22 World Athletics Champs: Day Three: Jamaicans Sweep W100 meters!

WC / Day Three: Jamaicans Sweep w100 Meters

SAFP, Jackson, Thompson-Herah Complete 1st Ever WC w100m Sweep

July 17th, 2022

The USA’s Day Two clean sweep of all three medals in the men’s 100-meter dash prompts this question: Could we see yet another clean sweep in tonight’s women’s 100m final?

Medal sweeps are rare – even in sprints. With respect to the men’s 100 meters, there have been only two in the World Championships before last night’s USA sweep. And if you examine the Olympic records, there have only been two men’s 100m sweeps at that global event – and they occurred in the prehistoric era (1904 and 1912). But what about the women’s 100 meters and sweeps? In the World Championships, there has never been a sweep of the women’s 100m medals by any country. Ah, but if you look at the Olympic records, you will find that there has been one women’s 100m sweep at the Games. It was in the 2020 Games when the Jamaican women went 1-2-3 in the women’s 100m final last summer. Could it happen tonight? You bet it could. The women who won the 3 Tokyo 100m dash medals – Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson – have all advanced and will compete first in the semi-finals and are good prospects to advance to tonight’s final.

In the semi-final round, the Jamaican women who authored the 2020 Olympic 100m sweep all advanced: Jackson won heat one in 10.84; Thomson- Herah won heat two in 10.83; and Fraser-Pryce won heat three in 10.93.

After Day Three and as the athletes prepped on the track for the final, you could feel the excitement and the pressure. At the gun, Fraser-Pryce (10.67) unleashed her usual rocket start, and she was gone, on her way to yet another world championship gold medal. But Jackson (10.73) got out well, too – and she rode that advantage to a lifetime best and the silver medal. Thompson-Herah (10.81 for the bronze) completed the sweep – the first time ever for a women’s 100m sweep in the World Championships.

Trackside Tidbits

mMarathon: Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola stuck to a pre-race plan and won gold in the men’s marathon. 63 athletes from 33 countries ran a 3-loop course that traversed the Willamette River and featured sections of Pre’s Trail. In the early going, kilometers splits were in the 3:02-3:03 range that allowed big bunching at the front of the pack. The racing got more serious in the 3rd and final 14-kilometer loop. Slowly, the pace elevated with kilometer splits dropping below 3:00, a pace many could not tolerate. Halfway through the final loop Tola, who had been flirting near the front, jumped into the lead and had a surprise for all. Chipping the pace down even further shook many. But it was the kilometer he covered in 2:43 that was the dagger. Thereafter, the new world record champion was unthreatened and looked amazingly within himself all the way to the finish line, which he crossed in 2:05:36, capturing the gold medal and taking down the old course record of 2:06:54. Hid Ethiopian teammate Mosinet Geremew finished 2nd in 2:06:44 for the silver followed by Belgium’s Bashir Abdi in 2:06:48 for the bronze. Canada’s Cam Levins ran a great race to finish 4th in a season’s best 2:07:14. Olympic silver and bronze medalist and revered Eugene icon Galen Rupp finished 19th in 2:09:36. Rupp was followed by his USA teammates: Elkana Kibet (24th in 2:11:20) and Colin Mickow (46th in 2:16:36).

wHT / Final: Another terrific battle in the field. The lead changed hands in the early rounds before Brooke Anderson – the world leader – unloaded a terrific 4th round throw of 77.42m/254’0”. But she wasn’t done. In round five, she fired off another missile – 77.56m/254’5” – to enhance her lead. On her 6th round attempt – the final throw of the competition – her gold medal was assured. Undaunted, she launched the best throw of the day – 78.96m/259’1”. Only three others have ever thrown farther. Just a little icing on the cake by the new world champion! Canada’s Camryn Rogers (#4 on the WL and #9 on the world all-time list) grabbed the silver with a best mark of 75.52m/247’9” while Janee Kassanavoid earned the bronze with her best throw of 74.86m/245’7”. In the mixed zone, Anderson was still trying to process it all. “It hasn’t really quite set in yet,” admitted the new world champion. “I was looking out across the field, and I thought to myself, ‘I’m a world champion.’ I thank everyone who has helped me get to this point in my career.”

m10,000 / Final: This much-anticipated final provided yet another electrifying race. All the new eastern Africans would be tough. But could any of the American Trio of Grant Fisher (the world leader in this event), Joe Klecker, and Sean McGorty be able to influence this race and maybe, just maybe, find a pathway to the medal podium? The race’s early stages featured kilometers clicking off in the 2:45ish range. Just before the 3K mark Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the world record holder, and his countrymen Jacob Kiplimo implemented their race strategy, swapping pacing duties and throwing in an occasional pace injection to soften up the others for the furious conclusion they were plotting. Meanwhile, the Americans, unsurprised by this tactic, kept their cool, knowing what was yet to come. Halfway was passed in 14:01, but everyone knew that negative splits were on the way as the Ugandans continued to split the pacing chores. At 8K, passed in 22:18, fully 15 of the field of 24 remained bunched upfront bracing for the end game. Fisher, alert throughout, quietly moved into 7th with 3 laps to go as the pace quickened. At the bell, Fisher was bunched with the leaders: the two Ugandans, Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega and Kenya’s Stanley Mburu. The action was furious on the backstretch, but the world record holder was able to forge a slight margin as the quintet raced onto the homestretch. Cheptegei (27:27.43) hit the line first for the gold medal, followed by the Kenyan in 27:27.90 to clinch the silver; Crossing 3rd was Kiplimo (27:27.97) for the bronze. Fisher, always alert, powered by a struggling Barega just steps before the line to finish 4th in 27:28.14. That fivesome covered the final kilometer in 2:26. How tight was this finish? Fisher was only 0.17 seconds from the bronze and only 0.71 seconds from the gold medal. “I prepared myself for something special,” said the winner afterward. “I knew that if I get into the last fight, I can control it and speed it up. I was able to get stronger and keep it faster and faster.” Said Fisher: “I am happy with fourth, the best I’ve ever done at a global championship. I’ll be back in the 5 (5000m) and hopefully, mix it up again.”

wPV / Final: Not unexpectedly, this final turned out to be a showdown between friends and training partners Sandi Morris and Olympic Champion Katie Nageotte. Morris and Nageotte came to this championship, both having cleared the world-leading height of 4.85m/15’11”. Morris jumped cleanly at the earlier heights until a first attempt missed at 4.85m. Morris ultimately cleared that height on her 2nd attempt. For Nageotte, who had two misses at earlier heights, Morris’ 4.85 miss opened the door for the Olympic champion. And Nageotte’s first attempt at clearance at 4.85 propelled her into the gold medal position. When neither athlete could clear 4.90m/16’¾”, Nageotte suddenly had a World Championship gold medal to go with her Olympic gold medal. The silver went to Morris, while Australia’s Nina Kennedy (4.80m/15’9”) captured the bronze.

mSP / Final: The shot put final proved to be another Crouser/Kovacs showdown. Kovacs, often a fast starter, sent an early message with the first-round heave of 22.63m/74’3”. Unexpectedly, American Josh Awotunde rocketed the first-round put of 22.29m/73’1¾” – a mark that would be his best and ultimately earn him the bronze medal. Crouser took a while to find his stride. But in the 2nd round, he forged into the lead with a throw of 22.71m/77’9½”. Kovacs regained the lead in the 5th round, putting 22.89m/75’1¼”. But Crouser, always a ferocious competitor, responded immediately with his 5th round throw of 22.94m/75’3¼” – a majestic heave that would prove to be the winner, as the Americans authored a clean sweep of the shot put medals.

m110m: There were no unexpected casualties in the semi-final round as the USA Big Three advanced: Grant Holloway (a season’s best 13.02); Trey Cunningham (13.07); and world leader and crowd favorite Devon Allen (13.09). Also looking sharp and advancing was Olympic champion Hansle Parchment (13.02). The final offered unexpected developments: The Olympic champion was an inexplicable DNS. And both Shane Brathwaite and Allen false started and were disqualified. The remaining quintet retained their poise through it all. When the race finally got underway, Holloway went right to work, hurdling smoothly for the win in 13:03 and a successful defense of his ’19 world championship. Just steps behind was Trey Cunningham (13.08), who clinched the silver. And Spain’s Asier Martinez (a personal best of 13.17) got up for the bronze.