Jamaica’s Oblique Seville crowned himself world 100m champion after blazing to a personal-best 9.77 seconds in Tokyo, with American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden obliterating the world championship record to win gold in the women’s race in 10.61.
Compatriot Kishane Thompson made it a Jamaican one-two on the second night of the World Athletics Championships, claiming silver in 9.82s, with Olympic and defending world champion Noah Lyles collecting bronze in a season’s-best 9.89s.
The race, watched by world record holder Usain Bolt from the stands, required a restart after the Olympic 200m champion, Botswanan Letsile Tebogo, was disqualified for a false start.
Zharnel Hughes was the fastest Briton in the semi-final heats in 10.03s but ultimately missed the finals by one place. The top two from each heat qualified for the final alongside the two fastest-remaining finishers.
Hughes, the 2023 bronze medallist, was well off the pace of Kenny Bednarek and Thompson, who both finished in 9.85s from the same heat.
The Briton and Canada’s Jerome Blake were two one hundredths of a second faster than Welsh record holder Jeremiah Azu, the 11th-fastest semi-finalist, while Romell Glave was 15th in 10.09s.
Dina Asher-Smith finished eighth in the women’s 100m final, crossing the line in 11.08s. Jamaica’s Tina Clayton took silver in a personal best 10.76s and Olympic champion Julien Alfred collected bronze in 10.84s.
“I would have loved for my times to be a bit shinier over the 100m, but given the year that I’ve had and everything I’m so happy with just how I came into these championships,” Asher-Smith said.
“Obviously, I want a lot more in the 200m. But yeah, I’m happy to have made a global final in what has been a very difficult year for me.”
Britain’s Daryll Neita (11.06s) was second-quickest of all the athletes from the women’s 100m heats but came fourth in the first semi-final behind the United States’ defending champion Sha’Carri Richardson, who stumbled but still claimed the other non-automatic finals place.
Their heat required a restart after a potential false start for Richardson was reviewed, but the American was shown a green card.
“I’m angry,” said Neita. “What happened with my race? I don’t know what happened with the false start, I just knew it wasn’t me, I said that out there.”
Neita was knocked out of a best-of-the-rest spot by compatriot Amy Hunt, one hundredth of a second faster, who in turn saw her opening overtaken by Asher-Smith by three hundredths of a second.
Olympic 400m silver medallist Matt Hudson-Smith revealed he felt something in his hip after finishing fourth in his heat at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Hudson-Smith still qualified for Tuesday’s semi-final, but faces questions over his fitness he could not immediately answer after crossing the finish in 44.68s, still enough to go through as one of the six-fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
The Wolverhampton athlete sat second for the majority of the heat before losing steam on the final stretch.
“It felt flat, and my hips are a bit iffy,” said Hudson-Smith. “I was running, and I felt ‘Oh no my hips don’t feel good’. I got through it, but it hurt man. I don’t know – I really don’t know, I literally had nothing. It’s weird.”
The 30-year-old’s time was still the quickest of the British trio, who all saw themselves through.
Charlie Dobson qualified automatically with a third-place finish from the first heat in 44.85s, while Samuel Reardon also had to wait to learn his fate after coming fourth in the fourth heat in 44.70s.
Revee Walcott-Nolan missed out after finishing eighth in her 1500m semi-final heat, but there was good news for Ireland’s Sarah Healy, who shares a coaching team with Keely Hodgkinson and booked a berth in Tuesday’s final.
