Kerley takes silver in Men’s 100m at 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in remarkable personal best

TOKYO -- Fred Kerley, 400m bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships, capped off a remarkable year with silver in the men’s 100m, and a pair of young jumpers added top-eight finishes in the evening session of day three at Olympic Stadium.
 
On demand coverage of this session’s events will be available via NBC Olympics.
 
Men’s 100m semifinals
After a lengthy delay following the disqualification of Britain’s Reece Prescod for a false start, Fred Kerley (Taylor, Texas / USATF Gulf) used a superb drive phase to put himself in the lead with 30m to go in section one, clocking 9.96 for the win and a spot in the final.
 
Despite a deficit after the first half of the final semi, Ronnie Baker (Fort Worth, Texas / USATF Southwestern) stormed back and almost won in a lifetime best 9.83, just .02 behind Bingtian Su of China, who won in the same time to set an Asian record. Baker’s time made him the 5th-fastest in Olympic history.
 
Looking sharper than he did in his heat run, Trayvon Bromell (Jacksonville, Florida / USATF Florida) got out well and was in or near the lead through 80m and ended up third in 10.00 in semi two but missed out on the final. His was the fastest semi time ever not to make the final at the Games.
 
Men’s 100m final
Tensions were already high as usual for the marquee men’s final of the evening, and the pressure ticked up even more after a false start eliminated Britain’s Zharnel Hughes. When the gun fired for the second time, Kerley ran into the history books with a performance that almost no one outside his close circle of associates would have predicted before this season.
 
Kerley drove powerfully from the blocks and was almost even with Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs halfway down the straight, and those two were clearly the class of the field coming to the finish. Jacobs finished best to win in a European record 9.80, with Kerley claiming silver in a lifetime best 9.84, the second-fastest silver medal mark in Games history. Baker placed fifth in 9.95.
 
Kerley, the bronze medalist in the 400m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and a 4x400m relay gold medalist there, had never run faster than 10.49 in the 100m coming into 2021 and he has put together a remarkable string of performances with eight sub-10 clockings.
 
Men’s High Jump final
An opening height of 2.19m/7-2.25 was no problem for JuVaughn Harrison (Baton Rouge, Louisiana / USATF Southern) and Shelby McEwen (Abbeville, Mississippi / USATF Southern), but when the bar went up to 2.24m/7-4.25 McEwen was down to his final attempt before clearing with a sigh of relief after Harrison again sailed over first time. McEwen regrouped and promptly nailed 2.27m/7-5.25 on the first try and it was Harrison’s turn to clatter the bar on his first two attempts. Harrison touched the bar on his third try but it stayed up and he lived to jump another height.
 
At 2.30m/7-6.5 McEwen dislodged the crossbar and Harrison’s light touch with his calves also knocked it off on first attempts. Harrison again brushed the bar on his second try but it stayed on, while McEwen went out after three misses and finished 12th. Moving up to 2.33m/7-7.75 started to separate the medal contenders from the rest. Harrison missed his first time but showed maturity beyond his years to go over on his second attempt and remain in the hunt with six other men. Passing at 2.35m/7-8.5, Harrison faced what would be a lifetime best of 2.37m/7-9.25 and he missed on one attempt, then passed to 2.39m/7-10 and missed his final two tries to place seventh.
 
Women’s Triple Jump final
Keturah Orji (Atlanta, Georgia / USATF Georgia) had her best effort of the day in the first round, going 14.59m/47-10.5 to place seventh in a competition that saw Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela finally claim the world record that has seemed inevitable for three years with a massive 15.67m/51-5 on the last jump of the event.
 
Women’s 100m Hurdles semifinal
Two recalls for faulty starts didn’t seem to have a negative effect on world record holder Keni Harrison (Pflugerville, Texas / USATF Texas Southern), who coolly skimmed the hurdles to place second in 12.51 and advance to her first Olympic final.
 
Behind an Olympic record run by Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico in semi three, Gabbi Cunningham (Holly Springs, North Carolina / USATF North Carolina) clocked 12.67 and advanced as the final time qualifier.
 
Christina Clemons (Lawrence, Kansas / USATF Missouri Valley) was even with the leaders at the first hurdle and ran well through the seventh barrier but then lost some ground and ended up fourth in 12.76 and did not advance.
 
Harrison and Cunningham will compete in the final on Monday morning (Sunday evening in the U.S.) at 11:50AM local / 10:50PM ET.
 
Men’s 800m semifinal
A quicker pace in the second semi put Rio bronze medalist Clayton Murphy (Pepper Pike, Ohio / USATF Lake Erie) fifth at the halfway point and a well-timed sprint down the homestretch let him thread between the leaders on the inside and grab second in 1:44.18 to assure him of a lane in the final.
 
Forsaking his traditional frontrunning in the final semi, Isaiah Jewett (Inglewood, California / USATF Southern California) was third at the bell and was moving into contention midway through the final bend when he was taken down in a fall with Nijel Amos of Botswana, the world’s fastest man this year and the 2012 silver medalist. Both men got up and slowly jogged to the finish, receiving supporting applause from the crowd.
 
Bryce Hoppel (Midland, Texas / USATF Missouri Valley) zipped to the front of semi one and led through the bell in 52.12 but had his stride interrupted with just over 150m to go and never regained his rhythm as he finished fifth in 1:44.91 and didn't move on.
 
Murphy will progress to the final on Wednesday evening Tokyo (9:05PM) in / Wednesday morning in the U.S. (8:05AM ET).
 
Men’s 400m Hurdles semifinal
The two fastest men in the event were drawn in the first semi, with Rai Benjamin (Mount Vernon, New York / USATF New York) in lane five and world record holder Karsten Warholm of Norway in seven. Both men charged away from the start, and Benjamin was level through the midway point despite clipping the fourth hurdle. The dynamic duo stayed even over the last hurdle before Warholm eased ahead and won in 47.30 with Benjamin at 47.37 to set up a historic final showdown.
 
Kenny Selmon (Mableton, Georgia / USATF Georgia) was fifth coming off the curve into the homestretch in semi two and moved up one place to fourth with a 48.58. In lane nine with no one to follow in the final semi, David Kendziera (Chapel Hill, North Carolina / USATF North Carolina) sprinted to the lead through hurdle three and stayed in contention for the next five hurdles before dropping back slightly and placing third in 48.67. Neither man moved on to the final.
 
Benjamin will go for gold Tuesday in Tokyo (12:05PM) / Monday evening in the U.S. (11:05PM).
 
Full session results are available on the World Athletics website. The next session begins at 8:00 P.M. ET with the Men’s Hammer Throw qualifying round. Fans in the U.S. can watch here via NBC properties. 
 
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USATF Statistician