(L-R) Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley and Marvin Bracy-Williams pose after going 1-3 in the men's 100-meter final at the 2022 World Athletics Championships on July 16, 2022 in Eugene, Ore.
One, then two, then three.
It happened in a flash Saturday night at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Winning his first individual world title in the first World Athletics Championships to be held in the United States, Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley led an historic American sweep in the men’s 100-meter dash.
Kerley, who changed his event from 400-meter to 100 in the last year, burst past American teammate Marvin Bracy, a 2016 Olympian, at the finish line. Kerley won with a time of 9.86 seconds, just ahead of Bracy’s 9.88. Trayvon Bromell, a two-time Olympian, captured third place and the bronze medal, finishing just behind Bracy, also with a time of 9.88 seconds.
“It’s amazing to do it on home soil with the home crowd behind us,” Kerley, of Taylor, Texas, said. “It’s a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep.”
Christian Coleman, a fourth American and 2016 Olympian who was the defending world champion, finished sixth.
“It feels great to get my first gold medal at home and with an American sweep,” Bracy said. “What else could I ask for?”
The sweep concluded a night in which shot putter Chase Ealey won a gold medal for a historic night of her own. She won with a toss of 20.49 meters on her first throw, and in doing so became the first U.S. woman to win a world championship in the event.
The U.S. has captured five medals through two days of the world championships. The competition continues through next Sunday.
The sweep in the 100 marked the third time in world championships history that the U.S. has swept the podium in the event, and the first time since 1991. Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis led U.S. world championships sweeps in both 1983 and 1991.
“Both times were magical,” Lewis said on NBC’s broadcast Saturday night.
Kerley had previously become the first in Diamond League history to win at the 100-, 200- and 400-meter distances, and he is the first to medal in both the 100 and 400 at the world championships. He won a bronze medal in the 400 two years ago in Doha, Qatar. He switched to the 100 last year and won a silver medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in his Olympic debut.
“It felt amazing,” Kerley said. “I got the work done this time around and the gold medal means more than anything."
