Elaine Thompson-Herah sets fastest 100m time of the year at Golden Games as Thomas and Kerley impress with wins
Reigning Olympic champion Thompson-Herah runs 10.89 seconds in her first outdoor meet of the 2022 season, as Gabby Thomas doubles up on a night full of Olympic track and field stars.
Athletics
Five-time Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah set a blistering women's 100m time at the Golden Games on Saturday (16 April).
The Jamaican, who successfully defended the women's 100m and 200m on the athletics track at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021, ran 10.89 seconds in her semi-final race in Walnut, California, for the fastest time in the world in 2022 so far.
It was Thompson-Herah's first outdoor race of the season over the distance.
In Tokyo, Thompson-Herah reclaimed the women's 100m and 200m titles that she had first won at Rio 2016. She was also part of the Jamaican relay team who claimed 4x100 m gold in Japan, improving on their silver medal in Brazil.
The 29-year-old chose not to run in the Golden Games final, which took place in windy conditions at Mt. San Antonio College's Hilmer Lodge Stadium on Saturday evening.
Fellow Jamaican relay gold medallist Briana Williams won the other heat but finished fifth in the final. That was won by Twanisha Terry of the USA in 10.77 seconds but doesn't count as a legal 'World Lead' time due to the high wind speeds.
Gabby Thomas was third in the final, and doubled up to win the women's 200 metres in 22.02 secs.
Tokyo silver medallist Fred Kerley won the men's 200m in 19.8s, ahead of fellow Americans Michael Norman in second and Rai Benjamin third. World 100m champion Christian Coleman was also due to take place in the race but did not run. The American is returning to competition in the 2022 season after serving an 18-month ban.
The men's 100m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series event was won by Micah Williams of the USA in a wind-assisted 9.83s.
Devon Allen won the men's 110m hurdles. The American is targeting World Championship gold in July, before joining the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL later in 2022.
Diamond League 2021 champion Michael Cherry was victorious in the men's 400m. Bryce Hoppel won the men's 800.
Jaide Steptner Baynes won the women's 400m with two-time Olympic and World Champion Dalilah Muhammad fifth. Raevyn Rogers was the 800m women's winner.
Tonea Marshall won the women's 100m hurdles with world record holder and Tokyo silver medallist Kendra Harrison in second.
Another American, Valarie Allman, won the women's discus, with fellow Olympic champion Daniel Stahl of Sweden winning the men's event.
Elsewhere in the field events, Clayton Fritsch of the US was the men's pole vault winner. LaQuan Nairn from Bahamas won the men's long jump, with Darrell Hill winning shot put and Rudy Winkler taking the hammer throw title.
Vashti Cunningham won women's high jump, Olivia Gruver won the women's pole vault with Katerina Stefanidi of Greece eighth. Danniel Thomas-Dodd of Jamaica won women's shot, Keturah Orji won the women's triple jump, and Brooke Anderson was victorious in women's hammer.