Kerley leads US sweep of 100 meters

Before the race, U.S. fighter jets zoomed over the stadium. Then, down on the track, Americans flashed a different kind of speed. Fred Kerley led the charge Saturday on an All-American night for track and field, headlining the first U.S. sweep of the sport’s marquee event, the men’s 100 meters, in 31 years at the worlds. “We said we were going to do it and we did it,” Kerley, a 27-year-old Texan, said in the on-track interview, moments after the crowd in Eugene, Oregon, had finished chanting “USA! USA! USA!” Kerley powered through the line to finish in 9.86 seconds and beat both the leaning Marvin Bracy and the 2021 U.S. champion, Trayvon Bromell, by less than 0.02 seconds. The difference between second and third was 0.002. It marked the first American sweep at the world meet since Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell went gold-silver-bronze in 1991 in Tokyo. “It’s amazing,” said Burrell, who was on hand. “And honestly, I wouldn’t have expected less from the group. This is one of the best groups of U.S. sprinters we’ve had in years.”