Chants of &ldquo;USA! USA! USA!&rdquo; rang out across Hayward Field on Saturday night (16) after Fred Kerley led a US sweep of the men&rsquo;s 100m at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
Kerley&rsquo;s decision last year to drop down from the 400m to the 100m paid off in spectacular fashion as he powered past Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell in the final strides to win the gold in 9.86 and claim the title of the world&rsquo;s fastest man.
Bracy-Williams and Bromell, who were both timed in 9.88, took silver and bronze respectively.
It marked the third US sweep of the 100m medals and the first since 1991, when Carl Lewis, Leroy Burrell and Dennis Mitchell went 1-2-3 at the World Championships in Tokyo.
This time, the sweep came on home soil in front of a full crowd at the first World Championships held in the United States.
&ldquo;We said we were going to do it and we did it,&rdquo; the 27-year-old Kerley said after winning his first individual global title. &ldquo;USA baby!&rdquo;
&ldquo;All three of us wanted the gold,&rdquo; Bromell said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just happy we could get the sweep at home.&rdquo; 
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8KF9cmHSgd8" width="100%" height="475" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
 The build-up to the final featured a flypast by two military jets, which proved to be a symbolic precursor to a super-fast race in which four of the eight athletes finished inside 10 seconds.
Half of the finalists were from the host nation; the fourth US athlete was the defending world champion Christian Coleman, who finished sixth in 10.01.
Kerley was in lane four, with Bracy-Williams next to him in lane three, and Coleman and Bromell on the outside in lanes seven and eight.
Coleman got off to the quickest start, but it was Bracy-Williams who quickly moved to the front and paced the field through 70m and 80m, with Bromell charging hard from the outside.
But the tall, powerful Kerley built up momentum at the halfway mark, accelerated towards the line and edged in front in the final five metres, out-leaning the others at the line.
Kerley waited for the result to be posted on the scoreboard, and when his name finally went up as the winner, he threw up his arms in triumph, pounded his chest and took off on a victory lap.
&ldquo;The gold medal means more than anything,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing to do it on home soil with the home crowd behind us. It&rsquo;s a wonderful blessing to get a clean sweep.&rdquo;
Fourth place went to 21-year-old Jamaican Oblique Seville, who ran 9.97 after clocking the fastest time in the semifinals (9.90). South Africa&rsquo;s Akani Simbini was fifth in 10.01 &ndash; his fifth consecutive top-five finish at a global championships. Rounding out the field were Coleman, Japan&rsquo;s Hakim Sani Brown (10.06) and Canada&rsquo;s Aaron Brown (10.07).
After Kerley switched to the short sprints at the start of 2021, many experts scoffed at the decision. But he justified the move by earning the silver medal in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics. And he has been dominant this year, clocking a world-leading 9.76 in the semifinals and 9.77 in the final of the US Championships in Eugene last month.
Kerley ran 9.79 in Friday&rsquo;s heats but ran only 10.02 in winning his semifinal on Saturday &ndash; the first time in nine 100m races this year that he did not break 10 seconds.
But, in the final, Kerley showed the power and determination needed to finally get an individual gold on the world stage. He earned bronze in the 400m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha and holds gold and silver from the 4x400m relay.
Kerley will now focus on adding to his tally. He will be getting ready for the heats of the 200m on Monday and for the relay.
&ldquo;This win means I can do 100m, 200m and 400m,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got a medal in 400m and 100m. There&rsquo;s only one next.&rdquo;
Winning a medal represented redemption for Bromell, who has battled injuries throughout his career and failed to make the final at the Tokyo Olympics last year after being considered the title favourite.
Bromell broke down in tears on Saturday while being interviewed on the track after the US sweep.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been seven years since I got a medal through my injuries and everything I dealt with,&rdquo; he said. I know so many people counted me out.&rdquo;
And for Bracy-Williams, he was celebrating his first world outdoor medal on the global stage.
&ldquo;It feels great to get my first medal at home and with an American sweep,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;What else could I ask for? All the hard work has paid off with the injuries, the critics. This shows me I've got what it takes to get it done.&rdquo;
Some big names failed to make the final.
Italy&rsquo;s Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs pulled out before the semifinals after failing to fully recover from the hamstring injury that had sidelined him for most of the outdoor season.
&ldquo;A painful choice, I am forced to stop,&rdquo; Jacobs tweeted. &ldquo;I am a fighter and this is why I decided to be in Eugene. Now, in order not to compromise the rest of the season by risking a more serious injury, I have to postpone the challenge. I promise I will do my best to make you dream!&rdquo;
Jamaica&rsquo;s Yohan Blake, the 2011 world champion and five-time national champion, missed out after finishing fourth in his semifinal in 10.12. Canada&rsquo;s Andre De Grasse, the Olympic 200m champion who has struggled with injury and illness this season, was fifth in his semi in 10.21. And African champion Ferdinand Omayala of Kenya, who had made it just in time for Friday&rsquo;s heats after delays in getting his US visa, was fifth in his semifinal in 10.14.
But this day was about those who came through when it counted, and it was Kerley, Bracy-Williams and Bromell who showed the world that US athletes are the king of the sprints once again.
Steve Wilson for World Athletics
&nbsp;
<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 75%; border-color: #ffffff; border-style: solid;" border="1" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #fd5249; text-align: center;" colspan="3">MEN'S 100M MEDALLISTS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #e9c968; text-align: center;">🥇</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #e9c968;">Fred Kerley 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #e9c968;">9.86</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #ced4d9; text-align: center;">🥈</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #ced4d9;">Marvin Bracy-Williams 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #ced4d9;">9.88</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 10%; background-color: #bd895e; text-align: center;">🥉</td>
<td style="width: 60%; background-color: #bd895e;">Trayvon Bromell 🇺🇸 USA</td>
<td style="width: 30%; background-color: #bd895e;">9.88</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #34495e; text-align: left;" colspan="3">&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://www.worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-championships/oregon22/results/men/100-metres/final/result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full results</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

World Athletics Championships, Oregon 2022

Kerley wins in 9.86 from US compatriots Bracy-Williams and Bromell

USA, USA, USA: Kerley leads American sweep of men’s 100m in Oregon

Christin Hussong and Marvin Bracy were among the winners as the World Athletics Continental Tour moved on to the&nbsp;Palio Citta della Quercia in Rovereto, Italy, on Tuesday (31).
The USA's Bracy won the men&rsquo;s 100m in 9.98, as he became the first sprinter in the 57-year history of the meeting to break 10 seconds for the discipline.
The former American football player made a breakthrough in 2014 when he won world indoor 60m silver in Sopot. Earlier this year Bracy improved his 100m PB to 9.85 in Memphis and won a non-Diamond League 100m race in Paris last weekend in 10.04.&nbsp;
Olympic 4x100m bronze medallist Jerome Blake took the runner-up spot with 10.15, edging Julian Forte from Jamaica (10.16).
&ldquo;I am very happy with this performance. I expected this time,"&nbsp;said Bracy, who&nbsp;improved the meeting record held by Femi Ogunode since 2015. "I am proud that I am the first sprinter in the history of this meeting to break the 10 seconds barrier." 
<img src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/612ea24f760b4510ebc386fa.jpg" alt="" width="100%" /> (&copy; Valeria Biasioni)
 The Palio Citta della Quercia, a Continental Tour Silver meeting, staged a Wanda Diamond League competition in the women&rsquo;s javelin throw, with athletes earning qualifying points for next week&rsquo;s Diamond League final in Zurich.
Reigning European champion Hussong from Germany produced the best throw of the evening with 66.08m in the fifth round before winning the 'final three' with a throw of 58.14m. Lina Muze and Nikola Ogrodnikova qualified for the final three with 63.42m and 60.87m. Muze took the runner-up spot in the decisive round with 57.44m ahead of Ogrodnikova (55.27m).
Olympic finalist Michael Cherry clocked an impressive 44.55 in in the men&rsquo;s 400m, smashing the meeting record of 44.86 held by Kenya&rsquo;s Samson Kitur since 1992.&nbsp;
Shelby McEwen won the eagerly-awaited men&rsquo;s high jump competition with 2.28m, beating Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi, who had to settle for second with 2.25m. McEwen had a clean sheet at 2.10m, 2.15m, 2.19m, 2.25m and 2.28m before failing three attempts at 2.32m. Tamberi, meanwhile, cleared 2.15m, 2.19m and 2.22m on his first attempts before clearing 2.25m at the second time of asking. The Italian star failed three attempts at 2.30m.
&ldquo;My attempt at 2.30m was very close. I was too tired after winning the Olympic title in Tokyo, but I really want to honour the post-Olympic meetings to thank my fans and all those who supported me during these years. The Olympic gold medal has changed some aspects of my life, but I am always the same person,&rdquo; said Tamberi.
Italian shot putter Zane Weir won the men&rsquo;s event with 21.32m in the sixth round, producing the second best performance of his career.&nbsp;
Weir took the lead with 21.17m in the third round, but former world U20 champion Jacko Gill from New Zealand overtook him with 21.20m in the final round. Weir responded with 21.32m a few minutes later to take the win after a thrilling competition. Josh Awotunde from the USA took third place with 20.59m ahead of Italian indoor record-holder Leonardo Fabbri (20.09m). Weir produced his sixth competition of the year over the 21-metre barrier. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Weir grew up in South Africa and studied at the University of Cape Town, but having listened to his Italian grandfather Mario&rsquo;s sporting tales he made the decision to represent Italy. Weir trains with Fabbri under the guidance of former Italian shot putter Paolo Dal Soglio and completed his finance and accounting degree. He finished fifth in the Olympic final in Tokyo with 21.41m and continued his great season with a solid 21.20 in Lausanne last week.
Thea LaFond from Dominica produced the best two jumps of the evening, bounding out to 14.33m and 14.31m in the first two rounds to win the women&rsquo;s triple jump. LaFond improved her PB to 14.60m in the qualifying round in Tokyo to reach the Olympic final. Hanna Minenko from Israel took second spot with 14.25m, beating Olympic fifth-placer Liadagmis Povea (14.01m).
Svetlana Aplachkina came through in the final straight to win the women&rsquo;s 3000m, improving the meeting record with 8:39.95. The authorised neutral athlete held off Germany&rsquo;s Elena Burkard (8:40.46) and Kenya&rsquo;s Mercy Cherono (8:40.76).
Elzan Bibic from Serbia pulled away in the closing stages to take a surprising win in the men&rsquo;s 3000m, setting a meeting record with 7:39.45 ahead of Abdelaati Iguider from Morocco (7:41.75), George Beamish from New Zealand (7.42.39) and Italian record-holder Yeman Crippa (7:42.81).
Olympic bronze medallist Ronald Levy from Jamaica won the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles in 13.37 ahead of USA's Michael Dickson (13.50) and Valdo Szucs from Hungary (13.65).&nbsp;
Klaudia Siciarz from Poland took a close win in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in 12.95 into a slight headwind of -0.2 m/s, edging 2021 European indoor silver medallist Cindy Sember by 0.01. US hurdler and heptathlete Taliyah Brooks took third place in 13.01.&nbsp;
Authorised neutral athlete Polina Miller claimed the win in the women&rsquo;s 400m in 51.21 ahead of Junelle Bromfield (51.49) and this year&rsquo;s US Trials fifth-placer Kaylin Whitney (51.78).
Catalin Tecuceanu, a Romanian middle-distance runner who has been based in Northern Italy since he was a child, took a surprising win in the men&rsquo;s 800m in a 1:45.19, beating British indoor record-holder Elliot Giles (1:45.58) and Jake Wightman (1:46.00).
Mary Moraa from Kenya won the women&rsquo;s 800m in 2:00.40, holding off Deborah Rodriguez (2:00.50) and Chanelle Price (2:00.89).
Diego Sampaolo for World Athletics

Christin Hussong and Marvin Bracy were among the winners as the World Athletics Continental Tour moved on to the Palio Citta della Quercia.

Hussong and Bracy make their mark in Rovereto

Returning to competition for the first time since the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Ajla Del Ponte improved her Swiss 100m record to 10.90 (1.8m/s) as part of a sprint double at the R&eacute;sisprint meeting in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on Saturday (14).
After clocking 11.26 (-1.6m/s) to win her heat, she improved to 10.90 to win the final, taking 0.01 off her previous Swiss record set in the heats at the Tokyo Olympics, where she went on to finish fifth in the final.
In the 200m she also went sub-23 seconds for the first time, winning in 22.38 (1.9m/s). Portugal&rsquo;s Lorene Bazolo was also among the national record-breakers, clocking 11.10 and 22.64 to finish second in both the 100m and 200m.
Mouhamadou Fall of France won the men&rsquo;s 100m in a wind-assisted 9.97 (2.5m/s) and was second in the 200m (20.10), wihch was won by Taymir Burnet of the Netherlands in 20.07 (2.1m/s).
The Swiss record also fell in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles, with Jason Joseph&nbsp;clocking 13.12 (1.7m/s), while Ludvy Vaillant of France won the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 48.80. Poland&rsquo;s Anna Kielbasinska won the women&rsquo;s 400m in 50.38.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7158274" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Vetter returns with 86.17m</h2>
After his ninth-place finish at the Olympic Games, Germany&rsquo;s 2017 world javelin champion Johannes Vetter threw 86.17m to win in Offenburg on Sunday (15).
Grenada's 2019 world champion Anderson Peters was second with 85.85m, while Czech Republic&rsquo;s Nikola Ogrodnikova won the women&rsquo;s competition with 60.40m ahead of the USA&rsquo;s Kara Winger with 59.80m. 
<h2>Bracy runs 9.85</h2>
The USA&rsquo;s Marvin Bracy equalled his 100m PB with 9.85 (-0.4m/s) to win at the Ed Murphey Classic, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, in Memphis on Sunday (15). Canada&rsquo;s Jerome Blake was second in 10.06, while Kyree King won the 200m in 20.15 (2.0m/s).
Kiara Parker ran 11.30 (-1.2m/s) and Dezerea Bryant 22.78 (-0.1) to finish top in the 100m and 200m respectively.
Olympic fourth-placer Devon Allen won the 110m hurdles in 13.14 (-0.5m/s), while Jamaica&rsquo;s Danielle Williams ran 12.64 (-0.2) in the 100m hurdles and 2015 world 400m hurdles silver medallist Shamier Little won the women&rsquo;s 400m in 50.65. The men&rsquo;s 400m was claimed by Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Machel Cedenio in 45.98.
There were shot put wins for Darrell Hill (20.79m) and Jessica Ramsey (19.21m).
The first day of the competition (14) included 1500m wins for Rebecca Mehra (4:04.90) and Henry Wynne (3:37.07).&nbsp;
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7170960" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Kenyan record for Omurwa&nbsp;</h2>
Ferdinand Omurwa twice improved the Kenyan 100m record, first clocking 9.96 (0.4m.s) in the heats and then 9.86 (0.6m/s) in the final in Andorf, Austria, on Saturday (14). That mark puts him equal third on the African all-time list.
Turkey&rsquo;s 2017 world champion Ramil Guliyev won the men&rsquo;s 200m in 20.47 (0.2m/s), while Austria&rsquo;s Ina Huemer won the women&rsquo;s race in 23.31 (0.8m/s).
Olympic bronze medallist Lukas Weisshaidinger won the discus with a 63.88m throw.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competition/calendar-results/results/7171147" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Results</a> 
<h2>Bol among winners in Szczecin</h2>
Australia&rsquo;s Olympic 800m fourth-placer Peter Bol won his first race since Tokyo, clocking 1:45.49 for victory at the Wieslaw Maniak Memorial in Szczecin, Poland, on Sunday (15). Aleksandra Gulyayeva won the women race in 2:00.46.

Returning to competition for the first time since the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Ajla Del Ponte improved her Swiss 100m record to 10.90,

Del Ponte sets Swiss record as part of sprint double in La Chaux-de-Fonds

Tori Bowie provided the highlight of the second day of the Adidas Boost Boston Games when she flew down the temporary track on Charles Street to win the women&rsquo;s 100m in 11.03 on Saturday (18).
Despite a sluggish start &ndash; her reaction time of 0.162 was the slowest in the field &ndash; the world bronze medallist was quickly into her stride and a convincing winner, with Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Kelly-Ann Baptiste a distant second in 11.30.
&ldquo;The time doesn&rsquo;t show what sort of shape I&rsquo;m in right now, I feel like I&rsquo;m in 10.7-shape,&rdquo; quipped Bowie, who is the second-fastest woman in the world this year after she equalled her personal best of 10.80 when winning at the opening IAAF Diamond League meeting of the summer in Doha last month.
The men&rsquo;s 100m was, relatively speaking, nothing like as fast although it did provide an entertaining race and an upset. USA&rsquo;s Marvin Bracy beat Jamaica&rsquo;s 2011 world champion Yohan Blake by just 0.002, with both men being given the same time of 10.23.
The rather bouncy temporary track led to comparatively slow times but there were still confidence-boosting wins over the barriers for Great Britain&rsquo;s Tiffany Porter and USA&rsquo;s Ronnie Ash, watched by crowds two and three deep at what was billed to be the USA's first 'street meet'.
Porter triumphed in 12.94 and defeated USA&rsquo;s Sharika Nelvis, the fastest woman in the world last year, and Jamaica&rsquo;s world champion Danielle Williams, the pair finishing second and third in 12.98 and 12.99 respectively.
Ash won in 13.39, a modest time on the clock for a man who can boast of a personal best under 13 seconds, but he beat Orlando Ortega, another sub-13 performer, into second place with the Spaniard 0.02 in arrears.
Katie Nageotte won the pole vault with 4.50m in the absence of Olympic champion&nbsp;Jenn Suhr, who warmed up but then withdrew as she did not want to aggravate the calf and achilles problems she has suffered from in the past six weeks.
Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Tori Bowie provided the highlight of the second day of the Adidas Boost Boston Games when she flew down the temporary track on Charles Street to win the women’s 100m in 11.03 on Saturday (18).

Bowie a big hit on the second day in Boston

Britain's European 100m champion James Dasaolu and world indoor champion Richard Kilty will take on an international line up at the Sainsbury&rsquo;s Anniversary Games that will include 2003 world champion Kim Collins and Commonwealth champion Kemar Bailey-Cole at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London on 24-25 July.Into the bargain, the 100m race will feature USA's Michael Rodgers and Marvin Bracy, the latter having been victorious at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham earlier this month.The Sainsbury&rsquo;s Anniversary Games &ndash; the 11th stop of the 14-meeting 2015 IAAF Diamond League &ndash; takes place just four weeks before the IAAF World Championships in Beijing and the meeting will provide an important yardstick for Britain&rsquo;s top athletes as they prepare to battle for medals in China.Dasaolu&rsquo;s only previous appearance at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park came at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where he reached the semi-final of the 100m, and he is looking forward to returning there in a month&rsquo;s time.&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait for the Sainsbury&rsquo;s Anniversary Games,&rdquo; said Dasaolu, who has a personal best of 9.91. "It&rsquo;s a great event and an iconic stadium so it will be amazing to compete in front of such a big British crowd again. I&rsquo;m sure the atmosphere under the lights on the Friday night will be a great experience for all of the athletes."Kilty, who ran a personal best of 10.05 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham, now has a first outing under 10 seconds in his sights and he is hoping the Friday night atmosphere in the stadium, the first day of the two-day event, will help him to break that barrier.&ldquo;The Sainsbury&rsquo;s Anniversary Games will be a massive reception which will be amazing, it would be great to run sub-10 there,&rdquo; said Kilty. "I&rsquo;m very confident at the moment.&ldquo;British sprinting is absolutely amazing at the moment and everybody is buzzing to be part of it. The attitude in our sprinters has improved and we all want to achieve higher things on the world stage, so I think that&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s brought it forward. "Once you have one or two guys running really fast times, the rest of us realise we can do it and everyone steps up and it&rsquo;s a domino effect."Organisers for the IAAF2015 IAAF Diamond League calendar Doha, QAT &ndash; 15 May Shanghai, CHN &ndash; 17 May Eugene, USA &ndash; 30 May Rome, ITA &ndash; 4 June Birmingham, GBR &ndash; 7 June Oslo, NOR &ndash; 11 June New York, USA &ndash; 13 June Paris, FRA &ndash; 4 July Lausanne, SUI &ndash; 9 July Monaco, MON &ndash; 17 July London, GBR &ndash; 24-25 July Stockholm, SWE &ndash; 30 July Zurich, SUI &ndash; 3 September Brussels, BEL &ndash; 11 September

Britain's European 100m champion James Dasaolu and world indoor champion Richard Kilty will take on an international line up at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games that will include 2003 world champion Kim Collins and Commonwealth champion Kemar Bailey-Cole at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London on 24-25 July.

Britain's best sprinters face top opposition in London – IAAF Diamond League

Moments after crossing the line in the 200m at the Sainsbury&rsquo;s Birmingham Grand Prix, USA&rsquo;s Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix were given the same time of 22.29 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting on Sunday (7).The pair probably felt a slight sense of d&eacute;j&agrave; vu.Three years earlier at the US Olympic Trials, Tarmoh and Felix had finished joint third in the 100m. With the Olympic berths going to the top three finishers, the training partners had to be separated somehow. After talk of a re-run and even the flipping of a coin, Tarmoh eventually let Felix have the place on the team.In Birmingham, though, Tarmoh finally gained redemption. Although both she and Felix were credited with the same time, Tarmoh was given the victory. It was the first time that Tarmoh had finished ahead of Felix in a 200m race.But it wasn&rsquo;t just a two-woman affair. World junior champion Dina Asher-Smith, fresh from her British 100m record of 11.02 little more than a week ago, held the lead coming off the bend. She maintained her composure as Felix and Tarmoh edged closer to her, but crossed the line just a fraction behind the US pair and was rewarded with a personal best of 22.30.&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t think it would be that fast,&rdquo; said Tarmoh after coming within 0.01 of her best. &ldquo;I was shocked to win over Allyson and I stayed focused and patient. Now I&rsquo;m definitely confident I&rsquo;ll get a spot on the US team for the World Championships. And if I get on the podium in Beijing, that would be a blessing.&rdquo;<h3>Bracy upstages Rodgers</h3>Before the meeting, US champion Mike Rodgers was perhaps the slight favourite in the men&rsquo;s 100m, which he appeared to confirm when he won the first heat in 10.04. But world indoor 60m silver medallist Marvin Bracy responded with a 9.97 win in the next heat to set up a mouth-watering clash in the final.Bracy showed his earlier run was no fluke and sped to victory in the final with a best of 9.93, with a perfect breeze of 2.0m/s on his back.In second place, Britain&rsquo;s European 200m champion Adam Gemili prevented a US one-two, clocking a PB of 9.97 before crashing to the track with a torn hamstring.Rodgers finished a close third in 9.97, 0.03 ahead of Nesta Carter while Great Britain&rsquo;s world indoor champion Richard Kilty ran a best of 10.05 in fifth.<h3>Third Birmingham wins for Harper Nelson and Spencer</h3>Jasmin Stowers hasn&rsquo;t had the best of weeks. After her stunning start to the season, including clocking a world-leading 12.35 in Doha, the 100m hurdler from the USA hit a hurdle in Rome and fell on Thursday. In Birmingham, she was disqualified for a false start.But things are looking up, meanwhile, for 2014 Diamond Race winner Dawn Harper Nelson. She finished eighth in Doha but improved to second place in Rome before her victory in Birmingham.European champion Tiffany Porter and world champion Brianna Rollins were ahead at halfway, but Harper Nelson came through at the end to win in a season&rsquo;s best of 12.58 (1.5m/s). It was her third consecutive win in Birmingham following victories in 2014 and 2013 and her fastest one to date. Rollins clocked a season&rsquo;s best of 12.63 in second, just 0.02 ahead of Porter.Jamaica&rsquo;s Kaliese Spencer also achieved her third win at this meeting. The 2014 Diamond Race winner had won here in 2012 and 2013 and set a season&rsquo;s best of 54.45 to win here on Sunday.Spencer went off cautiously but had built up a lead before entering the home stretch. Her clearances over the last two hurdles weren&rsquo;t the cleanest, but she did enough to hold off USA&rsquo;s Cassandra Tate, who finished second in 54.73, while world champion Zuzana Hejnova finished third in a season&rsquo;s best of 55.00.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Moments after crossing the line in the 200m at the Sainsbury’s Birmingham Grand Prix, USA’s Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix were given the same time of 22.29 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting on Sunday (7).

Tarmoh and Bracy cause sprint upsets in Birmingham – IAAF Diamond League

Four world leads highlighted the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Beijing, and there was an attempt on Zhu Jianhua&rsquo;s iconic national record in the high jump by Zhang Guowei on Wednesday night (20).David Oliver and Wenda Nel set world-leading times in the hurdles, as a crowd of more than 40,000 watched in the stadium which will host the 2015 IAAF World Championships.The day before the Beijing meeting, Oliver was outlining his competitive philosophy to a group of media representatives. In a nutshell, it boiled down to always putting everything on the line every time you compete because you never know what is coming next.Several athletes who competed on Sunday at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Shanghai showed signs of weariness as the show moved north to Beijing, but not Oliver.He gave the same 100 per cent effort he had given in winning four days earlier. As he crossed the line 0.22 seconds ahead of Orlando Ortega on this occasion &ndash; it was just 0.02 on Sunday &ndash; the time initially was displayed as identical as in Shanghai, 13.17.But it was soon adjusted to 13.15 and the man who won at the World Championships in Moscow two years ago now stands at the top of the pile again. Nel did not run in Shanghai, where Kaliese Spencer won in 54.71, and last weekend Nel also lost her world lead to the USA&rsquo;s Shamier Little, but the South African put things right in the Bird&rsquo;s Nest.Running in the middle of the field, she was never behind. Nel rose to the eighth hurdle fractionally ahead of Olympic silver medallist Lashinda Demus and her US compatriot Tiffany Williams and then powered away from them along the final straight to win in a personal best of 54.37 from Williams (55.22) and Demus (55.86).Throws dash Chinese hopes, but Zhang salves prideThere were bright local prospects in the women&rsquo;s throws, but it didn&rsquo;t work out like that.It may have been expecting a little too much for either Wang Zheng or Zhang Wenxiu to beat Polish hammer world record-holder Anita Wlodarczyk but either, or both, might have got close.Instead, Wlodarczyk stamped her authority on the competition, part of the 2015 IAAF Hammer Throw Challenge, very early. Her 74.14m opener would have won the day, but she improved to a world-leading 77.73m in the second round and her last three throws went out to 76.23m, 75.59m and 75.61m.It was easily Wlodarczyk's best ever season opener and is the best hammer performance ever achieved on Asian soil.Zheng took second with 73.99m and Slovakia&rsquo;s Martina Hrasnova was third with 73.80m.The expectation in the shot put, however, was that Gong Lijiao would repeat her Shanghai win over Christina Schwanitz, but the German opened with 19.86m, which took the lead over Gong&rsquo;s 19.50m earlier in the round.Gong never improved, whereas Schwanitz went to 20.38m in the fourth round and a world-leading personal best of 20.77m in the fifth.In this form, the German thrower will be a threat even to Valerie Adams when the 2014 World Athlete of the Year returns to competition.It was the best outdoor throw in the world since Adams won the 2013 world title and the best mark by a German since 1997.If hopes were dashed by these two results, Chinese fans were smiling again in the men&rsquo;s high jump.Not only did Zhang win with 2.34m, but two Chinese jumpers fought out the contest at that height. Wang Yu got over 2.28m at his third try and 2.31m at his second to force Zhang into a fight for the win.Zhang, who was leading on countback in any case, cleared 2.34m on the third attempt and then audaciously went straight to 2.40m, one centimetre above the national (and former world) record set by Zhu Jianhua way back in 1984. Zhang didn&rsquo;t get it this time, but one attempt was a good one.There was another Chinese victory in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, Wu Shuijiao running a clean race to hold a narrow lead over Tenaya Jones all the way to the line, winning in 12.85 to the US hurdler&rsquo;s 12.89.Another event with a strong Chinese presence was the men&rsquo;s long jump, but victory not only eluded the home athletes, but also world champion Aleksandr Menkov and world leader Jeff Henderson.Instead, Henderson&rsquo;s training partner Mike Hartfield improved his best from 8.15m to 8.27m for an upset win. Henderson was second with 8.23m, Menkov jumped 8.20m and Li Jinzhe was fourth with 8.13mMichelle-Lee Ahye took the women&rsquo;s 100m in 11.05 and the USA&rsquo;s world indoor 60m silver medallist Marvin Bracy ran a personal best 9.95 to take the men&rsquo;s event. Bracy had not broken 10 seconds before, his previous best being 10.08.Anna Chicherova, who is returning from an ankle injury last year, won the women&rsquo;s high jump, the Olympic champion clearing 1.94m on her last attempt.Kenya&rsquo;s Jonathan Ndiku, the Commonwealth Games champion last year, won the 3000m steeplechase in 8:11.64 while world youth and world junior champion Alfred Kipketer showed he might be a threat to his older rivals this year with a win in the 800m in 1:45.45.Ukraine&rsquo;s in-form Anna Mishchenko showed an impressive burst of speed over the final 200 metres to win the women&rsquo;s 1500m in 4:02.89.Len Johnson for the IAAF

Four world leads highlighted the IAAF World Challenge meeting in Beijing, and there was an attempt on Zhu Jianhua’s iconic national record in the high jump by Zhang Guowei on Wednesday night (20).

Four world leads in Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium

Casimir Loxsom was the star of the show on the final day of the USATF National Indoor Championships in Boston on Sunday (28) as the 23-year-old blitzed his way to a US indoor record of 1:15.33 with a gun-to-tape win in the 600m.Loxsom shot to the lead on the first of three laps, which he covered in 23.76, and he extended his advantage over closest challenger Erik Sowinski on the second lap, passing 400m in 48.24. From there, it was simply a race against the clock for Loxsom and he held his form admirably over the final 200m to take a quarter of a second off his own US indoor record of 1:15.58.&ldquo;I was ready,&rdquo; said Loxsom. &ldquo;I was super-confident. There&rsquo;s been times in my career where I haven&rsquo;t done everything I could to be good, and to be on the line knowing you&rsquo;ve done everything is a great feeling.&rdquo;Loxsom noted that his improved form this year came as a result of a renewed application ever since getting a wake-up call while racing on the IAAF Diamond League circuit last summer. &ldquo;Sometimes there are weekends like this where things just work out,&rdquo; said the 2010 world junior 800m silver medallist. &ldquo;How you handle success is much less of a testament to your character as when things don&rsquo;t go great.&ldquo;I got my doors blown off in those Diamond Leagues last year, but I thought to myself: &lsquo;I never want to be back here like this. I want to get back and do well&rsquo;. This is a great step towards that. I mean, the Olympic 800m final is going to be going out as fast as I ran there [through 600m], so it&rsquo;s fast, but it&rsquo;s not anything out of control. I&rsquo;m more excited to be winning races.&rdquo;Former world indoor bronze medallist Michelle Carter provided the best field event mark on Sunday. In her first competition of 2015, the US record-holder won her eighth national shot put title with a world-leading throw of 19.45m.Shannon Rowbury was an easy winner of the women&rsquo;s mile on Saturday, despite struggling with illness for much of the week, and she returned for second helpings on Sunday, kicking past teammate Jordan Hasay on the final bend to win the women&rsquo;s two miles in 9:43.94 to Hasay&rsquo;s 9:44.69.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a cold since Birmingham [last week],&rdquo; said Rowbury. &ldquo;Warming up, I felt kind of flat. I was supposed to share the lead with Jordan near the end, but she kept accelerating, and it wasn&rsquo;t until the last 100 that I could get to her.&rdquo;With a successful indoor season completed, Rowbury&rsquo;s attention now turns to the outdoors and the road to the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, where she is still undecided on her best event. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll take a little break, then start gearing up again,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t really had the chance to do any hard sessions recently because we&rsquo;ve been racing. It&rsquo;s a grind, but I&rsquo;m looking forward to getting back to that.&ldquo;Outdoors, I still haven&rsquo;t broken two minutes in the 800m, I still have a lot of room to improve in the 5000m if I want to be a threat, and I feel like I have a PR in me in the 1500m.&rdquo;<h3>Victories for new mothers Payne and Montano</h3> Demi Payne claimed her first national title in the pole vault with a best clearance of 4.55m, a little over a year after the birth of her daughter.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to put into words,&rdquo; said the overjoyed 23-year-old. &ldquo;The field was so talented; it was a bit intimidating. I knew I could win. It was just a matter of focusing. Beijing is in the plan in the summer; I&rsquo;ve got all these goals and I feel like I&rsquo;ve hit every single one so far. Before I had my child, I was just pole vaulting for fun, and after I have a brand new focus and thought: &lsquo;this is my last chance to do it&rsquo;.&rdquo;Another athlete to strike gold shortly after returning from maternity leave &ndash; this time just six months after childbirth &ndash; was Alysia Montano, who won the 600m in 1:26.59.&ldquo;I did my very best to stay fit during my pregnancy, but it wasn&rsquo;t for 800m; it was for the health of my baby and that stood to me,&rdquo; said Montano. &ldquo;Adrenaline was kicking in when I stepped on the start line. This is a national championship, and it was the culmination of a lot of hard work.&rdquo;There was, however, contrasting fortunes for race favourite Ajee Wilson, who crashed to the track at the halfway point, effectively ending her shot at the title. &ldquo;I was ready to run and excited to compete but stuff happens,&rdquo; said Wilson, whose heat time of 1:26.56 was faster than Montano&rsquo;s winning time in the final. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve just got to get up, brush it off and keep going.&rdquo;<h3>Hurdlers Harris and Stowers win first national titles</h3> Aleec Harris was a convincing winner of the men&rsquo;s 60m hurdles in 7.51 ahead of Jarret Eaton (7.59) and Jeff Porter (7.66), and the weekend&rsquo;s events were closed with a swift performance by Jasmin Stowers in the women&rsquo;s 60m hurdles, the 23-year-old taking the title in 7.84, the second-fastest time in the world this year.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m ecstatic to pull off the win,&rdquo; said Stowers. &ldquo;I knew I had to get out because there were great athletes beside me. Words can&rsquo;t express how happy I was.&rdquo;World indoor silver medallist Marvin Bracy won his second successive national title in the men&rsquo;s 60m in 6.55 ahead of Joseph Morris (6.57) and Clayton Vaughn (6.60). Ryan Bailey, who was among the favourites for the title, trailed home in last place after stumbling badly coming out of the blocks.&ldquo;My start wasn&rsquo;t the best,&rdquo; said Bracy, &ldquo;but it felt great once I got up into my stride. My finish felt so great, and I managed to surge to the front of the pack.&rdquo;Tianna Bartoletta also successfully defended her title in the women&rsquo;s 60m, taking the win in 7.08 from Jessica Young (7.16).&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really pleased that I was able to defend my title,&rdquo; said Bartoletta. &ldquo;The time was secondary, but I&rsquo;m pleased that I was able to run under 7.10. It was the best I could do today. Now it&rsquo;s time for me to transition to outdoors and get back into the long jump. I&rsquo;ll be divided about 50/50 between the 100m and long jump. My goal is to make the team for Beijing in both.&rdquo;Matt Centrowitz bounced back to form with a commanding win in the men&rsquo;s mile, taking the lead with 400m to run and controlling the race thereafter to win his first US indoor title in 4:01.40 ahead of Ben Blankenship (4:02.14) and Pat Casey (4:02.85).&ldquo;Once I hit the front, it was just about squeezing it, picking the pace up every 100m,&rdquo; said Centrowitz. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel anyone getting up on me, so I thought I was doing a good job. As soon as I hit 100 to go, the announcer said something about me pulling away. I was surprised because there were a lot of good closers in that race. We wanted to end the season on a positive note and get my first indoor title, and that&rsquo;s what we did.&rdquo;Lauren Wallace surprised many, including herself, to win the women&rsquo;s 1000m in 2:40.42, holding off the challenge of Treniere Moser (2:40.62) and Stephanie Brown (2:40.62) to take her first national title.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unreal,&rdquo; said Wallace. &ldquo;It hasn&rsquo;t set in yet. The coolest part was running through the tape. I&rsquo;ve never been able to do that before.&rdquo;In the men&rsquo;s 1000m, Robby Andrews came from behind with his trademark fast finish to take the title in 2:21.91 ahead of Kyle Merber (2:22.39) and Michael Rutt (2:22.44). &ldquo;They finally put my favourite distance in there,&rdquo; said Andrews. &ldquo;It was a hard-fought race, but it was a lot of fun.&rdquo;Chaunte Lowe was a dominant winner of the women&rsquo;s high jump, her 1.88m clearance enough to secure the title ahead of Amy Acuff (1.82m).In the women&rsquo;s triple jump, Amanda Smock was best with a mark of 13.28m, while Omar Craddock took the men&rsquo;s title with a best leap of 16.84m.Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

Casimir Loxsom was the star of the show on the final day of the USATF National Indoor Championships in Boston on Sunday (28) as the 23-year-old blitzed his way to a US indoor record of 1:15.33 with a gun-to-tape win in the 600m.

Loxsom breaks national 600m record while Carter putts world lead at US Indoor Champs

Great Britain's Richard Kilty went from third at the 2014 UK Championships to first on the global stage when he rose to the occasion and flew to a 6.49 lifetime best to capture the men’s 60m gold medal.<o:p></o:p>The key to the 24-year-old's surprise win was his blistering start, with a reaction time of just 0.120. His breakthrough season continued in fine style, having registered personal best marks in each of the rounds here with an equal PB of 6.53 in the first round and 6.52 in his semi- final.<o:p></o:p>Following in the footsteps of Britain’s 2004 winner Jason Gardener and 2010 champion Dwain Chambers, Kilty upstaged his more established rivals such as the USA’s pre-race marginal favourite Marvin Bracy, who had to settle for silver.<o:p></o:p>Clocking 6.51, the US champion edged Qatar’s Femi Ogunode in a tight battle as the three men in contention for the bronze medal had to be separated by thousandths of a second as the next three men were all given 6.52.<o:p></o:p>Bronze medallist Ogunode, a 2011 World Championships 400m finalist, clocked 6.513 and pushed China’s Su Bingtian into fourth place by 0.003 with the 2013 Asian champion having the consolation of a national record.<o:p></o:p>Zambia’s US-based Gerald Phiri also set a national record of the same time, after being 0.003 further back, while Chambers finished sixth with 6.53. <o:p></o:p>Nesta Carter of Jamaica could not replicate the form which saw him capture the silver medal two years ago. After running 6.50 in his semi-final, he finished seventh with 6.57. <o:p></o:p>Nicola Bamford for the IAAF&nbsp;<o:p></o:p>

Great Britain's Richard Kilty went from third at the 2014 UK Championships to first on the global stage when he rose to the occasion and flew to a 6.49 lifetime best to capture the men’s 60m gold medal.

Report: men's 60m final – Sopot 2014

Jamaica’s world indoor silver medallist Nesta Carter found his best form at exactly the right time and laid down a fine 6.50 season’s best marker to confirm that he is intent on capturing the gold medal this time around. The 28-year-old Jamaican scorched to victory in the first of three semi-finals. Behind him, Great Britain’s Richard Kilty continued his impressive breakthrough this season with a 6.52 lifetime best, improving by 0.01.US champion, and arguably the marginal favourite coming into the event, Marvin Bracy took the third semi-final with 6.52, while Qatar’s Femi Ogunode continued his transiation from being a 400m runner to the shorter distance and registered 6.55 to win the other semi-final.&nbsp; Jamaica’s Kimari Roach and Zambia’s Gerald Phiri finished second behind Ogunode and Bracy with a 6.55 personal best and a 6.57 national record, respectively. Britain’s 2010 champion Dwain Chambers squeezed through to the final, along with China’s Su Bingtian, as a fastest non-automatic qualifier.Zimbabwe’s Gabriel Mvumvure’s exit, when finishing third behind Carter, was compensated for by him clocking a 6.60 national record. Nicola Bamford for the IAAF

Jamaica’s world indoor silver medallist Nesta Carter found his best form at exactly the right time and laid down a fine 6.50 season’s best marker to confirm that he is intent on capturing the gold medal this time around. 

Report: men's 60m semi-finals – Sopot 2014

Ryan Whiting is in the form of his life ahead of defending his title at the IAAF World Indoor Championships next month after winning the shot on the final day of action at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque with one of the best indoor throws in history.After opening with a modest 19.90m, Whiting then sent his shot out to 21.33m in round two. But that lead was short-lived as Kurt Roberts smashed his lifetime best in the third round with a world-leading 21.50m.It didn’t last long at the top of the 2014 world indoor season list, though. In the penultimate round, Whiting uncorked an indoor lifetime best of 22.23m to secure the title. It is the sixth-best indoor performance in history and puts him at fifth on the world indoor all-time performers list.“I’m stronger than I was last year. Mentally I’m a lot more ready,” said Whiting after producing the best indoor shot put mark for six years. “Going into Sopot as the favourite, I’m a lot more ready for it this year. There’s no reason for me to be timid.” In third, Joe Kovacs also surpassed the pre-competition world-leading mark with his outright PB of 21.46m, but finished just four centimetres shy of making the team for the World Indoors.In the women’s 1500m, the pace was much faster than a year ago at the USA Indoor Championships, but the result was the same for Mary Cain. The 17-year-old successfully defended her indoor title in resounding fashion.Cain controlled the race over the final 600 meters and won in a convincing 4:07.05. The race was vastly different from last year’s slow, tactical mile which Cain won in 5:05.68. “I’m really happy it was a fast pace because it really gives you confidence for this World Indoor Championships,” Cain said.Cain’s training partner Treniere Moser finished second in 4:09.93 and will join her in Sopot.Saxer ends Suhr’s reignMary Saxer upset defending champing and world indoor record-holder Jenn Suhr in the pole vault. Saxer cleared 4.71m on her first attempt, an outright personal best by one centimetre. Suhr, who was experimenting with lighter poles, missed on her first attempt at 4.71m and then passed her final two opportunities.It was the first time since 2006 that Suhr has been beaten at the US Indoor Championships, ending her seven-year reign as the national indoor champion. Despite the loss, Suhr is confident of her chances for gold in Sopot.“If things keep going like they have been in training, it’ll be good but there’s a lot of good girls out there,” she said.There was another surprise in the triple jump as Chris Carter flew out to a lifetime best of 17.15m, 29cm farther than his outdoor PB and second in the world this year, to win his first national title by a comfortable margin.World leads in women’s 400m and 60m hurdlesNia Ali took a huge chunk off the world lead that she set on Saturday in the women’s 60m hurdles. Ali ran 7.80 seconds, just .02 seconds ahead of Olympic long jump silver medallist Janay DeLoach Soukup. With their big PBs, the pair now go to fifth and seventh respectively on the US indoor all-time list.The margins were even slimmer in the men’s 60m hurdles, where just six thousandths of a second separated the top three places as all were credited with a time of 7.56. Ultimately, Omo Osaghae was awarded the win with a time of 7.553. Dominic Berger finished second in 7.556 and Terrence Trammell was timed at 7.559, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the World Indoor Championships.In the women’s 400m, Francena McCorory was in last place with 150 meters remaining before chasing down Joanna Atkins and Natasha Hastings. The world and Olympic finalist won in a world-leading 50.85, her second-fastest indoor performance behind her own US indoor record of 50.54. Atkins held on for second in 51.13. The two heat set-up made for a quirky final in the men’s 400m. Kyle Clemons won what was expected to be the faster of the two heats in 45.60. In the slower section, David Verburg clocked 45.62 to claim his spot on the World Indoor Championship team. In all, four of the top six times in the finals came out of the “B” heat.Marvin Bracy ran his winning streak to three in the men’s 60m. The 20-year-old ran a personal best of 6.48 just ahead of Trell Kimmons, who finished in 6.49. After earning the biggest win of his young career and following the injury of world leader James Dasaolu, Bracy enters the World Indoor Championships as one of the favourites.“I’m young; I don’t look at it as a target. I just look at it as a stepping stone,” said Bracy. “At the end of the day, it’s all words. Someone else could be the favourite tomorrow.”In the women’s 60m, Tianna Bartoletta ran 7.08 to edge Lekeisha Lawson in an extremely close finish. The first four places in the race were separated by a mere .03 seconds. Lomong, Wilson and Sowinski take middle-distance titlesThe race for the top two spots was decided much earlier in the women’s 800m, but the race still provided some drama.Chanelle Price led from the gun and appeared to be in command before world junior champion Ajee Wilson closed the gap in the home straight. Wilson snuck by Price in the final meters to get the win in 2:00.43, the fastest ever indoor performance by a US teenager. Price was close behind in 2:00.48. In the men’s 1500m, Lopez Lomong and Will Leer survived a large and deep field to advance to the World Indoor Championships.Olympic silver medallist Leo Manzano led for the majority of the race before a group including Lomong, Leer, Garrett Heath and Ryan Hill began to break away. Lomong held his lead over the final 200 meters and went on to win in 3:43.09.Leer couldn’t quite repeat the magic from last Saturday’s Millrose Games mile, but was still able to use his patented late-race kick to pass Heath in the final 50 meters and finish in 3:43.21.“What can I say? Millrose was a mile. That’s 110 more meters I had to work with,” said Leer. “I’m a little bit disappointed with the way that I ran today. I’m definitely happy to punch my ticket to Poland. I seem to be ok at this indoors thing, I’ve just got to figure out outdoors now.”Erik Sowinski moved to the front with one lap remaining in the men’s 800m and did not relinquish his lead on the way to his second straight US indoor title. “With 300 to go, I still felt good. I put it down really well,” said Sowinski, who finished in a time of 1:47.86. “I was kind of worried about running two days at altitude, but I did really well. I haven’t worn a USA uniform before, so it will be the first time. I’m really excited.”Robby Andrews and Nick Symmonds fought to the line for the second spot with Andrews edging the world silver medallist 1:48.44 to 1:48.48. Despite the result, Andrews does not have the qualifying time so Symmonds will join Sowinski in Poland. “I just had to survive today so I could get over to Sopot,” said Symmonds who was dealing with an illness this weekend. “I’m stoked to have punched my ticket. My heart goes out to Robby Andrews, who should probably be going.” Kevin Sully for the IAAF

Ryan Whiting is in the form of his life ahead of defending his title at the IAAF World Indoor Championships next month after winning the shot on the final day of action at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque with one of the best indoor throws in history.