Kerley sees off Gatlin to claim 100m; Duplantis clears 5.90m to beat Kendricks

American sprinter Fred Kerley won the 100 metres at the Golden Spike meet in Ostrava in 9.96 seconds on Wednesday, seeing off 2004 Olympic champion and veteran compatriot Justin Gatlin.

Kerley posted a sub-10sec time in April when he clocked 9.91 seconds for the second fastest time so far this season, trailing Trayvon Bromell’s world-leading mark by 0.03 seconds.

At Ostrava, Kerley beat 39-year-old Gatlin who clocked 10.08 and Canada’s Andre de Grasse on 10.17.

“I feel like it was perfect, I can’t complain. It was pretty good,” Kerley said.

He added that in the run-up to the postponed Tokyo Olympics, he was “just gaging, listening to my training” for the time being.

Kerley also ran the 200 metres, finishing second behind fellow American Kenny Bednarek, who clocked 19.93.

Sha’Carri Richardson won the women’s 200 metres in 22.35 after making waves earlier on Wednesday with a tweet from Ostrava that read “First & last time here, not impressed at all”.

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo set a world-leading time of 26min 33.93sec in the 10,000m, the seventh fastest race of all time.

Kiplimo stayed almost 23sec behind the world record set last October by his compatriot Joshua Cheptegei, who won the unofficial 3,000-metre race in Ostrava.

Ethiopia’s Getnet Wale set a new world-leading time of 8min 09.47sec in the 3,000 metres steeplechase.

World record holder Armand Duplantis won the pole vault with an effort of 5.90 metres, beating two-time world champion Sam Kendricks by five centimetres.

“I think of course I can jump higher than 5.90 but today I just never really got the rhythm and I just didn’t really jump that well,” the 21-year-old Swede said.

But he put on a conciliatory tone when asked about the prospects for his Olympic debut.

“I have a lot of time for the Olympics. I think I’m in good shape right now,” he said.

Burkina Faso’s Fabrice Hugues Zango won the triple jump with a 17.20m effort, almost a metre behind his 18.07-metre indoor world record from earlier this year.

“There are some good things to take from this competition because I was able to fix my run up today so I think technically I get something,” Zango said.

Having used the Golden Spike as an outdoor test, the top athletes will now move to Gateshead, England for Sunday’s Diamond League opener in the run-up to the delayed Olympic Games, which are due to start on July 23.

Meanwhile, World-record holder Armand Duplantis cleared 5.90 meters to win the men’s pole vault at the Golden Spike meet on Wednesday.

In his first event in Europe this season, the Swede beat world champion Sam Kendricks of the United States at the 60th edition of the meet.

Kendricks cleared 5.85 in cold condition in front of about 1,500 fans who were allowed to attend amid the coronavirus restrictions.

Nicknamed “Mondo,” Duplantis - who was born and raised in the United States - was named the track and field athlete of 2020 after breaking indoor and outdoor records in the discipline.

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, the world-record holder in the men’s 5,000 and 10,000 meters, dominated the 3,000 in 7 minutes, 33.26 seconds.

Britain’s Max Burgin won the men’s 800 in a world-leading 1:44.14, a personal best for the 18-year-old.

There were several other world-leading results as Getnet Wale of Ethiopia clocked 8:09.47 in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase, Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo won the men’s 10.000 in 26:33.93 and Johannes Vetter of Germany had a throw of 94.20 meters in the men’s javelin.

Fred Kerley led an American 1-2 finish in the men’s 100, clocking 9.96 seconds. Veteran Justin Gatlin finished second in 10.08 followed by Canada’s André De Grasse in 10.17.

In the women’s 200, U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson cruised to victory in 22.35. Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria was second in 22.59 ahead of Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland in 22.85.

Agencies