In the final at Japan National Stadium on 14/9, 24-year-old Seville surged in the last 40m to beat two strong contenders: fellow Jamaican Kishane Thompson and American star Noah Lyles. Seville finished in 9.77 seconds, a personal best.
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Oblique Seville (left) finishes ahead of Kishane Thompson and Noah Lyles in the men's 100m final at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships at Japan National Stadium on 14/9/2025. Photo: Reuters |
Oblique Seville (left) finishes ahead of Kishane Thompson and Noah Lyles in the men's 100m final at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships at Japan National Stadium on 14/9/2025. Photo: Reuters
From the stands, track and field icon Usain Bolt watched and cheered on his compatriot. The moment Seville tore off his shirt in celebration as he crossed the finish line ignited the Tokyo stadium, marking a new milestone for Jamaican athletics. This is the nation's first 100m champion since Bolt's gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 9.81 seconds.
"The last time Jamaica had a men's 100m gold medal was in 2016, and today the gold medal has returned home," Seville said emotionally. "I proved I'm a true champion. The key was in the final acceleration phase, something I struggled with all season. Today, I did well and won."
In yesterday's final, Kishane Thompson, who holds the world's fastest time of 9.75 seconds in the past decade, finished second in 9.82 seconds. Defending champion Lyles came in third with 9.89 seconds, still holding hopes for gold in the 200m. Letsile Tebogo, the reigning Olympic 200m champion and world 100m runner-up, was disqualified for a false start.
In the women's 100m, American runner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden caused a stir by winning gold with 10.61 seconds, breaking the championship record and matching the fastest time in history at a global competition, set by Elaine Thompson-Herah at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Following her were Tina Clayton (Jamaica) with 10.76 seconds and 2024 Paris Olympic champion Julien Alfred with 10.84 seconds.
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Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (left) finishes first in the women's 100m final. Photo: AP |
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden (left) finishes first in the women's 100m final. Photo: AP
The second day of competition, 14/9, also saw medals awarded in several other events. The biggest surprise came in the 10,000m, where Jimmy Gressier (France) sprinted in the last 100m, overtaking favorite Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia) to finish first with 28 minutes 55.77 seconds. Kejelcha took silver with 28 minutes 55.83 seconds, while Andreas Almgren (Sweden) won bronze with 28 minutes 56.02 seconds.
In the women's long jump, Tara Davis-Woodhall added her first outdoor world gold medal to her collection with a jump of 7.13m, following her two Olympic and indoor titles last year. Malaika Mihambo (Germany) won silver with 6.99m, while Natalia Linares (Colombia) took bronze with 6.92m.
In the women's marathon, Peres Jepchirchir made a spectacular sprint, beating Tigist Assefa to win gold, becoming the Olympic champion, world record holder, and now world champion.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 is taking place from 13/9 to 21/9 at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo. This is the third time Japan has hosted this event, following Tokyo 1991 and Osaka 2007. This year's event attracts over 2,000 athletes from around 200 countries and territories, competing in 49 events.
Compiled by Hong Duy
