The king is dead. Long live the king. Athletics has been scavenging for an undisputed holder of the fastest man in the world title since Usain Bolt’s retirement in 2017. In Christian Coleman, who powered to a stunning 100m world championship gold medal in 9.76sec, a personal best and the fastest time since 2015, it has undoubtedly found its man.
Some – like the legendary Michael Johnson – believe the missed drugs tests that nearly derailed the 23-year-old American’s career last month should prevent him becoming the face of his sport. But it is too late for that now. For better or worse, that is what he undoubtedly is.
The eye test told you that the 23-year-old American had the race won at 30 metres, when he established a clear lead over his competition that he never relinquished. The reality was that everyone knew that it was in the bag during Friday heats and the semi-final earlier on Saturday, where he was the only man to go under 10 seconds despite trotting over the line. He started the final as a prohibitive favourite.
The reigning champion Justin Gatlin, who has a past of his own, ran faster than any 37-year-old in history, to win silver in 9.89, while the Canadian Andre De Grasse was third in 9.90. But Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, who had been talked up as an outside medal prospect, was a disappointing sixth in 10.03.
This was the first major championships without Bolt since 2005. And for nearly a decade the 6ft 5in Jamaican was track and field’s biggest star – and its greatest crutch. There has been much talk ever since his departure on the need to jazz up the sport. Certainly the IAAF, athletics governing body, got this final right.
Moments before the 100m final took place the lights across the Khalifa International Stadium went dark and the track lit up. Disco music began to play, and the athletes’ nerves to skip in time. After the spotlight had focused in each athlete, the lights went back up and the sprinters were called to their blocks.
But then Coleman blasted out of the blocks, and brutally and quickly knocked out the competition.
Elsewhere on the second day of these championships, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith cruised into Sunday’s women’s 100m semi-final with an efficient and easy-looking 10.97sec. However, she was given a stark warning over what it will take to win gold by the performance of 2012 Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who qualified in 10.80 – the fastest time ever run in a world championships heat. And there was more good news for the Great Britain team in the new mixed 4x400m relay heats as Martyn Rooney, Rabah Yousif, Zoey Clark, Emily Diamond reached Sunday’s final after coming fourth in their hear.
However the undoubted race of the night came in the women’s 10,000m as the Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan slowly reeled in a pack of Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes before sprinting clear of Letesenbet Gidey on the final lap to win her first world title in 30:17.63.
The biggest shock, meanwhile, came in the men’s long jump as the Jamaican Tajay Gayle recorded the 10th longest leap in history – and broke his personal best by 37cm to win gold in 8.69m, well clear of Jeff Henderson, who took silver, and Juan Miguel Echevarría, who won bronze.
