Trayvon Bromell emphasized his status at the fastest man in the U.S., winning the men’s 100-meter final in 9.80 at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials to make his second Olympic team.
Results and highlights from the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials
Ronnie Baker finished second in 9.85 and Fred Kerley followed for third in 9.86—lifetime best times for both runners. Kenny Bednarek finished fourth in 9.89, also a personal best, and he will be an alternate for Team USA.
The victory for Bromell builds on his impressive comeback to the top of the sport. After battling injuries for several seasons, the world championship bronze medalist has returned faster than ever this year. On June 5, Bromell ran 9.77, a new personal best and world-leading time at the NACAC New Life Invitational in Miramar, Florida. The Baylor alum finished eighth in the 100-meter final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
“It’s a marvelous feeling,” Bromell said, in reference to making his second Olympic team. “Everybody who knows me knows that I’m a spiritual runner. I run for God. I run for Christ. He tells us in scripture when things like this happen, ‘You won’t be surprised,’ so when I won, I was happy.”
Tokyo will be Baker’s first Olympic Games. In 2016, he missed qualifying for the Olympic Trials final in the 100 meters. In 2018, he earned his first world championship medal by finishing third in the 60 meters at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, UK.
“Honestly just making the team hasn’t hit me yet,” Baker said. “I’m super excited to be going to Tokyo and representing Team USA though. I’m just overwhelmed.”
The third-place showing for Kerley indicates a successful transition from the 400 meters to the 100 meters. In 2019, Kerley earned a bronze medal in the 400 meters and contributed to Team USA’s winning 4x400-meter relay at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. This season, he’s focused on the shorter sprint events. He opened 2021 with a time of 10.15 in March and has already lowered the mark to 9.86.
Fifth-place finisher Micah Williams of Oregon, the lone collegian in the final, also ran a personal best with a time of 9.91.
In the semifinals 90 minutes earlier, Bromell ran the fastest time by winning heat 1 in 9.90 into a slight headwind. Bednarek placed second in 9.96, a new personal best. Kerley followed with a win in the second heat, finishing in 9.92 ahead of Baker.
200-meter world champion Noah Lyles and five-time Olympic medalist Justin Gatlin both had uncharacteristically off days by finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Lyles ran 10.05 and Gatlin finished in 10.87.
After the race, Gatlin was emotional speaking to reporters in a virtual mixed zone. The 39-year-old, who won gold in the 100 meters at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and earned a silver medal in Rio, was attempting to make his fourth and last Olympic team.
“It’s a very rare opportunity that you are witnessing something that you’re going to do for the last time while you’re doing it, and it made me sad, but it made me happy to be here to be able to do it,” Gatlin said.
“You got to realize that the performance we all put out there as athletes, it’s our heart,” Gatlin said. “You never realize as an athlete that there’s going to be an end until the end comes.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
