The old guard may have left us but Tokyo will be exciting in crowning the new one and it is a likeable bunch indeed. The beaming Akani Simbine, a Trayvon Bromell in the midst of an epic comeback or the understated Ronnie Baker that’s just to name a few. Here’s our men’s 100m preview for the Tokyo Olympics.
Schedule
Saturday 31 July 03:35 UK Time (Preliminary Round) Saturday 31 July 11:45 UK Time (Round One) Sunday 1 August 11:15 UK Time (Semifinals) Sunday 1st August 13:50 UK Time (Final)
2021 Fastest Times
| 2021 Rankings | Time (s) | Athlete | Country |
| 1 | 9.77 | Trayvon Bromell | USA |
| 2 | 9.84 | Akani Simbine | South Africa |
| 3 | 9.85 | Marvin Bracy | USA |
| 3 | 9.85 | Ronnie Baker | USA |
| 5 | 9.86 | Fred Kerley | USA |
| 6 | 9.89 | Isiah Young | USA |
| 6 | 9.89 | Kenneth Bednarek | USA |
| 8 | 9.91 | Micah Williams | USA |
| 9 | 9.94 | Jo’Vaughn Martin | USA |
| 9 | 9.94 | Gift Leotlela | South Africa |
British interest
Zharnel Hughes, Reece Prescod and CJ Ujah is a very impressive trio. All three will sneak under the radar by virtue of not having broken ten seconds this year but Zharnel Hughes looked very impressive in wining his semi-final in the British Champs (10.06) before withdrawing from the final. Ujah (10.03 this year) has been consistent all year and is 11th in the world on the ranking system and Reece Prescod won the B race in Gateshead (10.13) impressively to return to some kind of form ahead of Tokyo. He was only fifth in the British Champs a few weeks earlier. All three may grow into contenders for a final spot and with the event wide open, who knows from there.
The favourites
Trayvon Bromell was Usain Bolt’s heir apparent, winning World Bronze having just turned 20 in 2015 and then World Indoor gold over 60m a few months later. An eight place in Rio was seen as a disappointment but nothing in comparison with the three years of potentially career ending knee injuries that followed. Yet here we are in 2021, the first Olympics without Bolt and Trayvon Bromell is the favourite, having won all but one race this year (he was fifth in Monaco). He has some story to tell already and he made add to it with Olympic gold.
Stopping him could be another feel-good story with the rise and rise of South African Akani Simbine who broke the African record in Székesfehérvár. The Olympic 5th placer in Rio was 4th in the Doha World Champs and has won all but one of his races this year.
The only man to beat them both, Ronnie Baker who was second in the US trials and won impressively in Monaco. He has assembled an impressive resume of Diamond League wins over the last four years and will have every chance of winning the gold. Fred Kerley is the final US team member and willl be competitive in Tokyo.
When you take out the rest of the Americans you can see that the event becomes wide open with notable names including Yohan Blake (9.95 this year), André de Grasse (9.99) and Lamont Marcell-Jacobs (9.95) of Italy. Interesting also is the potential for some home interest through Ryota Yamagata (9.95) and quite possibly a medal push from China’s Bingtian Su (9.98).
Our medal predictions
- Trayvon Bromell
- Akani Simbine
- Ronnie Baker
Records
WR: 9.58 Usain Bolt (2009)
OR: 9.63 Usain Bolt (2012 London)
Featured image “London 2012 Olympic Games 100m Final – Start” by Sum_of_Marc is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
