BIRMINGHAM, England (August 3) —— Elaine Thompson-Herah and Ferdinand Omanyala captured the women’s and men’s 100m gold medals at the Commonwealth Games 2022 here at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Day two of track and field on Wednesday (3).
Five-time Olympic champion Thompson-Herah clocked 10.95 seconds to win her first Commonwealth Games title after holding off the NCAA champion Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia in the closing meters.
“Feeling good,” said Thompson-Herah. “I didn’t have the best execution but nevertheless I had to dig for that one but I am still grateful to win my first Commonwealth Games.
“I started in 2014 in the 4x100m. Then in 2018 in the 200m I came fourth and now I upgraded to a gold.”
The 30-year-old who finished third in a Jamaican medal sweep of the women’s 100m at the World Athletics Championships 2022 in Oregon, last month, broke away from the field midway through the contest and held off the fast-finishing Alfred who clocked 11.02 seconds for the silver medal.
Embed from Getty ImagesOlympic finalist and British champion Daryll Neita recovered from a poor start to claw her way back into contention to eventually secure the bronze medal in 11.07 seconds.
The English sprinter was in fine form in the semi-finals after running a personal best of 10.90 secs, a time which would have won the gold medal here today.
She was a bit disappointed with her execution in the final but was nevertheless happy to have gotten on the podium
Rosemary Chukwuma (11.17) and Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha (11.18) of Nigeria finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Ferdinand Omanyala wins Commonwealth Games 100m gold
On the men’s side, meanwhile, Ferdinand Omanyala became Kenya’s first Commonwealth Games 100m champion in 60 years after he clocked 10.02 seconds (-0.9 m/s) to win by more than a meter and a half.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe African record holder whose participation at the recent World Athletics Championships 2022 was affected by visa problems, got off to a good start and then powered away from the field.
Defending champion Akani Simbine had to settle for the silver medal this year, finishing with a time of 10.13 secs, while Yupun Abeykoon of Sri Lanka was a shoe size behind in third place in a time of 10.14.
Fourth place went to Ghana’s Benjamin Azamati who ran 10.18 and Jeremiah Azu finished fifth at 10.19.
Commonwealth Games 2022 women’s 100m final results
| Final – 16:45 UTC-4 – Official | |||
| Rank | CGA | Name | Time |
| 1 | JAM | Elaine THOMPSON-HERAH | 10.95 |
| 2 | LCA | Julien ALFRED | 11.01 |
| 3 | ENG | Daryll NEITA | 11.07 |
| 4 | NGR | Rosemary CHUKWUMA | 11.17 |
| 5 | NGR | Nzubechi Grace NWOKOCHA | 11.18 |
| 6 | NZL | Zoe HOBBS | 11.19 |
| 7 | BAH | Tynia GAITHER | 11.23 |
| 8 | JAM | Natalliah WHYTE | 11.32 |
Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s 100m final results
| Final – 16:32 UTC-4 – Official | |||
| Rank | CGA | Name | Time |
| 1 | KEN | Ferdinand OMANYALA | 10.02 |
| 2 | RSA | Akani SIMBINE | 10.13 |
| 3 | SRI | Yupun ABEYKOON | 10.14 |
| 4 | GHA | Benjamin AZAMATI | 10.16 |
| 5 | WAL | Jeremiah AZU | 10.19 |
| 6 | AUS | Rohan BROWNING | 10.2 |
| 7 | CMR | Emmanuel ESEME | 10.24 |
| 8 | ENG | Nethaneel MITCHELL-BLAKE | 11.1 |
