American sprinter Trayvon Bromell has clocked the world’s fastest 100 metres time of the year, running 9.84 seconds at the Rome leg of the Diamond League, eclipsing Ghanaian rising star Abdul-Rasheed Saminu’s impressive 9.86-second mark set just weeks earlier.
Bromell’s electric performance came against a fiercely competitive field, including Africa’s top sprint talents, and sends a clear message ahead of the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
Saminu, whose own 9.86 seconds had not only stunned the athletics world but also broken Ghana’s national record previously held by Benjamin Azamati (9.90s), now sits second on the world list—tied with American Kenny Bednarek, who matched Saminu’s time at the Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia.
Bromell, 29, has battled through injuries and comebacks throughout his career, making this triumph in Rome all the more resonant. “I’ve had my share of struggles, but moments like this make it worth it,” he told reporters after the race.
Behind him, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme took second in 9.99 seconds, narrowly ahead of Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala, who clocked 10.01 seconds. 2022 World Champion Fred Kerley finished fifth in 10.06 seconds, an uncharacteristically subdued performance.
Though disappointed to lose his world lead, 22-year-old Saminu remains one of the breakout names of the 2025 season. His form signals a bright future for Ghanaian sprinting and has injected fresh excitement into the global sprint scene.
With just under three months to go until Tokyo, the race for the title of world’s fastest man is heating up and Bromell has laid down a powerful marker.
