Great eruption at an altitude of 100 meters in Tokyo. China’s Su Bingtian dominated the semi-finals at 9’83, breaking the Asian record, while Italy’s Marcel Jacobs broke the European record at 9’84.

No Jamaicans qualified for the Olympic final at 2:50 p.m. Sunday. Another thunderbolt, No. 1 of the year, American Trayvon Brommel, uncomfortable with the playoffs, was eliminated (10’00).

But the Americans still put two men in the final, Ronnie Baker (9’83, personal best) and former 400-meter sprinter Fred Curley (9’96).

The sensation came from China’s Su, 31, who improved by 8 per cent from the Asian record he shared, at 9’83, to win the third semi-final, the most challenging by far. In the wake of it, Marcel Jacobs charted a two-hundredth European record, at 9’84, a record held by France’s Jimmy Fica (disqualified on Sunday) and Portugal’s Francis Ubiquillo.

Jacobs, a Transalpin of Texas descent, achieved the same time… as Alex Wilson two weeks ago in Gérogie (USA), 9”84, a time which of course was not approved due to several failures, especially in timing.

Sue, Jacobs, Baker and Akane Simbin of South Africa are gearing up to be the finalists. No Chinese has ever won a medal in a sprint at the Olympics.