Athletics
Tokyo Olympics Men's 100m Final: Here's a look at the finalists as we compare them to the top eight from Rio
A massive gulf in class between the two as there were multiple Olympic and World champions in Rio as compared to Tokyo Olympics
Men's 100m at Tokyo Olympics (Source: Reuters)
The time has come to find out who's the fastest man on earth on, as the lineup for the men's 100 final at the Tokyo Olympics is set and we're just minutes away from the action. There were a lot of surprises and close finishes in the semifinal stages in the lead-up to the finals. Trayvon Bromell, Yohan Blake, and Jimmy Vacaut who were all part of the Rio 2016 finals in the men's 100m event were knocked out from the semifinal stages. Andre De Grasse is the only notable name, who will be competing in the finals in Tokyo.
However, as we wait for what could be one of the most iconic races of all time in the post-Usain Bolt era, we decided to take a look at the finalists from 2016 and understand how they fare with the current crop.
Rio 2016: A line up of champions
The 2016 final had stars all over the track as many of them had previously either won a medal at the Olympics or at the World Athletics Championship.
Justin Gatlin was a four-time Olympic medalist whereas Yohan Blake had won a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in London in the 100 m and 200 m races for Jamaica. Similarly, Trayvon Bromell had won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championship. Jimmy Vicaut had won a bronze medal at London Olympics, with France's 4×100 m relay team. Andre De Grasse, who will also be competing in the finals at Tokyo Olympics 2020, had won a bronze medal in the 2015 World Championships as he was preparing for Rio and Usain Bolt's list of accolades needs no introduction.
Ben Youssef Meïté and Akani Simbine, were the only two who did not have any success on the international stage.
Tokyo 2020: An underwhelming line-up
However, if we look at the Tokyo Olympics final lineup apart from Andre De Grasse and Zharnel Hughes, none of the other six finalists have won a medal in the Olympics or the World Championship. Zharnel's medal also came in the 2019 World Athletics Championship in the 4x100m relay event.
It will be fair to say that whoever wins would be making history by becoming an Olympic champion for the first time ever.
