EUGENE: Newly-crowned world 100m champion Fred Kerley led a fresh strikeforce of US sprinters into the semi-finals of the men’s 200m on Monday.

Kerley won his heat in 20.17 seconds to raise the prospect of another US cleansweep, after the sprint all-rounder led Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell home in the blue riband event.

In the absence of that duo, it was the turn of the Americans who finished second, third and fourth in the 200m at last year’s Tokyo Olympics – Kenneth Bednarek, world champion Noah Lyles and 18-year-old Erriyon Knighton – to take to the track of Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

And they didn’t disappoint, all coasting through their heats for Tuesday’s semi-final, with the final scheduled for 0235 GMT on Thursday.

A hyped-up Lyles celebrated his 25th birthday Sunday by setting the fastest qualifying time of 19.98 seconds, the sole sprinter to go sub-20.

Kerley leads American clean sweep in 100m, shot put joy for Ealey

Canada’s reigning Olympic champion Andre de Grasse, who failed to make the 100m final, was a non-starter in his heat.

The Canadian struggled in the 100m, having only just returned from a second dose of Covid-19, but is holding out hope of being involved in the 4x100m relay.