Tokyo 2025: Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson book 100m semifinal spots as South Africa's Gift Leotlela leads qualifiers

Top favourites Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson conveniently booked their spots in the 100m semis at the Tokyo 2025 World Championships, which surprisingly witnessed South Africa's Gift Leotlela with the fastest time in the heats.

The South African youngster won Heat 1 in a blistering Personal Best (PB) of 9.87s, just edging Nigeria's rising star Kanyinsola Ajayi, who also clocked a PB of 9.88s, while pre-race favourite Jamaica's Oblique Seville finished third in 9.93s.

In Heat 2, Thompson showed why he's the top challenger for the world title with an effortless victory in 9.95s, ahead of Canada's Eliezer Adjibi in 10.19s, and Colombia's Ronal Longa third in 10.21s.

Defending champion Lyles followed suit in Heat 3 with an impressive 9.93s for the win, while Jamaica's Ackeem Blake and Bahamas' Terrence Jones respectively were second and third in 10.07s and 10.16s.

US champion Kenny Bednarek also cruised to victory in 10.01s, stirring clear ahead of Canada's Jerome Blake in 10.05s, and Great Britain's Jeremiah Azu in 10.10s.

In Heat 5, Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo won in 10.07s, Andre De Grasse second in 10.16s, and Courtney Lindsey third in 10.19s.

Nigeria's Israel Okon surprisingly defeated bronze medallist from Budapest Zharnel Hughes in 10.04s to the Briton's 10.06s in Heat 6, while Tokyo Olympic champion produced his best performance of the season to finish third in 10.20s.

The final heat was won by South Africa's sprint legend Akani Simbine in 10.04s, who led an African sweep as Ghana's Abdul-Rasheed Samainu came second in 10.09s, and African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala third in 10.12s.

The men's 100m semifinals and final will take place on Day 2 of the championship (September 14), which is expected to be a highly anticipated watch as it's already gearing up to be one for the history books.