Kerley cruises in 1st 100m of season

YOKOHAMA—American sprint star Fred Kerley cruised to victory in 9.91sec in his first 100m of the season at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Japan on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Texan, who will attempt to defend his 100m world title in Budapest in August, was never troubled as he finished ahead of Australia’s Rohan Browning in second place.

Kerley clocked 9.88 in his heat to break the meet record in Yokohama.

He will face Olympic 100m champion Marcell Jacobs in Diamond League meets in Rabat on May 28 and Florence on June 2.

Kerley finished second behind Italian Jacobs at the Tokyo Games and the pair have not raced head to head since then.

Kerley has said he will aim for a 100-200m double at this year’s world championships.

He opened his Diamond League season with a 200m win in Doha earlier this month, clocking 19.92sec to finish ahead of fellow American Kenneth Bednarek.

He will race against reigning 200m world champion Noah Lyles at that distance in next month’s New York Grand Prix. AFP

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are mild and often treacherous Himalayan winds are typically calm.

Bigyan Koirala, a tourism department offi cial, told AFP that nearly 450 climbers have already scaled Everest this season.

Authorities have issued 478 permits to foreign climbers this year, with each paying an $11,000 fee.

Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people—a record— were expected to try to summit during the season, which runs until early June.

Nine climbers have already lost their lives this climbing season. AFP