Abdul Hakim Sani Brown became the first Japanese to qualify for the 100 meters final Saturday at the World Athletics Championships, where he finished seventh in the men's sprint event.
Fred Kerley led an American podium sweep after he ran 9.86 seconds for the gold medal in front of a roaring home crowd at Hayward Field, with Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell both finishing on 9.88 seconds and a photo finish giving the former silver and the latter bronze.
"I used up my energy in the semifinals," said Sani Brown, who clocked 10.06.
"I wasn't as nervous as I was in the semis but...it was really, really tough. The Americans are amazing. I have lots of room for improvement so I want to train harder and beat them," he said.
Sani Brown, who is making his fourth world championship appearance in Oregon, finished third in 10.05 in his semifinal heat to reach the eight-man final based on time.
The 23-year-old was born in Fukuoka in Japan to a Japanese mother and Ghanaian father.
Prior to Sani Brown, the only Japanese to reach the 100m final in either the worlds or the Olympics was Los Angeles Olympic finalist Takayoshi Yoshioka, who finished sixth at the 1932 summer games.
Sani Brown recorded 9.98 for his third career sub-10 second 100m time in Friday's first-round heats.
The former national record holder could not make the Olympic cut in the 100m last year in Tokyo, and made an early exit in the 200m.
