TOKYO: Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah set up an Olympic 100m showdown on Saturday, easily winning their heats to advance to the final.
World champion Fraser-Pryce, chasing a third gold medal in the event, surged into the final at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium with a time of 10.73sec, the fastest time of the semi-finals.
The 34-year-old was always in control, getting out of the blocks smoothly and taking the lead around the halfway mark to finish comfortably ahead of Switzerland's Mujinga Kambundji in 10.96sec.
Thompson-Herah, the 2016 Olympic 100m gold medallist, dominated her semi-final to advance in 10.76sec, the second-fastest time of the round behind Fraser-Pryce.
She eased up around 20m from home and sauntered across the line well clear of her nearest rival, Switzerland's Ajla del Ponte in 11.01sec.
British hope Dina Asher-Smith, the world 200m champion, failed to qualify for the final after only managing 11.05sec in her heat to finish in third behind Thompson-Herah.
Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou won the other semi-final, finishing narrowly ahead of another Jamaican, Shericka Jackson, in 10.79sec.
Saturday's final takes place at 9.50pm local time (1250 GMT).--AFP