Athletics-US sprinters on the charge in Tokyo

By Mitch Phillips

LONDON (Reuters) -Two of the four Olympic sprint titles may have evaded the United States in Paris last year but the sport’s superpower is targeting a clean sweep at the Athletics World Championships, with Noah Lyles and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden leading the charge.

The U.S. dominated global sprinting for decades but endured an uncomfortable period in the shadows as Jamaica took command on the men’s and women’s sides.

Now, as the Caribbean island’s depth has fallen away, the Americans are reasserting their dominance and are hoping for their first world championship sweep for 20 years.

Lyles, of course, is the leading light after claiming the Olympic 100 metres gold last year – albeit by five thousandths of a second from Jamaican Kishane Thompson.

That gave him the cov