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Fred Kerley is a world man of thriller. He’s a risk to win any race he enters, irrespective of if it’s the 100m, the 200m or the 400m.
“Fred is a Swiss Military knife,” says US teammate Michael Cherry. “He can do lots of completely different dash occasions.”
Naturally, inquisitive minds need to know: What’s going to Kerley run in June on the US Championships, the place the group will likely be chosen for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22?
“You’ve bought to attend and see,” he says.
The assembly is just 4 days, with three rounds in every of Kerley’s occasions. He rapidly places to relaxation any notion he’d try the triple: “No, it’s quite a bit on the physique.”
And so the guessing sport begins. Kerley is the one man in historical past who has received Wanda Diamond League races within the 100m, 200m and 400m.
In 2019, he contested solely 400m races, culminating within the bronze medal on the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
Then Kerley shocked the athletics world by skipping the 400m on the US Olympic Trials and putting third within the 100m and fourth within the 200m. He grew to become the shock silver medallist within the 100m on the Tokyo Olympics with a PB of 9.84. Switching backwards and forwards between the 2 occasions, he completed his season with a spectacular 19.76 within the 200m at altitude in Nairobi.
USA’s Fred Kerley secures 100m silver on the Tokyo Olympic Video games (© Getty Photographs)
On 16 April, the 26-year-old ran a scorching 19.80 within the 200m on the USATF Golden Video games in Walnut, California, bettering his personal world-leading time of 20.04. Kerley chased down Michael Norman within the final 50 metres, his last burst taking him throughout the road on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold occasion.
As Kerley’s momentum carried him across the curve, he held his arms out extensive as if to say, “How do you want that?”
“Boy, is he a gamer,” stated Sanya Richards-Ross, the Olympic gold medallist and tv commentator. “He reveals up in finals each single time. This younger man all the time type of has this chip on his shoulder. He retains eager to show to us… ‘Fred, we see you. You’re a champion.’”
Norman may really feel him. Kerley was on his proper, methodically gaining down the stretch. “You simply type of get a way of presence,” the 24-year-old says, “you already know what I imply?”
Norman ran 19.83 in his season opener and tweeted after the race that he “can’t be too mad” due to his quick time. He added: “A lot respect for @fkerley99 however I’m going to wish that rematch someday this yr,” to which Kerley replied: “Respect.”
Respect https://t.co/ENZi0vGAtH
— Fred Kerley (@fkerley99) April 17, 2022
Whereas Kerley is a prolific tweeter, favouring the hashtag #IAMHISTORY, he’s a person of few phrases.
His ideas on reeling in Norman? “I bought the W.”
His targets for the remainder of the season? “Win.”
What about time-wise? “Win,” Kerley repeats. “Time shouldn’t be my concern, it’s all in regards to the Ws that come.”
The 6-foot-3 Kerley is undefeated to date this season throughout all three distances. In early March, he clocked 44.47 within the 400m in a gathering in Grenada, a time that was No.1 till Cherry went 44.28 on the Golden Video games, whereas Olympic champion Steven Gardiner has since improved the world result in 44.22. Kerley posted a time of 9.99 within the 100m, which ranks fifth on the world record, in a meet in Florida in late March.
His subsequent race will likely be a 100m on 7 Could on the Kip Keino Basic in Nairobi, this season’s subsequent World Athletics Continental Tour Gold assembly.
Renewed rivalries
Kerley says he decides which distance to run primarily based on the place his coaching is taking him. After all, the 100m and the 400m place completely different calls for on his physique. One requires explosiveness, the opposite a tolerance to ache.
“Each of them bought to provide and take,” Kerley provides. “One bought your head spinning and one bought your legs spinning, too.”
Kerley believes his versatility may help promote his sport. He has rivals at each distance, from Norman, Noah Lyles and Christian Coleman within the US to Kirani James, Marcell Jacobs and Andre De Grasse from the worldwide ranks.
“Hey, I wish to compete, so rivalry’s rivalry,” Kerley says. “I really feel prefer it’s essential to have a rivalry within the sport as a result of that’s what’s going to get extra consideration to trace and subject— like soccer and basketball. They’ve bought rivalries. But when we’ve got rivalries between us, we’re going to be huge.”
Fred Kerley and Michael Norman go head-to-head on the USATF Golden Video games (© Getty Photographs)
Kerley and Norman are two of the three members of the unique, sub-10, sub-20, sub-44 second membership. The opposite is Wayde van Niekerk, the 29-year-old 2016 Olympic champion from South Africa.
Head-to-head, Kerley has the sooner time within the 100m — 9.84 to 9.86 — whereas Norman is faster on the 200m — 19.70 to 19.76. Norman additionally has the higher 400m time of 43.45 to 43.64. Van Niekerk’s occasions, in the meantime, are 9.94, 19.84 and the world file of 43.03.
Whereas Kerley and Norman are cordial, they’re each additionally supremely aggressive. “He does the identical occasions as me — everyone is my enemy when you contact the monitor,” Kerley says.
Norman has an identical mindset. “No person desires to lose to anyone,” he says. “So each time we race one another, it’s like who’s going to get the very best of who that race.”
He provides of Kerley: “He’s cool. All respect to Fred, no beef or animosity, or nothing like that. He’s a terrific competitor, he’s an excellent man.”
Norman says their rivalry retains the game “unpredictable”.
“When it comes having any individual who does a particularly comparable factor as you,” he says, “it simply brings out the very best in each of us and it elevates one another, so there’ll be a lot extra races down the street.”
Kerley provides that marketability and recognition — the 100m is the extra glamorous occasion within the public eye — can have no bearing on which occasions he’ll select for the World Championships.
Nonetheless, he did acknowledge final yr that he does have a long-term purpose.
“I need to be a legend, like Usain Bolt,” Kerley stated.
No secret to success
Initially a 200m runner popping out of highschool, Kerley moved as much as the complete lap in school. At Texas A&M, he received two NCAA titles.
US sprinter Fred Kerley (© Getty Photographs)
He says there’s no secret to how he is ready to compete in three distances now. “Coaching,” Kerley explains. “Coaching. And coaching.”
However there must be one thing else.
Michael Johnson was the Olympic gold medallist and world record-holder in each the 200m (19.32) and 400m (43.18), however his greatest time within the 100m was 10.09.
Usain Bolt holds the world data within the 100m (9.58) and 200m (19.19), however went no sooner than 45.28 within the 400m. Carl Lewis and Jesse Owens had been triple threats mixed with the lengthy bounce, not the quarter-mile.
Kenny Bednarek, the Olympic silver medallist within the 200m, is a member of the sub-10, sub-20 and sub-45 membership.
“What Fred’s been doing is fairly unbelievable,” Bednarek says.
He provides that the transition between occasions requires lots of changes. “Within the 400,” Bednarek says, “we’re by no means actually explosive. It’s extra sustaining your rhythm and the lactate and see who has essentially the most guts to complete that final 150 stretch. Within the 400, you can also make a mistake, however you possibly can right it. Within the 200 and the 100, you don’t actually have time.”
After Kerley accomplished his Diamond League triple final yr by profitable the 100m on the Brussels assembly, a sure Twitter account posed a query.
“So… which occasion will @fkerley99 give attention to subsequent yr? Asking for a good friend,” wrote the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.
“800,” Kerley replied, adopted by three laughing emojis. “Naw I simply enjoying.”
Karen Rosen for World Athletics
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