Fred_Kerley

Fred Kerley

Fred Kerley

American sprinter (born 1995)

Fredrick Lee Kerley (born May 7, 1995) is an American professional track and field sprinter who started his career competing in the 400 meters until 2020, when he transitioned to the 100 meters and 200 meters. He has earned several medals at the World Championships in the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay including an individual bronze and a relay gold at the 2019 edition. Kerley claimed 100 m gold in the 2022 edition.

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His personal best time of 43.64 seconds makes him the eighth fastest man in history over 400 m.[2] During the pandemic, Kerley chose to focus on the 100 m during the Olympic cycle to improve his basic speed for future attempts at a sub-43 400 m. The decision to move down paid off as he won the silver medal in the 100 m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a 9.84 performance. His personal best time of 9.76 seconds makes him the sixth fastest man in history over the straightaway sprint, behind Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin and joint with Christian Coleman and Trayvon Bromell.

Kerley is one of only 3 men along with Michael Norman and Wayde van Niekerk to go sub-10 seconds in 100 m, sub-20 seconds in 200 m and sub-44 seconds in 400 m.

He is a two-time winner of the Diamond League series, winning the 400 m in 2018 and the 100 m in 2021.

Early life and college

Kerley attended Taylor High School and his youth team was the College Station Sprinters in College Station, Texas. Afterwards he attended South Plains College from 2013 to 2015 before transferring to Texas A&M.

In 2016, Fred Kerley tried out for the Olympic team at the USA Olympic Trials.[3] He did not qualify out of his heat, but he went on to represent the United States at the NACAC Under-23 Championships where he anchored the 4 × 100 meters relay team to gold.[4]

In March 2017, he won the 400 m at the NCAA Division I Championships in a world leading time of 44.85 s, one of the top ten fastest indoor times ever. He joined his younger brother Mylik Kerley as he anchored the Aggies to a come from behind victory in the 4 × 400 m relay. The two first place finishes contributed 20 points to the team, helping bring Texas A&M to their first ever team victory at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, run on their home track. In May, Kerley ran 44.09 s, just 0.09 s off the NCAA record, while easing to the finish line at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships in Columbia, South Carolina.[5] A few weeks later Kerley set the NCAA record in the men's 400 m at the 2017 NCAA West Preliminary with a time of 43.70 s, taking three-tenths of a second off the 44.00 record by Olympic champion Quincy Watts, set almost 25 years earlier.[6][7] Kerley had met Watts just before the race.[8] He concluded his amateur career to win the 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 2017 NCAA Division I Championships in June.

Career

2017

Kerley at the 2018 USATF Indoor Championships

A few weeks later in June 2017, Kerley won the 400 m at the USATF Championships in 44.03 seconds, qualifying to represent the United States in both the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay at the World Championships in Athletics. After winning his heat he finished third in his semi, but qualified for the final on time.[9] In the final he was unable to replicate his form from earlier in the season, finishing seventh in a time of 45.23 s. He came back a day later to help the US qualify for the finals in the relay, and then a few days later earned a silver medal behind Trinidad and Tobago.

2018

In 2018, Kerley came back from an injury to win the Diamond League trophy in the men's 400 meters.[10]

After Kerley turned professional in 2017 he joined club ALTIS in Phoenix, Arizona, and trained there under the guidance of Kevin Tyler for the 2018 season.[11] However, in 2019 he returned to Texas A&M to train under his former coach Alleyne Francique, stating to Track & Field News "I believe in him so much that I had to come back to train with him."[1]

2021

Kerley made his 2021 outdoor debut March 20 at the Tropical Park Elite Sprints Meet in Tropical Park, Florida with a pair of personal bests in the 100 m, 10.15 s in the heats and 10.11 s in the final, and then improved that time twice again at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, Florida on April 4 with times of 10.06 in the heats and 10.03 to win the final.[12]

Kerley achieved his first sub-10 in the 100 m at the TRUfit Classic in Miami on April 24, winning in 9.91 s with a maximum allowable wind velocity for record purposes (+2.0 m/s).[13] On May 19 he won the men's 100 m in 9.96 s at the Golden Spike in Ostrava, finishing ahead of former Olympic and World champion Justin Gatlin who settled for second in 10.08 s. Kerley also ran in the 200 m where he placed second with a time of 20.27 s, trailing Kenny Bednarek from the start who won in 19.93 s. According to Reuters, Kerley was satisfied with his performances, but thought there was more work to do in his 200 m and his focus for the Olympic Trials would be 400 m.[14]

On June 27, 2021, during the 2021 US Olympic Trials 200m final, Kerley ran a 19.90 his first sub-20 in the 200m. With this performance, Fred Kerley becomes the 3rd athlete to join the "Sub 10s, 20s, 44s club for the 100m, 200m & 400m sprints". The other 2 being the 400m World Record holder Wayde van Niekerk & Michael Norman.[15]

2022

While competing in the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Kerley won his maiden individual World Championship gold medal in the 100m.[16] Kerley ran 9.76 seconds in the semi-final.[17] In the final, Kerley pipped compatriot Marvin Bracy on the line with a time of 9.86 seconds winning the world title in the process. Fellow American Trayvon Bromell finished third, completing a clean sweep.[18]

Statistics

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[19]

Personal bests

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International championship results

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Circuit wins and titles

National championship results

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  • NCAA results from Track & Field Results Reporting System.[33][34]

400 m seasonal bests

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Personal life

Kerley's older cousin is former NFL wide receiver Jeremy Kerley.[35]

Kerley's has a Christian faith, and regularly attended church after practice.[36]

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Qualified for the final, but did not start (DNS) in the final.[21][22]
  2. [N 2]
    Shared with Michael Cherry, Aldrich Bailey, and Vernon Norwood for the United States. Kerley was the first carrier before Cherry.[23]
  3. [N 3]
    Shared with Michael Cherry, Wil London, and Rai Benjamin for the United States. Kerley was the first carrier before Cherry.[25]
  4. [N 4]
    South Plains placed third in the final, but it is not clear from the Track & Field Results Reporting System who ran for the team in the final.

References

  1. [1]
    Jeff Hollobaugh (April 12, 2019). "T&FN Interview – Fred Kerley, World No. 1 in the 400". trackandfieldnews.com. Track & Field News. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  2. [2]
    "Top Lists – All time Top lists - Senior Outdoor 400 Metres Men". worldathletics.org. World Athletics. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  3. [3]
    Jennifer Kendall (July 1, 2016). "Taylor track star competing for spot on U.S. Olympic team". fox7austin.com. FOX 7 Austin. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  4. [4]
    Christy Millweard (August 14, 2016). "Taylor track star sets goal for 2020 Olympics". kvue.com. KVUE. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  5. [5]
    Jon Mulkeen (May 14, 2017). "Kerley flies to 44.09 400m clocking at SEC Championships". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  6. [6]
    Dennis Young (May 26, 2017). "WATCH: Fred Kerley Destroys Collegiate 400m Record In 43.70". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Texas A&M's Fred Kerley Runs 43.70 400m to Crush Quincy Watts' NCAA Record – (Video)". letsrun.com. May 12, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  8. [8]
    Taylor Dutch (June 5, 2017). "Record-Holders Quincy Watts, Fred Kerley Connect in 400m 'Pain Business'". flotrack.org. FloTrack. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Texas A&M's Fred Kerley qualifies for 400m final at IAAF World Championships". kbtx.com. KBTX. August 6, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  10. [10]
    Nick Zaccardi (August 30, 2018). "Noah Lyles matches Usain Bolt feat in Speed Racer socks". nbcsports.com. NBC. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  11. [11]
    Cathal Dennehy (December 23, 2018). "After solid 2018 campaign, Kerley ready to take the next step as Doha approaches". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  12. [12]
    Goss, Symone (April 5, 2021). Kerley Lowers 100m PB To 10.03; World-Lead For Miller-Uibo In Florida. World-Track. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
  13. [13]
    "MPM du 100m pour l'Américain Fred Kerley en 991". L'Équipe. April 26, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  14. [14]
    "Kerley underlines his 100m credentials". Reuters. May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  15. [15]
    @AthleticsWeekly (June 28, 2021). "Fred Kerley is only the third man in..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. [16]
    Fred Kerley delivers 100m 2022 Track and Field World Championships title, July 16, 2022, retrieved July 17, 2022
  17. [17]
    "Kerley makes 'statement' in 100m heat - Johnson". BBC Sport. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  18. [18]
    "Kerley leads U.S. sweep of 100 meters at worlds". ESPN.com. July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  19. [19]
    Fred Kerley at World Athletics
  20. [20]
    Jon Mulkeen (March 12, 2017). "COLEMAN SPEEDS TO SPRINT DOUBLE AT NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". iaaf.org. IAAF. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  21. [21]
    "Event 307 Men 200 Meter Dash". tiempodellegada.com. July 17, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  22. [22]
    "Event 317 Men 200 Meter Dash". tiempodellegada.com. July 17, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  23. [23]
    Jason Henderson (March 4, 2018). "Poland smash world indoor 4x400m record". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  24. [24]
    Stuart Weir (May 12, 2019). "2019 Yokohama Diary: The 4x400 meters relays at the 2019 IAAF World Relays". RunBlogRun. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  25. [25]
    "4 x 400 Metres Relay Men - Final". IAAF. October 6, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  26. [26]
    "What To Make Of Fred Kerley Leaving Nike For Asics". Citius Mag. February 22, 2023.
  27. [27]
    "2014 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships – Complete Results". usatf.org. USATF. July 6, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  28. [28]
    "National Junior College Championships – Men's 4 x 400 Relay Preliminaries". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). May 16, 2015. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  29. [29]
    "NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships – Men's 4 x 100 Relay". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). June 11, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  30. [30]
    "2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field – Results". usatf.org. USATF. July 10, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  31. [31]
    "2017 USATF Championships – 6/22/2017 to 6/25/2017 – Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, Calif. – Results". usatf.org. USATF. June 25, 2017. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  32. [32]
    "2018 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships – Results". usatf.org. USATF. February 19, 2018. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  33. [33]
    "Fred Kerley at Texas A&M". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  34. [34]
    "Fred Kerley at South Plains". Track & Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS). Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  35. [35]
    "Fred Kerley, cousin of ex-Jets WR Jeremy Kerley, wins Olympic silver medal". USA Today. August 3, 2021.
  36. [36]
    Watta, Evelyn. "Fred Kerley: Top things that you didn't know about the new world champion". Olympics.com.
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