Fred Kerley posted the world-leading time in the 100-meter semifinals. Photo by Kevin Neri
Crowd favorite and Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley first displayed his dominant talent in the semifinals of the men’s 100-meter dash Friday at the USATF outdoor championships by setting a meet record, facility record and world-leading time of 9.76 seconds. Then he ran almost as fast in the final, winning the event in 9.77.
Second place went to Marvin Bracy-Williams in 9.85, and third place went to Trayvon Bromell in 9.88. The top three finishers will join 2019 world champion Christian Coleman on the U.S. team for the World Athletics Championships in July at Hayward Field.
When Kerley took the finish line, he grabbed the ribbon with him and flexed in the back stretch.
He attributed his success to his hard work and consistent training. He also thinks it is important to listen to “what the body needs at certain times of the season.”
He also emphasized that much of the racing is mental.
“Most of the race is mental,” he said. “It’s basically like who got the biggest balls coming in.”
When asked if he felt like that was him, Kerley said yes.
“It doesn’t surprise me like people are gonna say—I knew Fred when he came in,” said Bromell. “He has always been a spur to the younger generations.”
Before today’s meet, Olympic Trials champion Bromell had the field’s best time and won a strong Prefontaine Classic. Kerley had entered with the second-best time in the field; he took silver at the Tokyo Olympics and finished second at Prefontaine Classic. Bracy missed the finals during the Olympic Trials last year, but he finished third at the World Indoor Championships behind Coleman.
