Fred Kerley is one of the top athletes to watch in the 2024 season. Despite a tough start, he has proven all doubters wrong by qualifying for the Paris Olympics’ 100-meter sprint. However, the 100m category was not previously the athlete’s virtue, since he is a versatile runner who has adapted to many different categories.
The American athlete is also not alone in his quest for Olympic gold, which he missed at the Tokyo Olympics. He has his current coach, Quincy Watts by his side whenever he requires proper guidance.
Quincy Watts’ most successful season came in 1992, when he won two gold medals at the Barcelona Olympics, one in the 400 meters and the other in the 4×400-meter relay. Watts again won a world championship title the following year, at the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships, when he was part of the winning 4×400-meter relay team.
Even after retiring from his beloved sports in 1997, he quickly transitioned to coaching and shaping young athletes for a brighter track and field future. The two-time Olympic gold champion is a graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) and has had a long relationship with Kerley.
Both are NCAA 400m record holders, with Kerley breaking Watts’ (20-year-old) record of 44.00 with a 43.70 at the NCAA West Track and Field Regional in 2017.
Fred Kerley’s Bold Move for the Big Season
The worth of an Olympic medal, whether bronze, silver or the coveted gold, is only known to those who have spent a significant amount of time in the sport to compete on the largest platform in their careers. However, those who cross that threshold are constantly looking for the next big thing, and if they are a silver medalist like Fred Kerley, they will always strive for gold the next time.
In the 2023 season, the three-time world champion defended his 100-meter title at the World Championships in Budapest. However, he was unable to go to the finals after being eliminated in the semi-finals for failing to run a sub-10. This utterly devastated him mentally since he knew he needed to make a difference in everything for the coming year.
The athlete stated on Instagram that he is parting ways with his long-time coach, Alleyne Francique, and has brought in Quincy Watts to replace him. The retired Olympic sprinter, like his former coach, had a wealth of knowledge, and training under a fellow American with two Olympic gold medals under his belt always provides plenty of space for improvement.
Kerley scored a 9.88 at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, which was enough to demonstrate the improvement over last year that he has always promised his fans. Even though his 2023 season was not particularly successful, his previous coach was responsible for numerous other honors that established him as the athlete he is today.
A Magical 2022 Track and Field Season
Fred Kerley was not disappointed despite missing out on the Olympic gold medal by only a few seconds, as he looked forward to an excellent 2022 season. He rushed onto the track, guided by former coach Alleyne Francique, and was completely focused on the outdoor events. He began his season by winning the 400-meter race at the GAA Developmental Meet in 44.47 seconds.
However, it was time for Kerley to focus on the 100 meters, and at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational, he ran a 9.99 with a 0.6 headwind. Despite always being against the wind, the athlete maintained his form and ran additional sub-10s in consecutive competitions.
Kerley was looking very strong, as he won the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships’ 100-meter category, running 9.83, 9.76, and 9.77 in the heats, semi-finals, and finals, respectively.
This was a scary form of the athlete, and several of his opponents were already taken aback by how far he had come in just one year. However, when Kerley appeared in the 2022 Eugene World Championships, he won the heat with a 9.79. In the semi-finals, he ran a 10.02, but it didn’t bother him.
He dominated the competition from the moment he stepped into the finals, clocking a 9.86 and trailing only his American colleagues, Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell, who both finished with a 9.88. It was a complete American podium lockout on American soil, and the audience was completely taken aback.
