Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman to race in 100m sprint at Shanghai Diamond League
Champion sprinters Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman are set to compete against each other in the 2024 Shanghai Diamond League 100-meter race on April 27, 2024.
Kerley already set an impressive tone by clocking 10.03 at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami. Meanwhile, Coleman, who clinched his second gold medal in the 60m at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, is yet to make his move outdoors.
Kerley has a 3-1 record against Coleman in the 100-meter race. Last year, the famous sprinters faced each other only once at the Xiamen Diamond League, where Coleman won with a time of 9.83s.
Sharing his excitement about participating in the Diamond League, Coleman said:
“I’m excited about coming to China to compete again. Last time I was there they showed a lot of love and support and I was able to pull out my best performance of the year in front of a great crowd. " (via Citius Mag)
Hoping to perform well in the Diamond League, Coleman added:
"I’m looking forward to opening my season with another great performance in China and starting my Olympic campaign off on a great note.”
Kerley also emphasized the importance of the Diamond League, especially before the Paris Olympics, and said:
“I am excited to come back to China in April. 2024 is a very important year with the Olympic Games taking place in Paris in August and it will be great to start my Diamond League season in China.”
Christian Coleman won the world indoor 60-meter title over US favorite Noah Lyles
Christian Coleman won a gold medal in the 60m sprint final at the World Athletics Indoor Championship in Glasgow, Scotland. He defeated Noah Lyles after finishing the race in 6.41 seconds, with Lyles clocking 6.44s.
Coleman won the 100m World Championship in 2019 and the 60m in the World Championship in 2024. In a post-match interview, as per World Athletics, Coleman expressed belief in himself and said:
“I had a lot of confidence in myself coming in,” “You have to feel confident in yourself. I set my mind on letting my body do what I have been doing in practice and I came out with a win.”
He also added:
“I can look forward to the rest of the summer. I’ve got so many things to work on and I am just looking forward to these opportunities.”
While Lyles recently managed to secure a win over Coleman in the US Championships with a world-leading time of 6.43s in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the tables turned when Coleman clinched the win against Lyles in the final of the World Athletics Indoor Championship 2024.
Despite his loss, Lyles was pleased with his performance as he had clocked an impressive time of 6.44s. He also expressed his excitement for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, which he regards as his favorite.
Talking about his performances, Lyles also talked about getting to do an outdoor season and his eagerness to compete at the upcoming Olympic games:
“This is all with training that hasn't really changed. It's so exciting because now I finally get to do an outdoor season. The 60m is not my favourite race but now you can't say I'm not one of the greats in it. I'm very excited for Paris because it has all my favourite events,” Lyles said. (via World Athletics Organization)
Both Coleman and Lyles will be representing the U.S. track and field team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.