USA baby! With their usual showmanship, the American sprinters confiscated the 100m podium in the Eugene World Championships in Athletics, dedicating to Eugene the new star of the straight line Fred Kerley. In 9.86, Kerley beat Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell, separated by a thousandth of a second, while the Italian Olympic champion, Marcell Jacobs, had to withdraw due to injury a few hours before the semi-finals.
His power and the maintenance of his maximum speed, Fred Kerley takes them from his versatility, he who was a specialist in the 400m until last year, the distance over which he had won bronze at the last World Championships in Doha in 2019. The burly 27-year-old has definitely succeeded in his transition to short distances after winning Olympic silver in the 100m last summer in Tokyo, even if he assures that he has not given up on the lap.
Raised under the same roof as 12 other children
He dreams of making history and setting world records in the 100 to 400 m via the 200 m, a distance over which he is scheduled to start on Monday in Eugene, where he has the means to achieve a success with the 4×100 m. in addition. “He’s a special guy, a rare talent capable of running the three distances (of the sprint), he has an unlimited range. He is of the caliber of the very best like the Bolts and Van Niekerk, ”said his compatriot Marvin Bracy.
“The future looks bright for me, rejoiced the new world champion. I always train in the 400m to achieve great things. What drives me, coming from where I come from, is to keep doing great things because you don’t want to end up in the same predicament you were in when you were younger. »
Kerley, who grew up in Taylor, near Austin, Texas, believed in her destiny after growing up in a difficult environment, including a father in prison when he was a baby. He was raised under the same roof as twelve other children, including his four brothers and sisters, by his aunt Virginia, known as “Meme”, a nickname inscribed on her skin among her many tattoos.