Fred Kerley

Fredrick Kerley is an American track and field athlete born on 7th May 1995. He hails from Morgan City of Los Angeles in the USA. Fred specializes in sprinting and represented his country internationally in a 400m race.

Background

Fred Kerley was born to Lee Kerley and his wife. He has 4 siblings, 2 brothers and 2 sisters. Fred’s younger brother, Mylik Kerley, ran with him for Texas A&M Aggies.

Fred and his siblings were looked after by his aunt, Virginia, and uncle, Ricky, after his father was sent to jail for a criminal offense. He was just 2-year-old when moved to his aunt’s house. Fred was brought up in Taylor city of Texas and attended Taylor High School. While studying at high school, he trained under Mike Tennill and was a part of the youth team College Station Sprinters.

In 2013, after the completion of his high school education, Fred joined South Plains College, where he was a member of an athletic team South Plains College Texans. In 2016, he transferred to Texas A&M University and joined the Texas A&M Aggies team, where he helped them win the Southeast Conference Championships title.

Fred Kerley has been training under Alleyne Francique since his stint with Texas A&M Aggies.

Rise to Glory

Fred Kerley's career breakthrough came in 2014 when he helped his South Plains College Texans to win the Silver medal at the NJCAA Division 1 Championships. That year, he competed at the USATF Junior Championships but finished 8th in the 400m race final.

In 2015, Fred won two Silver medals in 400m and 4x400m relay at the NJCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The following year, while representing Texas A&M Aggies, he finished 4th in 4x400m final, while he finished 13th in a 400m semi-final.

In 2017, Fred helped Texas A&M Aggies to win the championships by clinching two titles in 400m and 4x400m relay at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships. This was followed by Gold medals in the same events at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships and a senior national title in 400m at the USATF Championships. The following year, he finished 5th in the 400m final at the USATF Indoor Championships.

In 2019, Fred Kerley defended his 400m national title at the national outdoor championships. Currently, he is the world’s 8th fastest-runner in 400 meters with the personal best time of 43.64s.

Major Achievements

Fred Kerley made his international debut after turning pro in 2017 at the World Athletics Championships in London, United Kingdom, where he helped his relay team to make it to the podium finish with a Silver medal in the 4x400m relay. He took part in the 400m individual at the championships but finished 8th in the final by clocking 45.23s.

In 2018, Fred competed at the World Indoor Athletics Championships and won a Silver medal with the US relay team in the 4x400m relay. That year, in August, he won his first Diamond League title in 400m with the timing of 44.80 at the Weltklasse Zurich in Switzerland. In 2019, he was part of the US relay team that became 4x400m world champions and also won the Bronze medal in 400m individual at the World Athletics Championships.

Fred Kerley will be competing in his debut Olympics at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is one of the strong medal prospects for the US in the 400m race.