"The war just getting started" - Fred Kerley geared up for Paris Olympics 2024 despite dismal show at Diamond League

2022 world champion Fred Kerley has vowed to better his performances as the season progresses, claiming that he aims to win the gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Kerley opened his season at the Hurricane Invitational and clocked 10.03s for the win. He announced his return to the track with a training video on X (formerly Twitter) and wrote:

"I got my smile back @sdlncreative @AleSticktalk."

Even though Kerley was anticipated to improve his time in the next 100m race, he hasn't managed to do so. The 2020 Tokyo silver medalist lost to rival Christian Coleman in the 100m event at Xiamen Diamond League on 20 April 2024.

Coleman clocked 10.13s for the victory while Kerley finished the 100m distance in 10.17s. He next raced at the Shanghai Diamond League, where he again couldn't better his outdoor season opener timing. Kerley finished 3rd in 10.11s while South Africa's Akani Simbine won in 10.01s.

However, Kerley is looking to move on from his performances in China and improve his timings ahead of the upcoming Paris Olympics. He posted motivational lines on his X account on April 28, saying that the ‘war’ had just started and he needed not to give up on the dream of winning an Olympic gold medal.

"Raise Young King the battle and the war just getting started you got an Olympic gold medals to go get don’t give up. Go finish what you started," he wrote.

Fred Kerley competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games where he won a silver medal in the 100m event. He clocked 9.84s to finish behind Italy's Marcel Jacobs, who ran the distance in 9.80s. Canada’s Andre De Grasse won the bronze medal in 9.89s.

Fred Kerley vs Christian Coleman: Head to Head record

2024 Diamond League Suzhou Meeting

Fred Kerley and Christian Coleman have faced off six times in their careers till now. Before this year, the Olympic medalist enjoyed a dominant lead over the 60m world record holder. However, he lost that after the two met in Xiamen and Shanghai.

Kerley won the first three 100m races the two competed against each other. Later in Xiamen Diamond League 2023, Coleman started getting back with a win, albeit marginal, and clocked 9.83s. Now in China, Coleman won against Kerley twice, to level the record 3-3.

Christian Coleman clocked 10.13s in Xiamen compared to the 2022 100m World Champion's 10.17s. At the Shanghai Diamond League, Fred Kerley again finished behind Coleman in 10.11s while the 2019 100m world champion clocked 10.04s.