Fred Kerley is the reigning world champion in the 100 meter dash. After breaking 9.8 in the 100 3 times in a row, he led an American sweep of the event in 2022. But Fred Kerley winning the 100 meter dash is a sentence that was unthinkable just a few years ago, because he was known around the world as a top sprinter in the 400 meter dash. In fact, he wasn’t just good, he was the world championship bronze medalist in that event in 2019. Fred is now top 10 all time in the 100 and the 400, something nobody has ever done before. But his 200 meter dash is only ranked in the top 25 all time! With a combination of more speed and endurance than any sprinter in history, there is no reason to believe that he can’t break the 200 meter dash world record. In fact, if he does not it can only be considered a failure, and this is why.

Fred is the fastest sprinter in the world right now 

Fred Kerley is the fastest sprinter in the world right now, and the title of World Champion is only part of that story. He broke the 9.8 barrier 3 times in a row on the way to winning that title something almost nobody except Usain Bolt himself has ever done. But it isn’t just the fact that he has been winning. It’s the dominance with which he does it. He only lost 2 100 meter races in 2022 and those were in the month of May, long before he had reached his peak. So the question remains whether or not anyone can beat Fred Kerley in the 100 when he is on top of his game.

However, no sprinter who has run this fast in the 100 has ever been as good as Fred Kerley in the 400 meter dash. His bronze medal at the World championships in 2019 is a disappointment because only 2 sprinters on the world stage right now have ever run faster than him. He ran 43.64 which is .61 off of the world record. So the truth is that track fans expected Fred to be the Olympic and World Champion by now, but in the 400, not the 200. When he decided to switch to the short sprint races, nobody took him too seriously, but in his first year doing it he ran 9.84 wind legal. In fact, if you added up his 100, 200, and 400 meter personal bests, Fred Kerley is by far the fastest man in the world right now, and nobody is even close.

Fred is the most improved sprinter ever 

Fred Kerley’s 200 meter dashes however, are underwhelming given his amazing speed in everything else. The only logical reason for this is that he hasn’t really focused on improving it. He is perhaps the most rapidly improved sprinter ever across his two major events because as a Junior College sprinter in 2015 he had only run 10.49 in the 100 and 46.38 in the 400. By the time he graduated from Texas A&M in 2017 he had lowered his 400 to 43.70, yet he ran no 100 meter dashes for 2 years straight by that point. The first year that Fred ran the 100 seriously, since then he ran 9.84, showing more than a half second of growth in the 100 and dropping 2.5 seconds in the 400. Simply put elite sprinters don’t improve that much once they are already 20 years of age or older, at least not the ones who will win anything at a World Championship level. But Fred Kerley is breaking all the rules. 

Fred has everything you need to break the 200 meter world record 

At this point it is clear that Fred has all the tools to dominate the 200 meter dash. If you are the fastest sprinter, and the strongest sprinter, then you have literally everything that is needed to win the 200. For whatever the reason, Fred doesn’t win the first 100 of his 200 meter races, and doesn’t close quite as well as we have seen other sprinters do it. Even still his personal best now sits at 19.76 which is the same time Ramil Guliyev ran to win the world championships. But there was no Noah Lyles to contend with back then. Rationally it doesn’t make much sense that Fred isn’t even faster because he is just as trained and as fast as anyone, including Noah Lyles who might beat him.

The Bottom Line

Fred is top 10 all time in the 100 and the 400, but may not ever touch the world record in either. The only sprinter in history who is reminiscent of Fred Kerley both in talent and even body type is perhaps Michael Johnson who was the world record holder before Usain Bolt took the crown. Fred has already proven that he can shave time in an event when he puts his mind to it. He also seems to be up for new challenges in his track career after switching to the 100 meter dash randomly. The 200 meter dash appears to be an event that is tailor made for him. So taking on the 200 meter world record shouldn’t only become Fred Kerley’s priority, it is perhaps his destiny, and the truth is that if he sets his mind to it he is likely to do it.

KNOW THE GAME. WIN THE GAME.

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