by Larry Eder
Christian Coleman, running a pedestrian 6.71 in first round, Birmingham, photo by PhotoRun.net
The sixty meters is an unforgiving sprint.
You either are on, or you are off.
Christian Coleman has been on all season.
His 6.37 for the 60 meters woke us up on January 19. A fast time, but again, early in season, and without electronic blocks, a Zero gun and drug testing (it costs money), no record. Maurice Greene’s 6.39 from 1998 and 2001 was safe for a bit more time.
That time ended on February 17, when Christian ran 6.34 at the USATF Indoor Championships, destroying the World Record and setting a WR with electronic blocks, Zero Gun and drug testing. Coleman had his world record.
And then, comes the World Indoors….
Christian Coleman flying, 60m in 6.37, photo by PhotoRun.net
In Birmingham, Christian Coleman ran 6.71 in his first round. It was downright slow as he shut down in second half. He slowed down so much, that someone told me that he might have limped off, which scared me to death.
Au contraire, mes amis.
In the semi final, Christian Coleman, Ronnie Baker and Bingtian Su looked excellent.
Christian ran 6.45 and looked ready to roll.
” I ran the semi final, making sure all was good and getting a good lane, then I shut it down.” noted Christian Coleman afterwards.
Side bar. Maurice Greene texted me last week that Christian Coleman can improve on his 6.34. “It is about the small changes. Neither of us have ever run a perfect race..if he can improve those little things he can run 6.32.”
Well, in the final, Christian Coleman had one of the finest starts of the year. His acceleration was there, as Bingtian Su tried to challenge and Ronnie Baker was busting up the track as well.
Christian Coleman ran a Championship record of 6.37! He was followed by Bingtian Su, who ran a new NR Of 6.42, followed by Ronnie Baker in bronze, in 6.44.
In the mixed zone, Christian noted his thoughts to the media:
“I don’t think I can ever get used to this kind of feeling. You work so hard and put so much emphasis into running and you’ll never get tired of the feeling of winning.It’s always a great feeling and I’m pretty excited. This year I didn’t come here to chase a world record but I knew I’d put in a lot of work and executed it through practice.When I’ve put things together during the meets special things have happened but I’m excited for the outdoor season. I won’t put a limit on myself we’ll just see what happens.I have a good chance to lead the sport in the post-Bolt era but like I’ve told so many others, loads of guys have the talent.I have to make sure I keep working to stay on top and when I get the opportunity to take gold medals you take them.”
Christian Coleman told us later that night that he was very happy winning the 60 meter title. He thinks he can improve a bit. When I asked him if he would take some time off, he noted a couple of days, but then, its time to train for outdoors!
Bingtian Su is only the fifth Chinese athlete to win a medal of any color at the World Indoors. Interestingly enough, his idol, Liu Xiang, won the first Chinese medal over 60 meter hurdles at Birmingham in 2003!
Ronnie Baker has had a fine season, with a 6.40 PB at Albuquerque and now, the bronze medal. Here is how he spoke about the season in the mixed zone:
“Having the opportunity to be in a final at the World Championships is amazing and I came out with my first medal ever so I’m happy.Christian is a great teammate, we’re both flying and we push each other and it’ll make for a really interesting outdoor season.He’s set the bar high and everyone else has got to try and catch up to him but this is America’s time.Now I have to put in the hard work and work on the small things that will put me in first place.”
