by RBR Admin
The Shanghai/Suzhou Diamond League will witness the three fastest men.
Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman, and Yohan Blake will compete over 100m on April 27.
Each has won a world championship over the distance, with Coleman, the reigning Diamond League champion, thanks to his victory over Noah Lyles in Eugene.
Kerley dominated the 100m in 2022, winning the World Championships title in Eugene and taking silver in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Kerley: “I am excited to come back to China in April. 2024 is a very important year with the Olympic Games taking place in Paris in August, and it will be great to start my Diamond League season in China.”
Budapest, Hungary
August 19-27, 2023, photo by Kevin Morris
The American has fond memories from Shanghai, having won the Diamond League 400m event in 2019, a distance from which he also boasts a world bronze from the same year.
Coleman won his world 100m title at the Doha championships, and he has certainly started the 2024 season brightly, winning his second world indoor 60m title in Glasgow. He is the world record holder over that distance and, alongside Kerley, shares the sixth fastest 100m time of all time in 9.76s. The pair also formed half the USA quartet that took 4x100m world gold in Hungary.
Coleman: “I’m excited about coming to China to compete again. The last time I was there, they showed a lot of love and support, and I was able to pull out my best performance of the year in front of a great crowd. I’m looking forward to opening my season with another great performance in China and starting my Olympic campaign on a great note.”
Few athletes in history have been as good for as long as two-time Olympic and world champion Blake. Only former-training partner Usain Bolt has ran quicker than the 9.69s Blake clocked in Lausanne in 2012, the year after he became the youngest to ever win a world 100m title in Daegu.
The Jamaican also owns the second-quickest mark over 200m thanks to the 19.26s he ran to secure the 2011 Diamond League title. That year, he also took home the 100m crown, a double only once repeated.
Blake: “Suzhou, I will be there to run on April 27. It will be my first time in Suzhou, and I look forward to it! It will be fun, and you don’t want to miss it. Come and enjoy a wonderful show.”
The trio boasts a total of six Diamond League titles, with Coleman having also taken the 100m crown in 2018, Kerley the 2021 edition of the same distance, and Coleman the 400m win in 2018.
Their impending arrival accompanies a star-studded line-up with major names in other events including Mondo Duplantis and Mutaz Barshim.
