Fred Kerley, photo courtesy of Texas A & M (copyrighted by Texas A & M), used with permission.
This is the time of the indoor season when the times get faster, as we move closer to major indoor championships. Steven Mills is one of the fine writers who writes for IAAF.org, the fine website of our global sport.
In his first 400m race of the season, 21-year-old Fred Kerley smashed the world lead – and moved to equal fifth on the world indoor all-time list – with an outright lifetime best of 45.02 at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson on Friday (10).
Kerley, who is coached by two-time world indoor champion Alleyne Francique, hit the bell in a fairly conservative 21.84 before coming home strongly on the second lap. His younger brother Mylik finished second in a lifetime best of 45.96.
Only Kerron Clement (44.57), Michael Johnson (44.63), Kirani James (44.80) and LaShawn Merritt (44.93) have run faster than Kerley indoors.
Elsewhere in Clemson, 19-year-old Jazmine Fray broke the US collegiate record in the 800m, setting an outright lifetime best of 2:00.69. NCAA indoor champion Christian Coleman won the 200m in a world-leading 20.46.
Shakima Wimbley clocked 51.53 to move to second on the world 400m list with double world U18 champion Candace Hill – making her 400m debut on her 18th birthday – finishing second in 53.05.
At the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, Hannah Cunliffe took advantage of the favourable sprinting conditions to clock world-leading PBs of 22.60 for 200m on Friday and 7.07 for 60m, a US collegiate record, on Saturday.
At the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, NCAA indoor champion Clive Pullen smashed the Jamaican indoor triple jump record with a world-leading 17.19m, while Chris Nilsen broke the US junior indoor record with 5.70m in the pole vault.
Marqueze Washington won the 400m in 45.63. In second, Tyrese Cooper produced the fastest ever indoor 400m performance by an U18 athlete, clocking 46.01.
Just’N Thymes won the 200m in 20.47. Trinidad and Tobago’s Rondell Sorrillo finished a close second in 20.49 while Britain’s Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake won the other section in 20.49.
At the Beskydska Latka high jump meeting in Trinec, Pavel Seliverstau set his fourth PB in succession to win the men’s competition. Three days after finishing third in Banska Bystrica behind Olympic champion Derek Drouin, the 20-year-old Belarusian cleared 2.32m before taking three attempts at 2.34m. Olympic champion Ruth Beitia won the women’s contest with 1.94m.
Steven Mills for the IAAF
