Fred Kerley faces a defining season as he looks to get back on track this Olympic year.

This is a thought-provoking piece on how Fred Kerley will manage the complex year that is 2024. This story by Fred Kerley is by Deji Ogeyingbo. Deji is at the University of Georgia pursuing his Masters in Journalism. We are happy to enjoy another year of his writing in 2024. 

Fred Kerley faces a defining season as he looks to get back on track this Olympic year.

This time last year, most of the talk surrounding track and field was about the potential match-up between the 100m Olympic Champion Marcell Jacobs and the 2022 World Champion Fred Kerley.  No doubt, they were the top two sprinters in the world at the time, and Kerley was thwarting everyone aside.

Kerley had just left Nike for the Japanese brand ASICS and was on an upward trajectory. Things couldn’t have been better. He won races in Australia and Japan and even had enough time to squeeze in an exhibition event in May after the race in Tokyo. At that point, all the talks about the potential fantasy race between himself and Jacobs had died down, partly due to the Italian propensity to get injured.

Meanwhile, Kerley’s focus was shifted to dominating the 100m, and what better way than to do in the Diamond League as he set his sights towards defending his title in Budapest last year. He genuinely was beginning to be a superstar of the sport. The aura that only Usain Bolt had. That feeling of being unbeatable against his peers.

His teammate and compatriot, Noah Lyles, had it in the 200m. However, the tag fastest man has always gone to the man that controls the 100m. It’s the marquee event at a global championship, the one everyone had their gaze on, and for Kerley, he was as versatile as they came in a sprinter as he decided to carve a niche for himself.

He boasts an impressive track record with two Diamond League titles under his belt (securing the 400m crown in 2018 and the 100m title in 2021). Additionally, he has clinched four world championship medals, including two golds – one in the 4 x 400m relay in 2019 and another in the 100m last year. Adding to his accolades is an Olympic silver medal earned in the 100m at the Tokyo Games.

Kerley stands out as one of the elite few who have achieved the feat of running sub-10 seconds in the 100m, sub-20…