Fred Kerley on chasing Usain Bolt: “Records come and go, but gold lasts forever”
Buoyed by his fast times and success in Eugene, the World 100m champion explains why “winning gold at the Olympic Games” is his main ambition.
Athletics
For Fred Kerley winning gold is everything.
The World 100m champion wants to win every sprint medal there is to win, more times than anyone else has done it. Including surpassing Usain Bolt’s eight Olympic gold medals and 11 world titles.
Taking down the sprint legend’s world records in the 100m and 200m remains in his dreams, but these are not his main goals.
“Records come and go, but golds last forever,” Kerley said in an interview with the ABC on his priorities on track.
The American took silver in the dash at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021 before running his fastest 100m (9.76 seconds) at the 2022 USA track and field outdoor trials last June.
He returned to the Hayward Field in Eugene nearly a month later and won his first individual world title. A victory that left him feeling confident of greater success.
“I can't care too less about what I did, but I want a gold medal at the Olympic Games, because the gold at the Olympic Games lasts forever.”
Kerley, who has been focusing mainly on the 100m and 200m, will race the 400m at the Sydney Track Classic 2023 at the Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday (11 March).
Fred Kerley on Usain Bolt: He’s the golden standard for track and field
Kerley has good memories of Eugene.
At the USA Trials, he sped to his fastest times (9.76 and 9.77) within a day, which made him the sixth fastest 100m sprinter of all time. Coming just 0.18 seconds behind Jamaican Bolt's 9.58 mark, moved him closer to one of his goals.
The 27-year-old is one of three men in the sub/10/20/44 club on three sprint distances - 100m, 200m and 400m - along with South Africa’s Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk and compatriot Michael Norman.
His plan is to be the “fastest man alive” across the three main sprint distances and the Jamaican's golden legacy remains a big motivation.
“He inspired a lot of generations,” he said. “We try to duplicate or step foot where he stepped foot on.”
“He is the golden standard for track and field. We all try to achieve all he achieved in his lifetime.” - Fred Kerley to ABC Radio on Usain Bolt.
“For us to step in the same journey is all about the gold medals and stuff right now. The more gold medals I get, the more I can put in the history book. Records come and go, but golds last forever.”
After finishing behind Marcell Jacobs of Italy in Tokyo, winning gold has become his obsession.
“Gold medal comes with everything. Gold medal comes with the money, gold medal comes with the name on history book," he explained.
“I want to be great and my name to last for generations and not just for right now. I want my name to last for generations to come.” - Fred Kerley on ABC Radio on his motivation to win Olympic gold.
Fred Kerley: Humble beginnings and a passion for gardening
In Eugene, Kerley, who switched to track after breaking his collarbone in the last football game at high school, led an American sweep of the 100m medals. He topped Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell, who each ran 9.88.
Despite a quad injury, he held on until the semi-finals of the 200m when he opted to pull out of the championships. Why did he risk it before pulling up?
“There’s a big risk for everything we do in life.
“The risk is not giving up. If I fail, it’s going to be a failure in my own upbringing…” he explained, reflecting on his humble origins in Texas, where he was raised by his uncle and aunt - whom he fondly refers to as ‘Meme’.
“I know what I got; you don’t get so many championships in a lifetime. I risked, and I achieved something that nobody else's done. It’s all on me to do what I have I do and go out there as kids are looking up to me.”
His background remains a huge inspiration in his career and beyond.
“To know a champion, you have to know where a champion comes from. I come up from humble beginnings and I know in order to get out there from the onset you have to put in a position to win, and I put myself in a position to win for a lifetime,” he said.
"I am running for generations or for kids who are in the same position I was in life. They got something to look up to."
He may have fast ambitions, but outside the track he likes to take it really slow.
“I am only fast on track but once I leave the track I walk slow and do everything slow, it’s just totally different,” revealed the sprinter whose passion for sprinting matches his love for gardening.
“With gardening you don’t plant a seed and the results come overnight, same thing with track and field. It’s basically patience and time, you got to be dedicated to your garden to actually know your stuff.”