I want to believe this Fred Kerley thing but I just can't.

The OP wrote:

Ever since I'd watch him run the 400 in college I just never thought he was clean. He seemed to accelerate the entire 400.

I mean I watched him too and I never had that thought watching him. Norman looked more ridiculous to me in college. If you want to talk about looking like you’re flat out all race in a 400m race then Warholm is the king of that.

He trains with a suspect coach that is the most suspicious part, but he has been a massive and raw talent since his Juco career.

I’m curious about the back story behind the switch. The running world (mostly let’s run posters) were calling him a fool. But clearly he knew something we didn’t.

Any 100/200 guys is in his training group? I imagine he was consistently smoking them in practice, and finally decided to jump over and give it a shot.

The other strange thing is that he struggled in the 200 in trials. Mixed w his 400 strength, you’d think that would far and away be his best bet.

I was wondering why Kerley is always looking annoyed. He did not smile a single second, even after his second place.

I kind of assumed one of three reasons…

1) He is working on basic speed before returning to the 400 and going after the WR

2) He viewed the competition in the shorter sprints as “easier”

3) He didn’t feel like running the 400. Let’s face it… the 400 is just harder

It could be a combo of all of these

Let’s face it. The 100m is simply the easiest event. If you are in your mid to late 20s and you are struggling in your particular event (may it be the LJ, the PV, the hurdles, the 400..,), simply move over to the 100m and you can become an Olympic medalist.

khcglhc wrote:

Let’s face it. The 100m is simply the easiest event. If you are in your mid to late 20s and you are struggling in your particular event (may it be the LJ, the PV, the hurdles, the 400..,), simply move over to the 100m and you can become an Olympic medalist.

Easier said than done. Fred comes from a sprinting background, he was part of the 4x100m relay back in his JUCO years.

Personally, I saw his transition down to the 100m-200m as a way to become an all around sprinter. He’s part of an elite club of painters who have broken the magic barriers of the 100m, 200m, and 400m. Depending on how fast the 400m guys run this year it’ll be interesting to see what he decides at Worlds.

Hard work pays off, this guys been consistent for so many years but hasn’t seen the medals. I’m happy for him because he’ll continue to improve. His 200m time is gonna be insane. Bummer that he got fourth. Wonder what leg he’ll run in the 4x100m relay.

If you never believed he was clean, you don't want to believe this fred kerley thing and you never will.

paris2024hawk wrote:

If you never believed he was clean, you don't want to believe this fred kerley thing and you never will.

Yep. Confirmation bias.

highhoppingworm wrote:

I kind of assumed one of three reasons…

1) He is working on basic speed before returning to the 400 and going after the WR

2) He viewed the competition in the shorter sprints as “easier”

3) He didn’t feel like running the 400. Let’s face it… the 400 is just harder

It could be a combo of all of these

Agreed.

On top of that...

A medal in the 100m > a medal in any other event

paris2024hawk wrote:

If you never believed he was clean, you don't want to believe this fred kerley thing and you never will.

No, I want to believe it. It's an awesome story. I believed he was clean until I saw him race in person and no longer think so. I want to believe everybody is clean I'm not one of those negative people who just assume everyone's dirty. This one just seems a little fishy.

an-American wrote:

paris2024hawk wrote:

If you never believed he was clean, you don't want to believe this fred kerley thing and you never will.

Yep. Confirmation bias.

You guys just want to believe that I want to believe he's dirty which is also confirmation bias

The OP wrote:

Ever since I'd watch him run the 400 in college I just never thought he was clean. He seemed to accelerate the entire 400. Now he drops down to the 100 and wins a silver medal? What is going on?!

Is it crazy to think this is unbelievable? I sure hope it's not and it's awesome to watch, but this just seems questionable at the very least.

Not sure who is more suspicious, him or the gold medalist. Both suddenly world class 100 meter runners at age 26. They both switched their focus to the 100m this year but since when does someone focus on long jump or 400 and somehow overlook their 9.8 talent until age 26?

If someone can be a good 200m and 100m runner, like Bolt, there is no reason to think someone can't go from 400 ton100.

macdaddy, the wrote:

Agreed.

On top of that...

A medal in the 100m > a medal in any other event

Me personally, I place more importance on the 200m than the 100m.

Dunno why. But yeah, I'm sure the 100m is the bigger event worldwide.

The 100 is a much more lucrative event. But what defies logic is how someone goes from 10.4/20.2 at age 22 to suddenly 9.8x at age 26, and somehow never discovered any of this talent until now.

He was coming off of/dealing with an injury that gave him trouble with the turns, and was in the inside lane in the 200 finals. Throw him in lane 8/9 and he probably makes the team there too.

The OP wrote:

Ever since I'd watch him run the 400 in college I just never thought he was clean. He seemed to accelerate the entire 400. Now he drops down to the 100 and wins a silver medal? What is going on?!

Is it crazy to think this is unbelievable? I sure hope it's not and it's awesome to watch, but this just seems questionable at the very least.

Since track is no different from the Tour de F what is there to believe?

nznns wrote:

I’m curious about the back story behind the switch. The running world (mostly let’s run posters) were calling him a fool. But clearly he knew something we didn’t.

Any 100/200 guys is in his training group? I imagine he was consistently smoking them in practice, and finally decided to jump over and give it a shot.

The other strange thing is that he struggled in the 200 in trials. Mixed w his 400 strength, you’d think that would far and away be his best bet.

He's had some lackluster (of course this is very relative) seasons running the 400 the past few years, he might just wanted to try something else. He was running alright but not great in the 4 for his standards this year, which is what I think prompted the switch. What made him run faster in the 100 but not the 400 and 200 is what puzzles me. He might have had this type of speed the whole time but just never gave a good effort at running the shorter events. I doubt it's doping though, unless someone can provide an example of a drug that boosts explosive power and top-end speed that would only affect the short sprints. The simplest answer I think is he missed time due to his injury and/or got lazy these past couple seasons and didn't work as much on his speed-endurance needed in the 200/400, but did enough work on his top-end speed to be able to run the 100. I think it's way easier to get fit for a 100 than 400

Hardloper wrote:

The OP wrote:

Ever since I'd watch him run the 400 in college I just never thought he was clean. He seemed to accelerate the entire 400. Now he drops down to the 100 and wins a silver medal? What is going on?!

Is it crazy to think this is unbelievable? I sure hope it's not and it's awesome to watch, but this just seems questionable at the very least.

Not sure who is more suspicious, him or the gold medalist. Both suddenly world class 100 meter runners at age 26. They both switched their focus to the 100m this year but since when does someone focus on long jump or 400 and somehow overlook their 9.8 talent until age 26?

Since Bruny Surin.