Christian Coleman Blasts 9.82 100m To Crush the NCAA Record

By LetsRun.com
June 7, 2017

EUGENE, Ore. — Christian Coleman of the University of Tennessee did not wait for the final to make history at the 2017 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Running in lane 4 of heat 1 of men’s 100m, Coleman got a good start and then ran away from the field before letting up before the line. When he crossed, the time flashed on the scoreboard, a wind-legal 9.82 (1.6 m/s wind), crushing the previous NCAA record of 9.89 from Ngonidzashe Makusha of Florida State at the 2011 NCAA Championships.

That time moves Coleman into the top 10 all-time in world history.

Video of Coleman’s run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcin38IQi0c

The 10 Fastest Men in History
1 9.58 0.9 WR Usain Bolt 16-Aug-09
2 9.69 2 AR Tyson Gay 20-Sep-09
2 9.69 -0.1 Yohan Blake 23-Aug-12
4 9.72 0.2 Asafa Powell 2-Sep-08
5 9.74 0.9 Justin Gatlin 15-May-15
6 9.78 0.9 Nesta Carter 29-Aug-10
7 9.79 0.1 Maurice Greene 16-Jun-99
8 9.8 1.3 Steve Mullings 4-Jun-11
9 9.82 1.7 NR Richard Thompson 21-Jun-14
9 9.82 1.6 Christian Coleman 7-Jun-17

Coleman then had to run his 200m prelim (he ran 20.21 to make the final) before he spoke to the media. By the time he spoke to the media he had already put his record run in the rear-view mirror. He said, “I feel pretty good (but) I’m already past that right now.” Coleman said he knew he was running well in his 100, but had no idea how fast he was going until he passed the line. “You know if you’re hitting your zones properly, but you never know what pace you’re on. I came across the line and I saw the time and was pretty ecstatic about it. It was a pretty good run,” he said in the understatement of the night.

He focus now is on winning Friday’s final, and he knows that won’t be easy. He said, “I heard the last guy to get in was 10.03. It was one of the fastest semifinals ever. It (the final) should be a good race. I can’t worry about the other competitors I have to worry about myself.” Asked how fast he thought he could go in the final Coleman said, ” I don’t know, the sky’s the limit. Everybody on the line is capable of running fast, capable of winning. I have to make sure I’m on my ‘A’ game, make sure I execute properly. I’m just running to win, so whatever time that takes.”

Coleman was correct about the semifinals at NCAAs being very fast. The winners in heat 2, Cameron Burrell of Houston, and heat 3, Christopher Belcher of North Carolina A&T, both ran 9.93. It took 10.03 to the make the NCAA final (heat results here). It took 10.01 to make the Olympic final in Rio.

While Coleman earned the headlines, North Carolina A&T’s Christopher Belcher had a tremendous day. Though Belcher’s 9.93 in the 100 was slower than Coleman’s 9.82, Belcher still won his heat before beating Coleman handily in their 200 semi, 20.01 to 20.21. And Belcher managed something Coleman could not on Wednesday: his 4×100 relay squad made the final as well, clocking 38.48, the second-fastest time in the country this year. There wasn’t much Coleman could do in the relay as a poor handoff put Tennessee in last place in heat 3 before he received the baton. But 9.93/20.01 plus a leg on the relay — NC A&T’s first appearance in the final in 16 years — is a heck of a day.

For Belcher, today was redemption for his 2016 NCAA performance. Last year, he qualified for NCAAs in the 100 but pulled his hamstring at regionals and was not close to 100% in Eugene, running 10.71 to finish dead last in his prelim. This time around, he was healthy and ready to roll and it showed.

Belcher said that three races in two and a half hours didn’t affect him that much.

“It’s not really that bad because you stay warm,” Belcher said.” You don’t have to do as much in between like warm up, run back and forth. I would just come, get a drink of water, get massaged out a little bit, put my legs up and relaxed for about 10 minutes, do a couple stride outs and then was ready to go back again. And I felt warm and great.”

Looking ahead to Friday, where he’ll have the same three races on an even tighter schedule (4×100 at 5:32 p.m., 100 at 6:22, 200 at 7:07), Belcher said he thinks he’ll be okay as he can use the relay to warm up for his two individual finals. He also added that he thinks the 200 is his best chance for the win.

“My start’s not all that, but when I get out, I definitely get out,” Belcher said.

Video interview with Belcher:

Results of heats below and screen shot.

P	Ln		Athlete		Affiliation	Time
1	4		Christian COLEMAN	JR	Tennessee	9.82 Q
2	5		Kyree KING	SR	Oregon	10.00 Q
3	6		Kenzo COTTON	JR	Arkansas	10.11
4	8		Mario BURKE	SO	Houston	10.19
5	1		Raheem CHAMBERS	FR	Auburn	10.20
6	2		Ryan CLARK	SO	Florida	10.25
7	7		Tatenda TSUMBA	SR	BYU	10.29
8	3		Kendal WILLIAMS	SO	Georgia	10.50

Discussion: Usain who? My goodness. Christian Coleman just cruised to an NCAA record of 9.82!!! 

Christian Coleman just destroyed the NCAA 100m record in the 100m!! 9.82!! https://t.co/IlRHT27RdA pic.twitter.com/y5QSuzkDTg

— LetsRun.com (@letsrundotcom) June 8, 2017

Heat 2 Results

Pl	Ln		Athlete		Affiliation	Time
1	5		Cameron BURRELL	JR	Houston	9.93 Q
2	4		Odean SKEEN	JR	Auburn	10.03 Q
3	3		Cejhae GREENE	JR	Georgia	10.05
4	7		Damarcus SIMPSON	JR	Oregon	10.12
5	6		Brandon CARNES	SR	Northern Iowa	10.16
6	2		Hanoj CARTER	SR	UL-Lafayette	10.32
7	8		Chris JEFFERSON	SO	Sam Houston St.	11.52
DNS	1		Julius MORRIS	JR	Western Kentucky

Heat 3 Results

Pl	Ln		Athlete		Affiliation	Time
1	4		Christopher BELCHER	SR	N. Carolina A&T	9.93 Q
2	5		Jaylen BACON	JR	Arkansas State	10.02 Q
3	6		Senoj-Jay GIVANS	SR	Texas	10.02
4	3		Nethaneel MITCHELL-BLAKE	SR	LSU	10.03
5	2		Tony BROWN	JR	Alabama	10.12
6	7		Maxwell WILLIS	FR	Baylor	10.18
7	1		Cra’Vorkian CARSON	JR	Southern Miss.	10.27
DNS	8		Jalen MILLER	JR	TCU