Fred Kerley withdraws from Stockholm Diamond League days after claiming to break Usain Bolt's 100m world record

Olympic medalist Fred Kerley made a bold claim last week that he was going to break the long-standing 100m world record (9.58s) when he runs in the event next, which is at Oslo Diamond League 2024. However, he has pulled out of the Stockholm Diamond League, citing injuries as the reason.

Kerley kicked off his outdoor season at the Hurricane Invitational, clocking 10.03s for the win. He raced at Xiamen and Shanghai Diamond League meetings, clocking 10.17s and 10.11s, respectively.

While his timings haven't improved, Kerley's confidence has been rising high. The 2022 world champion shared his intentions of beating Usain Bolt's world record time of 9.58s last week. However, he has faced a huge setback even before he lined up on the blocks at Oslo.

The Stockholm Diamond League organizers announced Monday that Fred Kerley had withdrawn from the meet citing injury concerns. While no new injury has been reported yet, the Olympic medalist is believed to be dealing with the old ones.

"Fred Kerley has had problems with injuries during the last week's competition and training which has limited him. That is why he has chosen to cancel his competition at the BAUHAUS gala on June 2, his manager announces," the statement read.

Kerley is slated to race in the 100m at the Oslo Diamond League. However, the meeting is on 30th May and the world champion might withdraw from that event as well if the concerns are too serious.

How close is Fred Kerley to breaking the 100m world record?

Day 2 - World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

Fred Kerley has a personal best of 9.76s in the event, which he clocked in 2022, and hasn't yet come close to the timing. His 2024 performances in the 100m are even more worrisome, with him not having crossed the 10s mark even after three races.

Not just Kerley, none of the current sprinters seem to be getting anywhere near Usain Bolt's 9.58s. Yohan Blake is far from his peak, Noah Lyles hasn't breached the 9.83s yet. While Letsile Tebogo does look a bit threatening after breaking the 300m world record in February 2024, his 100m timings haven't shown any sign of nearing the 9.58s mark.