Brussels Diamond League 2021: Fred Kerley wants to be a legend like Usain Bolt

The Brussels Diamond League 2021 is round the corner. The penultimate meeting in the Diamond League series promises a lot of action before the caravan shifts to Zurich for the final.

The Brussels Diamond League 2021 will be headlined by Sifan Hassan along with Tokyo silver medallist Fred Kerley of the USA and Swedish-American pole vaulter Armand Duplantis.

For sprinters, Usain Bolt is a role model and Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Fred Kerley of the USA is no exception. The athlete has outlined his plans very clearly – to be the fastest in sprints.

Ahead of the Brussels Diamond League, Fred Kerley reaffirmed his plans.

24 hours to go 🧨⏳Pre-meet shake outs are done, and all that's left to do is wait 👀Take a look at the programme and let us know which event you're most excited to watch tomorrow night 🤩👇📸 @matthewquine

— Wanda Diamond League (@Diamond_League) September 2, 2021

He will be up against Trayvon Bromell, Michael Norman and Ronnie Baker, along with Canada's Olympic 200m champion Andre De Grasse in the Brussels Diamond League. However, after clocking a personal best of 19.79s in the Paris Diamond League last week, Fred Kerley looks to be in good stead.

Addressing a virtual press conference on the eve of the Brussels Diamond League, he said:

"I've got a lot of confidence in my current form and I want to show what I've got in the coming weeks. My goal is very clear: I want to be the fastest man in the 100m, 200m and the 400m. I want to be the best at all three distances."

"What makes someone the best, maybe a world record? I know I have the potential to break the 400m record. I want to be a legend, like Usain Bolt. I see him as a big brother. To me he will always have a spot on the podium of the greatest of all time, he is a big example."

Records in danger at Brussels Diamond League

Sifan Hassan clocked a season’s best of 14:27.89 to win the 5,000m at the Prefontaine Classic last month. She is gunning for another good show at the Brussels Diamond League.

The Ethiopian-born Sifan Hassan is also a world record holder in the mile. Given her sparkling form, it would take a brave person to bet against her winning once again. The Dutch all-rounder said:

“Sometimes being successful is not easy. It’s especially hard after the Olympics. It was difficult for me to return back to being myself and to calm down. But in the past couple of days, I feel back to myself and normal again. I’ve had some good training sessions since Eugene. I hope to do my best; we’ll see what happens.”

Olympic pole vault champion Armand Duplantis, meanwhile, didn’t shy away from world record talks. He said he was confident of breaking a record at the Brussels Diamond League.

“Any time I step on to the track, I want to do something special. I’ve had that mentality since I was a young kid. But you don’t know when the day’s going to come when everything lines up perfectly. I feel like I’m in good shape, and I know what I have to do to go out and jump a world record. It’s not easy, everything has to come together on the day. You need good weather and good crowd support, but one of the most important things is the wind.”