Fred Kerley clinches gold at Hurricane Invitational after 4x400m relay snub at World Indoors

Tokyo Olympic medalist Fred Kerley's 2024 season is underway after a remarkable victory following an apparent squabble with Noah Lyles at the World Indoor Championships.

Kerley secured a gold medal in the 100m event at the 2024 Hurricane Invitational after clocking an impressive 10.03 seconds to leave behind Andrew Hudson and Devine Augustine, who clocked 10.12 and 10.16 seconds, respectively.

The 2024 Hurricane Invitational was held on March 15 and 16 at the Cobb Track & Field Facility in Coral Gables, Florida. Kerley's victory becomes more interesting for athletics fans in the Olympic year owing to his recent apparent tiff with Lyles at the 2024 World Indoor Athletics Championships held in Glasgow, earlier this month.

The USATF selected Lyles to compete in the 4x400m relay finale in the final moments. This change in the lineup startled the majority of the athletics world, including the three-time world champion, Kerley.

Kerley, who won 4x400m gold in Doha, expressed his dissent by calling the USATF "puppets," criticizing the organization for favoritism. After finishing second in the event, the 2023 treble champion responded to Kerley, saying:

"I mean he could be here but he ain't so if you mad at that, come on out."

With tension seemingly rising between the two players, Kerley shared a glimpse of his training session with fans on X (formerly Twitter) before the 2024 Hurricane Invitational.

"Champion mindset", he captioned his tweet, which was posted after his 100m win in Florida.

Lyles, along with Jacory Patterson, Matthew Boling, and Christopher Bailey secured a silver medal in Glasgow after recording 3:02.60.

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"If Noah’s running 9.65, I’m running faster" - Fred Kerley expressed his goal of defeating Noah Lyles at the 2023 World Athletics Championships

Fred Kerley secured a silver medal in the 100m at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Fred Kerley and Noah Lyles got engaged in a spat during the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary when the latter expressed his goal of recording 9.65 seconds in the 100m.

During the pre-race press conference in the Hungarian capital, Kerley asserted his confidence in running faster than Lyles, stating:

"I’m Fred Kerley and it’s my title. If Noah’s running 9.65, I’m running faster."

Lyles, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table, replied:

"That’s what they all say until they get beat.”

Lyles secured a gold medal in the men's 100m at the 2023 World Championship after recording a world lead of 9.83 seconds. Kerley had to settle for ninth place in the semifinals after clocking 10.02 seconds.

However, both athletes led the American squad, including Christian Coleman and Brandon Carnes, to victory in the men's 4x100m relay event after defeating the Italian and the Jamaican squads by registering a time of 37.38 seconds.