Three-time world champion Fred Kerley is all set to bounce back at the Hurricane Invitational after he feuded with Noah Lyles. The tournament is scheduled between March 15-16, 2024, and will be held at the Coral Gables, Florida.
The 28-year-old announced his return to the track in style via his X (formerly Twitter) handle. He shared a video of his training session where he is sweating it all with the caption:
"I got my smile back @sdlncreative @AleSticktalk"
In the video, Kerley was seen holding his Asics spikes just like a phone and referring to himself as the 'greatest'. The 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist looks quite confident and poised to be back on track for his first event of the season.
Upon his return to the track, his rivalry with the six-time world champion Noah Lyles will be much more spicy and interesting, especially after the trash talk that occurred between the duo during the World Indoor Athletics Championships. This all started with the unexpected inclusion of Lyles in the 4*400m relay team during the Indoor Championships despite having no prior experience.
This incident was not taken wisely by Kerley as he slammed the USATF of favoritism and called it a puppet. Against this statement, Lyles replied to the Citius Magazine:
“I mean he could be here but he ain't so if you mad at that, come on out.”
Noah Lyles predicts a tough fight from Fred Kerley
The 26-year-old Noah Lyles clinched three gold medals during the 2023 World Championships in 100m, 200m and 4*100m respectively. However, the 100m defending champion Fred Kerley couldn't even qualify for the finals of the tournament,
In the semis, Kerley finished third with 10.2 seconds which was not enough to take him to the finals. Lyles elaborated on the revenge mentality that he is expecting from Kerley upon his return to the track.
"I think it has to be Fred coming out for revenge," Lyles said. "I would expect nothing less from him. To be honest like if that was me I would be saying the exact same thing - a fire igniting under the belly."
The 2024 Paris Olympics will be the perfect stage for these two young talented track and field athletes to go up against each other.