"I won't be surprised if he goes 10.1 or 10.0" - Fred Kerley, who coached Mondo Duplantis in 100m weighs in on his potential as a sprinter

USA's Fred Kerley finished fourth overall in the men's 200m event at the Zurich Diamond League. However, he was ecstatic about having trained pole vaulter and world record holder Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis of Sweden to an unbelievable victory in the friendly 100m dash against Karsten Warholm of Norway.

The American sprinter opened up on the training, and how Duplantis has an untapped potential in the 100m. When asked about his performance in the 100m event, Fred Kerley spoke,

"He did a great thing yesterday. I won't be surprised if he goes 10.1 or 10.0. 10.3 in that condition yesterday, standing around, I give him a 10.0 or 10.1"

Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm had agreed to a friendly 100m dash against each other on September 4, a day before the Diamond League officially commenced in Zurich. Duplantis, who had a personal best of 10.57 seconds before this race, beat Karsten Warholm by clocking a timing of 10.37 seconds.

The Zurich Diamond League 2024 took place at the Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich on September 5. This was the penultimate leg of the Wanda Diamond League before the finals scheduled to be held in Brussels on September 13 and September 14. Botswana's Letsile Tebogo, the Olympic champion in men's 200m, once again finished at the top, followed by Kenny Bednarek, Erriyon Knighton and Kerley, who finished second, third, and fourth respectively.

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Fred Kerley on coaching Mondo Duplantis for the highly anticipated 100m clash in Zürich

Mondo Duplantis and Karsten Warholm pose for a photo after the friendly 100m dash at Zurich [Image Source: Getty]

Fred Kerley decided to voluntarily train Mondo Duplantis for the 100m clash with Karsten Warholm. Duplantis had challenged the Norwegian world record holder in the men's 400m hurdles during a training session at the Monaco Diamond League the previous year.

Duplantis acknowledged Fred Kerley's role in his victory in an interview post the race. Speaking to Citius Mag, Duplantis recounted,

"So I pulled up on him at 2 o' clock, and then we did blocks together, and that was so necessary because I have been doing them by myself. You really cannot replicate the feeling of somebody on your side, and that was a lot of speed on my side, which was something I needed, and it felt right."

When Mondo Duplantis returned the gesture with a stunning victory of 10.37 seconds, an overjoyed Fred Kerley posted,

"First dub as a coach"

Duplantis replied to this with a saluting emoji. Apart from winning the 100m race before the Diamond League, Mondo Duplantis also proved his mettle in the men's pole vault by winning the event. However, this time he couldn't break any record and was tied with Sam Kendricks of the USA at 5.82m. However, Duplantis was ranked first courtesy of a better first jump.

Fred Kerley finished fourth in the men's 200m with a timing of 19.81 seconds. Letsile Tebogo topped the race with a timing of 19.55 seconds, while Kenny Bednarek finished second with a timing of 19.57 seconds.