“Just had to believe myself that I could do it” - New 100m US Champion Cravont Charleston reflects back at tough years

American sprinter Cravont Charleston was nothing less than a surprise package for the world on July 8 at the 2023 USATF Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The young sprinter was at his best at the 100m event, beating star athletes like Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles to emerge as the new US national champion.

As the milestone win means the world to Charleston, he recently looked back at the preparation phase of the competition.

In the 100m event, Charleston finished with a time of 9.95s, just 0.01 second ahead of 2019 world champion Christian Coleman. He also left behind the two-time world champion, Noah Lyles, who finished the race in third position within 10.00s.

Moreover, with this win, Cravont Charleston has secured automatic qualification to this year's World Championship finals.

After stunning the world with his unexpected but welcoming performance, Charleston appeared in a quick conversation with CITIUS MAG. The video of the interview uploaded on their YouTube channel saw the athlete talking about his feelings.

The channel’s reporter asked Cravont Charleston how he felt being the “fastest guy in the country.”

In response to the question, the young athlete revealed the three things that helped him consistently follow his athletic dream:

“Obviously you're going to be God man, just patience, persistent, perseverance, just keep pushing me”

Further, Charleston shared the value of his family and teammates' help in preparing him better:

“my family knew my coach knew uh teammates when they all knew I just had to believe myself that I could do it.”

He also said that his journey took some time, but he made his dream come true just when the time was right. Talking about self-doubts, the athlete stated that it was hard to not be discouraged at certain moments.

However, being around a supportive family and teammates, and keeping faith in God helped him get through his tough moments.

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Cravont Charleston’s athletic history

2023 USATF Outdoor Championships

Sprinter Cravont Charleston appeared to qualify at the US trials for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Sadly, he could not make his mark as he finished the race within 10.23s at the 100m event.

Finally, in 2022, he ran at 10.07s at the qualifier of the World Athletics Championships and moved forward to the semi-final. There, he finished 11th within a time frame of 10.05s.

Surprisingly, Cravont Charleston is an athlete who never became a part of an NCAA event earlier. However, he did win certain events like this year’s Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku.

The athlete's title-winning performance came at 9.95s. Charleston’s personal best performance took place at the 2023 USATF Los Angeles Grand Prix, where he completed the race within 9.91s and achieved 2nd place.