Justin Gatlin weighs in on Fred Kerley's 400m run despite backlash

Justin Gatlin recently shared his thoughts on Olympic medalist Fred Kerley's recent race at the Mt. SAC relays. The soon to be 30-year-old sprinter ran his first 400m after a gap of more than two years.

Despite his alleged controversy with Noah Lyles, and the backlash he received after his performance at the Grand Slam Track League, Kerley prevailed at the Mt. SAC relays, winning the race with an approximate timing of 44.73 seconds. The sprinter expressed his joy as he shared the news on his X timeline [previously Twitter]. He wrote,

"44.73 light work"

Gatlin reacted to the race in a conversation with former Bahamian sprinter Rodney Green on the podcast 'Ready Set Go'. In his words,

"Yeah, for him to be out of the 400 for at least three years, last three years for sure, right? Um, I, I watched the race. I was actually impressed on the fact of him getting round the track, and fighting for the win, because being a short sprinter, and going back into the long sprint, it's foreign to you, it's foreign!"

Fred Kerley previously participated at the much talked about Grand Slam Track League. He finished a disappointing seventh in the 100m race, but recovered in time to finish third overall in the 200m race.

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Fred Kerley shares his aim of a gold medal victory at the LA 2028 Olympics

Fred Kerley talks about his plans for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 [Image Source : Getty]

Fred Kerley, the American sprinter, recently shared his thoughts about competing one more time for the USA at the Olympic stage, in Los Angeles in 2028.

Kerley wrote on his X account [formerly Twitter],

"The journey don't stop. My 2 Olympic medal from Tokyo to Paris. Next stop homecoming."

Without taking any names, Kerley made a sarcastic post as he wrote further,

"Some of yall best athletes don't got one."

This post indicated towards his two consecutive Olympic medals from Tokyo 2020, as well as Paris 2024. Fred Kerley had won the silver medal in the men's 100m event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, held a year later due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the Paris Olympics, Kerley improved his timing to 9.81 seconds in the 100m finals. However, his American teammate Noah Lyles and Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson edged him out, as they competed in an intense race to the finish line. Lyles beat Thompson by the barest of margins, by five-hundredths of a second to win the gold medal.