Fredrick Lee Kerley is an American track and field sprinter specializing in the 400 meters for Nike. Over 400 m he is the 2018 champion in the professional Diamond League circuit, and twice the American champion, having won in 2017 and in 2019. Fred set his personal best time at the 2019 USA Championships, finishing in 43.64 seconds, making him the eighth fastest man in history over 400 m.
Biography
Kerley attended Taylor High School and his youth team was the College Station Sprinters in College Station, Texas. Afterwards he attended South Plains College from 2013 to 2015 before transferring to Texas A&M. In 2016, Fred Kerley tried out for the Olympic team at the USA Olympic Trials. He did not qualify out of his heat, but he went on to represent the United States at the NACAC Under-23 Championships where he anchored the 4 × 100 meters relay team to gold. In March 2017, he won the 400 m at the NCAA Division I Championships in a world leading time of 44.85 s, one of the top ten fastest indoor times ever. He joined his younger brother Mylik Kerley as he anchored the Aggies to a come from behind victory in the relay. The two first place finishes contributed 20 points to the team, helping bring Texas A&M to their first ever team victory at the NCAATrack and Field Championships, run on their home track. In May, Kerley ran 44.09 s, just 0.09 s off the NCAA record, while easing to the finish line at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Columbia, South Carolina. A few weeks later Kerley set the NCAA record in the men's 400 m at the 2017 NCAA West Preliminary with a time of 43.70 s, taking three-tenths of a second off the 44.00 record by Olympic championQuincy Watts, set almost 25 years earlier. Kerley had met Watts just before the race. He concluded his amateur career to win the 400 m and relay at the 2017 NCAA Division I Championships in June. A few weeks later in June 2017, he won the 400 m at the USA Championships in 44.03 seconds, qualifying him to represent the United States in the both the 400 m and the relay at the World Championships in Athletics. After winning his heat he finished third in his semi, but qualified for the final on time. In the final he was unable to replicate his form from earlier in the season, finishing seventh in a time of 45.23 s. He came back a day later to help the USA qualify for the finals in the relay, and then a few days later earned a silver medal behind Trinidad and Tobago. In 2018, Fred Kerley came off an injury to win the Diamond League trophy in the men's 400 meters. After Kerley turned professional in 2017 he joined club ALTIS in Phoenix, Arizona, and trained there under the guidance of Kevin Tyler for the 2018 season. However, in 2019 he returned to Texas A&M to train under his former coach Alleyne Francique, stating to Track & Field News "I believe in him so much that I had to come back to train with him."
Statistics
Information from IAAF profile or Track & Field Results Reporting System unless otherwise noted.
