The antihero of the sprint world has regained his mojo. On a raucous night in Glasgow's East End, Christian Coleman showed incredible acceleration and controlled aggression to win the indoor 60m world title.
The showdown with America's great rival, Noah Lyles, came down to a simple equation. Will Coleman, the 60m world record holder, set off a firecracker to end the race early? Or will Lyles, the reigning 100m and 200m world champion, be able to stay within range and kill him?
After exactly 6.41 seconds, we got the answer: Coleman. The 27-year-old was never going to relinquish the lead from his guns as he returned strong to win the gold medal. Lyles needed a time of 6.44 seconds to take the silver medal and Ackiem Blake needed a time of 6.46 seconds to take the bronze.
“Even a few weeks ago, I had some issues in training, but I feel like I'm built for moments like this,” Coleman said later. “I 100% think I'm the best 60-meter runner of all time. But the exciting part is that my ceiling feels much higher.”
When asked about the secret to his fast start, Coleman replied: I did a lot of work in the weight room and video room. I don't know what the secret is, but ask God. ”
This wasn't necessarily the result the sport was hoping for, given that Coleman had previously served an 18-month suspension for three missing trips in a 12-month period. The American was by no means a natural showman, but he later claimed that he was a completely different person when he stepped away from the spotlight. And he claimed he became a completely different person after missing the Tokyo Olympics due to a failed test.
“Everything happens for a reason and I feel like God has been with me the entire time,” he said. “I’m even more excited to be in my prime and have the opportunity in front of me.”
Lyles was better at long distances and had just posted the second fastest time of his life, so he wasn't too disappointed with the silver medal.
“What a great indoor season,” he said. “They say I wasn't a 60-year-old guy, but look at me now. If I beat them in the 60-meter dash, they have no chance outdoors. ”
He insisted that despite the result, he has no fear of Coleman when Coleman races again at this summer's Olympics. “I'm never afraid,” he said. “I'm always excited. I've dramatically increased the worst part of the race, so I'm ready to go home and apply that to the 100 and 200 meters.”
Elsewhere, there was a big shock on the opening night of these World Indoor Championships as Australia's Nicola Olislagers won the high jump with a leap of 1.99 meters.
This was enough to take the silver medal over reigning world champion and pre-tournament favorite Yaroslava Makhuchik, with Britain's Morgan Lake in sixth place, 1.92 meters behind.
“It didn't go as planned from the beginning,” Lake said. “If you miss your starting height, you’re always at a disadvantage.”
There was good news for Great Britain in the women's 1500m, with Georgia Bell and Leve Walcott-Nolan both comfortably qualifying for tomorrow's Sunday's 1500m final.
Bell, 30, who balances training with a full-time job in cybersecurity, had an impressive qualifying time of 4:04:39. But then she admitted that her boss was concerned after she said in her interview mid-week that she might quit her job to focus on the Paris Olympics. Ta. “I got a lot of emails from work saying, 'What's going on? Is there anything you want to say to us?'” she said. “I thought, 'Oh, okay, everything's okay.' But they were really supportive.”
Bell, a talented junior who returned to running during lockdown, added: “I received so many happy messages from people saying, 'You made me want to go back to parkrun.'”
Meanwhile, British athletes will be hoping for a Super Saturday at the Championships with the possibility of three medals. Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir will run in the 3000m final, just before 1500m world champion Josh Kerr will run the men's final of the same distance. Another Briton, Molly Coldrey, is the world's top pole vaulter.