By Anderson Emerole
March 2, 2024
CITIUS MAG's Anderson Emerole reports from Glasgow, Scotland with a recap of Day 1 of the World Indoor Championships.
Here’s what you need to know:
– 60m world record holder Christian Coleman clocked the fastest time in the world this year with a 6.41 in the final to beat 100m and 200m world champion Noah Lyles by three hundredths to flip the results of their one-two finish from the U.S. Indoor Championships.
– Coleman popped out of the blocks with the fastest reaction time of the race with a (.127). Lyles had to play catchup since he recorded the seventh-fastest of the final with a (.159) and ran out of real estate to reel in Coleman.
Coleman Returns To The Top of the Podium
This was billed as a high-quality matchup considering Noah Lyles was on fire this whole season and just won the USA Indoor Championships. Coleman was clearly not satisfied with the results in Albuquerque. Coleman, the 2018 world indoor champion, delivered 6.41 seconds to get the gold medal to get back on top of the podium. He got silver in 2022 and now he is on top of the podium again.
Lyles was not too far behind 6.44 seconds at his first World Indoor Championships, so huge kudos to him.
Coleman had a lot of setbacks since he came back from his whereabouts suspension in 2022 but hasn't been able to get back on top of the podium. However, this really solidified to him that he is the greatest 60-meter dash runner in history and that no one can touch him in the event. So Coleman talking about being in his prime is kind of scary if we're now going into the 2024 Olympic season. I am looking forward to seeing what he's going to do.
What Coleman said to me after the race:
“I feel like it was solidified a long time ago. But, you need accolades. (This) kind of back it up and I feel like this goes a long way in doing that. But as far as how I see myself, I don't think anybody in history can mention me over 60m."
“I feel like I'm stepping into my prime and understanding who I am as a person, really, but as an athlete as well. I feel the best that I have felt mentally, spiritually, physically, emotionally – the whole nine. Everything is just kind of coming together and clicking at the right time."
A step forward for Noah Lyles
Remember, Lyles was never looked at as either a good 100 meter runner or a 60 meter runner. But now, he's dropped his personal best. He's been super consistent – 6.44 seconds twice this year. He also ran 6.43 to get the win at the U.S. Indoor Championships. Lyles is still going to be very dangerous as we look towards the outdoor season.
He even broke down how he was tracking all the other athletes in 100m and what their 60-meter dash splits were at the World Championships last year. How will he use that as motivation going into this season?
What Noah said to me after the race:
“ I am now a 6.4 runner and when I was looking at all the data coming from Budapest in the 100, I'm like, what's the thing that's going to take me to the next, next level?... So now I'm coming out here and I'm no longer going to think, ‘Oh, I need to run 6.4 in the first 60m, I'm planning to drop 6.3 in the first 60m and then continuing to do what I normally do.”
Now, the biggest thing here is the storylines coming out of this. Going outdoors, Lyles is the defending 100 meter world champion and he might be the slight favorite considering he's getting good at the 60m. Coleman is now getting back into his groove and getting back on the podium. We can’t forget that we’re going to add some other names from Fred Kerley to Marcell Jacobs to Trayvon Bromell and Marvin Bracy. All these guys are going to be coming into the fold and adding to the amazing story of the men's 100 meter dash in the same race. We even saw Jamaica’s Akeem Blake, who didn’t make their team for Budapest last year, get the bronze medal in his first-ever major championship final.
Once again, Coleman’s confidence is coming back and the timing could never be better. He has a chance to become the first man in history to win a World Indoor 60m gold and Olympic gold in the same year.
Anderson Emerole
Anderson Emerole is an analyst and contributor to CITIUS MAG. He runs The Final Leg, a YouTube channel with up-to-date commentary on track and field news.
