Fred Kerley quashes rumours of being disqualified at NYC Grand Prix, explains what really happened

Fred Kerley quashes rumours of being disqualified at NYC Grand Prix, explains what really happened

Abigael Wafula 10:29 - 10.06.2024

American sprint icon Fred Kerley has explained why he did not compete in the men's 100m at the USTAF New York City Grand Prix.

The 2022 World 100m champion Fred Kerley has come out to explain why he did not start in the men’s 100m at the USTAF New York City Grand Prix.

Amid the issues concerning his spikes, Kerley did not have quite a great day at the event, where he ended up not competing in the men’s 100m with different people having opinions over why he did not compete.

Some claimed that he had false started hence he was disqualified but he set the record straight, explaining that there was an issue with the blocks and the race took too long to start. He slipped out of the blocks twice, after which he walked out of the track.

He said in two posts on his X (Twitter) handle: “I ain’t false start.” He added another comment expressing his disappointment, saying: “High school block at a professional meet.”

After the race, he told Citius Mag what really happened, and from how he was explaining himself, Kerley was evidently pissed off.

“I was requesting new blocks. One of my pads was broken. I slipped the first time, and then I slipped the second time, and not about to have it happen a third time,” Kerley said.

Follow the Pulse Sports Kenya X (Twitter) handle for more updates.

Kerley has been off to a quite fair season and the race was to be his fifth 100m race of the season. He opened his season with a win at the Hurricane Invitational before also claiming top honours at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational.

He then kickstarted his Diamond League campaign at the Dimond League Meeting in Xiamen, where he finished second before finishing third at the Diamond League Meeting in Suzhou.

He was forced to withdraw from the meeting in Stockholm due to an injury setback and now his main focus will be on the US Olympic trials.