Fred Kerley Suffers Double Blow as American Star Handed Rough Reality Check on Diamond League Return

2025 hasn’t been kind to Fred Kerley. You’d think with all the hype and big claims, he’d be bagging wins left and right, right? Nope. So far, it’s been a year full of talk but no trophies. Take the first leg of the Grand Slam Track meet in Kingston; Kerley could only manage a modest 7th place in the 100m. Then the second leg in Miami? He didn’t even show up. What happened there? Well, that’s a story for another day. But despite it all, his fans stayed hopeful, especially with the Diamond League meet in Rabat on Sunday, May 25. The buzz was that Kerley might double up and win both the 100m and 200m. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.

Just before the games, he shared on Instagram, “The lane is my battlefield and victory is written,” and ended up losing all. Well, in his first Diamond League in the 200m, Courtney Lindsey swooped in and stole the show. Lindsey got off to a blazing start and kept his form down the home straight, taking the win in 20.04 seconds. He was making up for just missing out on Letsile Tebogo in Doha.

Joseph Fahnbulleh grabbed second place in 20.12, just edging out Fred Kerley, who finished third, 0.04 seconds behind Fahnbulleh with 20.16s. So yeah, no win for Fred in the 200m. Despite having the past records of having won 2 Diamond League Final titles and 12 Diamond League meeting victories across 100m, 200m, and 400m events. And what about the 100m? Same story.

Courtney Lindsey wins the men's 200m at the Rabat Diamond League, clocking a time of 20.04s (0.4)!

2. Joseph Fahnbulleh 20.12
3. Fred Kerley 20.16
4. Robert Gregory 20.26
5. Wayde van Niekerk 20.26pic.twitter.com/EUwdHT6j8P

— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 25, 2025

Akani Simbine did it again! This year, this South African athlete is having a stellar 2025, undefeated, and took a win with a clocking of 9.95 seconds to take the men’s 100m victory at Rabat with a 0.6m/s tailwind. Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala came second in 10.05, and Kerley once again finished third with 10.07. With these results piling up, the big question is, when will Fred Kerley break through and remind everyone why he’s a champion? Well, it seems he has a plan, which is just 4 months away.

Despite the setback, Fred Kerley’s final destination is just four months away

Fred Kerley kicked off his 2025 season at the USC Trojan Invitational with a 10.23 seconds in the 100m. While it was enough to snag the win, that time only ranked 38th globally, signaling he still had work to do. A month later at the Mt. SAC Relays, Kerley made a strong return to the 400m, winning in 44.73 seconds, though he called it “just a workout,” stressing that the 100m remains his main focus.

But things took a serious turn in early May when Kerley was arrested following an altercation with his ex-girlfriend, resulting in a battery charge and forcing him to withdraw from the Grand Slam Track meet in Miami, a major setback for his season. Despite the rocky start, Kerley’s history in sprinting is nothing short of dominant. Back in 2022, he stunned the world by running 9.76 seconds in the 100m, placing him sixth on the all-time list.

He’s one of the rare athletes to break the sub-10-second barrier in the 100m, sub-20 in the 200m, and sub-44 in the 400m, joining elite company with Wayde van Niekerk and Michael Norman. Even at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Kerley clinched the 100m gold, leading a U.S. medal sweep, and though 2023 had its ups and downs, including a relay gold and a tough 100m final, Kerley remains a major force on the track.

Kerley’s confidence has always matched his talent. Before the 2023 World Championships, Fred Kerley boldly declared, “I’m Fred Kerley and it’s my title. If Noah’s running 9.65, I’m running faster,” sparking a heated rivalry with Noah Lyles. He later said of Lyles, “He’s not built like me,” showing unshaken belief in his speed. After snagging bronze in the 100m at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Kerley stayed upbeat, saying, “You can’t terminate what’s destined to rise.”

Looking ahead to the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, he’s laser-focused on reclaiming the 100m crown and breaking Usain Bolt’s record, calling it “very realistic” and reminding us all, “records come and go, but golds last forever.” With his talent and fire, Kerley is primed to rewrite his story this year. Let’s just wait and wait.

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