Vols' Coleman sets 60-meter world record

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Christian Coleman headed back to the University of Tennessee on Saturday, not overly impressed with himself but thankful to have set the world record in the 60 meters.

“I didn’t really feel like it was one of my best races,” Coleman told SEC Country

after running a world-record time of 6.37 seconds in the 60-meter dash at the Clemson Invitational on Friday. “I felt like I was just knocking the dust off.”

Instead, Coleman knocked everyone’s socks off with his blazing sprint, fulfilling the vision that former world record holder Maurice Greene had shared with him.

Greene, a three - time world champion in the 100 meters and two-time Olympics gold medal winner, held the 60-meters record for nearly 20 years, running a 6.39-second time in 1998

and again in 2001. “That’s what means a lot to me, because I know Maurice Greene personally, and he told me he wanted me to break the record,” said Coleman, a 21-year-old from Atlanta (Our Lady of Mercy

High School) who’s finishing his degree at Tennessee.

“So that was in the back of my mind, but I didn’t realize I had the capability to do it in the first meet.”

It was Coleman’s first competition of 2018, and he’s hoping it can springboard him to an invitation to the Millrose Games in New York.

Running with Nike sponsorship in his first year as a professional, Coleman was the 2017 USTFCCCA National Outdoor and National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. He also won the silver medal in the 100 meters at the IAAF World Championships in London last summer, beating Usain Bolt in head-to-head matchups twice at the event.

Coleman said if a spot doesn’t open in the Feb. 3 Millrose Games, his next event will be Feb. 10 in Boston, leading to the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., on Feb. 17-19.

Coleman continued to take his success in stride Friday night. His modest post-race celebration included treating himself to a chicken-wraps dinner.

“I just plan to have the same work ethic and continue to get better,” Coleman said, asked what his plans are once returning to Knoxville. “So, just go back to the drawing board and continue to get better.

“I’m still in school at Tennessee, and that’s home base for me.”

MATTHIAS HANGST / GETTY IMAGES Christian Coleman, still a student at the University of Tennessee, is burning up the track as a pro, setting a world record for 60 meters.