AFP, Monaco :
Usain Bolt might have hung up his spikes, but there are at least two young American sprinters set to take up the mantle of the mighty multi-medal-winning Jamaican.
Christian Coleman, 22, and Michael Norman, who turned 21 on Monday, have risen to the top of the highly-competitive world of US sprinting on the back of a couple of impressive seasons.
Coleman this year set a world record of 6.34sec over 60 metres indoors and won the world indoor title in March. But injury struck the Tennessee-based athlete, who took world outdoor 100m silver in London in 2017 behind Justin Gatlin but ahead of Bolt.
“Last season was really special for me because I’ve never had an injury like that,” he said of a nagging hamstring problem. “To still push through that and work, run the times I did and come out on top and win the Diamond League, it was a special season and I was happy I was able to complete in that way.”
Indeed, Coleman came back and ran a blistering 9.79sec in his season-ending outing in Brussels, making him the joint seventh fastest man in history.
“I think 2019 will be even better,” he said, although he said he would overlook the indoor season with an eye on the Doha world outdoor championships which has been pushed back to October because of the oppressive summer heat in the Gulf state.
“The sky’s the limit. In perfect conditions, with a championship mindset and ready to peak, anything is possible. I don’t even try to put a number on it and limit myself, I go out there to compete and to win,” Coleman said.
