Fred Kerley begins season in Melborne

Melbourne Track Classic which has been now relaunched to Maurie Plant Meet for this year, kicks off the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold schedule on Thursday 23 February.

The world’s fastest man in 2022, Fred Kerley, will headline the programme at inner-city Lakeside Stadium.

Kerley won the 100m title at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon and had a stellar year after finishing second in the Tokyo Olympic final to Italy’s Marcell Jacobs in 2021.

One of the few clouds in his 2022 sky was his failure to progress to a sprint double attempt in Oregon after he strained a hamstring in the rounds of the 200m.

The American will line up in Melbourne against most of Australia’s crop of rising young sprint talent and hoping to assuage the disappointment of Oregon.

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“It is nice to open my season with the 200m because I got injured in the 200m semifinals at the World Championships,” he said. “All in all, I am excited to come and show my talent to the Australian people.”

Welcoming the 27-year-old Down Under will be the nation’s premier sprinter Rohan Browning, who will step up to 200m for the occasion, along with 200m specialists, world U20 medalist Calab Law and national 200m champion Aidan Murphy.

Browning, who will also run the 100m, was quick to assert that he is “bullish” on the Australian circuit. “Can an Australian produce an upset? I’d like to think so. Damien Marsh, Monaco 1995 springs to mind.” Marsh upset a strong field to win the 100m at the 1995 Grand Prix final.

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