American Christian Coleman broke the 60m indoor world record at the USATF Indoor Championships in New Mexico.
After one sprinter was eliminated for a false start in the Albuquerque final the field got away with Coleman sprinting to an eye-watering 6.34 clocking. His time takes 0.05 off Maurice Greene’s 6.39 best.
“I wanted to go get it, but it pretty much felt like a blur,” the 21-year-old told the IAAF afterwards. “I just wanted to be the first to get to the finish line. I had put in a lot of work on my start, so it feels pretty good to do it.”
#USATFindoors ends with @__Coleman’s 6.34 🌎 record! #MoveOverMo pic.twitter.com/iiNbrgfQl3
— USATF (@usatf) February 19, 2018
Coleman, who finished behind compatriot Justin Gatlin to win 100m silver in the World Championships last summer, ran 6.37 seconds at an indoor meet in South Carolina on January 19, but it was not ratified as a world record.
The Clemson Invitational sprint did not meet all of the requirements because the starting blocks were not wired and drug testing was not carried out immediately after the race.
This time around a relaxed Coleman clocked 6.46 in Saturday’s heat before running 6.42 in Sunday’s semi-final setting up the final later that evening with defending US champion Ronnie Baker and he truly delivered.
This time Coleman has tweeted “Official 60m WR holder!!” a couple of hours after the event.
Coleman is now a firm favourite for the men’s 60m gold at the World Indoor Championships in March.