“In the decade since Gatlin’s 9.74, the fastest anyone has run is 9.76. But, in 2025, I believe that gap will be bridged.” This was a prediction from a fan on Reddit, and look how that turned out. On May 15, 2015, at 33 years old, Justin Gatlin delivered the fastest legal 100 m of the year at the Doha Diamond League meet. The record to this day stands as the 5th fastest time in the history of 100 meters. Nobody has ever since touched the 9.75 mark, going below is history. Christian Coleman came close with his 9.76 in 2019, but nobody even touched 9.75. This was the case in track and field until June 28, 2025. What happened then?
At the 2025 Jamaican Athletics Championships in Kingston on June 27, Kishane Thompson delivered a stunning breakthrough. After posting a swift 9.80 s in the semifinals, he stormed the final, clocking a 9.75 s (+0.8 m/s) to capture the national title and record a new lifetime best. The man now rests comfortably in sixth on the all-time list 100m, marking the fastest legal 100 m since 2015. Now, what does this mean for the other athletes of this time?
Coach Rob aired another video on June 27, 2025, to talk about this record by the Jamaican on his YouTube channel: Coach Rob Track and Field. The man said, “It’s not just the fastest thing since Bolt retired. He technically ran a new national stadium record, because Bolt’s old record was 9.76, and he just went 9.75. So that’s a big deal for Jamaica, just to clarify. I also said that nobody’s gone that fast when legal since Bolt retired.” Usain Bolt’s 9.76 s at Kingston’s National Stadium was set during the Jamaica International Invitational on May 3, 2008. He retired in 2017, and Gatlin was the last to run a sub-9.75 in 2015.
He further reflected that if you can’t run around 9.75 s, you’re no longer in the gold-medal conversation. He cited how back in Bolt’s era, when he was blazing at 9.6 or even 9.5, he dared the field to keep up. He further said, “he only way to be competitive is you’re going to have to go even faster. The pace is going to be the pace. Either you’re going to go with it, or you’re going to get left.” Further citing the time it has been for such a performance to come, he thought that if anybody could do it except Kishane, and then went on to talk about who could.
Putting the Jamaican’s 9.75 on board, he said, “With the quality of that race, wind factors, all of that. I’m sorry. The world championship is basically done. The only thing we’re waiting on now is whether somebody else is going to find something out of their back pocket. Let’s talk about the ones who actually have a shot to do it.” The World champions are scheduled for September 2025, and no one except Kishane Thompson has run a time of 9.75 or shorter in 10 years. This makes the Jamaican a big contender for the win.
“Noah Lyles has been the most consistent sprinter on the world stage, especially in world championship finals. But I’ve also been very clear about my feelings on it, which is I don’t have evidence that he can go 9.7 mid, 9.7 low. That evidence isn’t there,” He said, reflecting on the ones who can do it. Noah Lyles has 6 golds in the world championships, but one can argue that although he’s consistently posted high-9.7x times (like 9.79 s at Paris 2024), he hasn’t yet officially broken into 9.70–9.74 territory.
Another athlete coach Rob named was Trayvon Bromell. “He’s not just fast in the world this year. He did go 9.76, and I believe 9.7 high as well, multiple times. Now that he’s seemingly getting back to that same level of form, it lets us know that it’s very realistic,” he said. Bromell recorded a legal 9.76s at the Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi on September 18, 2021. He was also world-leading and the sixth-fastest all-time. Recently, he clocked a 9.84 at the Rome Diamond League on June 6, 2025. But the coach also gave the win to Kishane Thompson in the competition, citing the form he is in from the past few years. Another athlete who was named was Fred Kerley, citing his 9.76.
Fred Kerley clocked a 9.76 s (+1.4 m/s) in the semifinal of the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships held at Hayward Field, Eugene, on June 24, 2022. But the bottom line by the coach was, ” past history with medals is not the only thing that matters anymore. If you can’t go fast enough, it won’t matter.” This stands exactly true for Noah Lyles and Co., who might have extra pressure now to perform in their trials.
Pressure builds on Noah Lyles and Co.
Kishane Thompson’s 9.75s has reset the global sprint bar, and now the focus shifts to the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships, better known as the U.S. Nationals. This four‑day meet, serving as USA Track & Field’s senior national championships will take place July 31–August 3, 2025, at the iconic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, where the likes of Noah Lyles will not only try for national titles but also for the chance to prove they can chase Thompson’s world‑leading mark.
Kenny Bednarek has come as one of the best this year. He swept both the 100 m and 200 m at the Kingston and Miami Grand Slam Track meets, including a wind‑aided 9.79s in Miami and a 19.84s in the 200 m, securing two consecutive overall titles in May 2025. He marked an undefeated GST for himself with a legal 9.86s PB in Philly. That was the world lead at that time as well. Noah Lyles, on the other hand, has been kind of not so hot this year.
He defended his indoor 60 m crown with a 6.52s win at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston and kicked off outdoors with a 6.62s victory in Gainesville—yet he’s yet to race the 100 m outdoors. He also got injured.. He opted out of the race with Tyreek Hill as well, bringing mockery to him. Now, with Thompson’s national stadium record looming and the rivalry between the two, Lyles will face intense scrutiny and must deliver at the American Nationals to reassert his dominance. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know.
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