The Prefontaine Classic has long been a proving ground for elite sprinters, but this year, one name stood out for a different reason. Christian Coleman, once considered the future of American sprinting, finished seventh in the 100-meter final. His 10.06-second time, though equaling his season best, landed him behind athletes many would not have expected to surpass him. Prompting not just concern, but a blunt, unfiltered reaction from Noah Williams.

Held in favorable conditions at Hayward Field on July 5, the race was headlined by a world-leading 9.85-second performance from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson. Zharnel Hughes and Trayvon Bromell rounded out the top three, while Coleman found himself edged out by Brandon Hicklin, Ackeem Blake, and Bayanda Walaza. It wasn’t just the result that raised eyebrows; it was who had beaten him, and by how much. 

Among those alarmed was Williams, who spoke candidly on the Track World News podcast. “What’s going on with Christian, man?” Williams asked. “I mean, it was a season best, but did he get second to last? I think it was what, the 10.06, maybe?” That rhetorical question gave way to a broader reflection on Coleman’s arc. A trajectory once marked by promise and now mired in uncertainty. “Ever since the day Christian popped on the scene…we identified Christian with having the greatest start that we’ve seen,” Williams added. “He hasn’t done it once all year. He hasn’t gapped the field in that first eight meters of the race like we’re used to in every single Christian Coleman race.”

That early acceleration, once a signature of Coleman’s success, has become absent. As Williams observed, Coleman’s hallmark opening surge, a trait that once made him feared, is now noticeably missing. “Obviously, the changing of coaching is doing something,” he continued. “But more than anything…I can’t speak for you, but for myself, man, and all my friends at the time, like it was Christian Coleman, Christian Coleman, Christian Coleman.” Williams’ tone struck a mix of nostalgia and frustration. 

He reflected on a time when Coleman, not Noah Lyles or Kenny Bednarek, was the focal point of American sprinting’s future. “Just as a fan, man, it’s just really, really disappointing,” Williams admitted. “I pray for him and I hope he can get this together, get out of whatever funk or rut he’s in.” But the optimism was tempered by concern. “I’m seeing no signs of this potentially turning around,” he said, noting that even in practice, training partners like Courtney Lindsey and Kenny Bednarek are regularly outperforming Coleman.

Christian Coleman fades from sprinting spotlight with every race

Christian Coleman‘s season has unfolded not with progress, but with persistent underperformance that has left both his rivals and his supporters largely unmoved. A man once expected to hold the line in American sprinting now finds himself edging further from the podium with each successive outing. His own expectations have remained stubbornly optimistic, but his results have not. In a campaign marked by regression rather than resurgence, Coleman has failed to win a single individual race in 2025, and the gaps in both timing and execution have only grown more conspicuous.

The losses have not been narrow. At the Star Athletics Sprint Series in June, 18-year-old Maurice Gleaton beat him not once, but twice. Coleman ran 10.03 in the prelims and 9.93 in the final. Times that would have commanded respect a decade ago. Now, they only underline his stagnation. Gleaton, nearly a generation younger, stopped the clock at 9.82 and made it look routine. Earlier in the spring, Coleman placed fifth in Shanghai and fourth in Xiamen, never breaking 10 seconds and never appearing close to control. 

But the pattern is too consistent to ignore. His only first-place finish this year came in a relay, not in the individual sprints where he built his name. A change of coach last year was intended to revitalize his form. So far, it has yielded no such results. With each passing meet, Coleman’s stature diminishes. Not by sudden collapse, but by persistent mediocrity.