Things do not seem to be going right for Christian Coleman lately. While his career started with him leaving Usain Bolt in the dust in his last race, his recent run has been anything but underwhelming. The 2024 Olympics were supposed to be the point where he would make his mark on the sprinting circle, but what followed was anything but that. Despite this, fans still had hope of a resurgence once the 2025 season started. Though now, with back-to-back losses, fan support behind him seems to be dwindling. But why?

Well, to start, Coleman already lost at the Tom Jones Invitational on April 19. But this initial heartbreak was quickly forgotten once the Xiamen Diamond League came knocking. Running against a stacked pool, Coleman was heavily backed to win the race. If not, at least make it to the top 3. But as the race commenced, Coleman looked quite out of sorts. Struggling to find the right rhythm, Coleman ended up finishing fourth.

Surprisingly, his timing was quite a bit of a concern. Running a time of 10.18s, the US athlete lagged significantly behind the winner, Akani Simbine’s timing of 9.99s. And while this was not a problem, Christian Coleman once again fumbled in a major race. The stakes were pretty high at the Keqiao Diamond League. The men’s 100m category looked more stacked than ever.

With the likes of Akani Simbine, Kishane Thompson, Letsile Tebogo, Ferdinand Omanyala, and more coming in, the race looked quite exciting. Going for glory, Christian Coleman once again faltered significantly. Looking quite slow off the blocks, Coleman struggled to keep pace with his competition. As he reached the finish line, Coleman was the fifth to do so. With a timing of 10.13s, the US sprinter once again was left empty-handed. 

And while Coleman improved from his last race timing, this was not enough. Taking the win for the second consecutive time, Akani Simbine clocked 9.98s. This was extremely impressive since he beat the Olympic 100m silver medalist from Jamaica, Kishane Thompson, and the 200m gold medalist, Letsile Tebogo. While Thompson clocked 9.99s, Tebogo came in third with a time of 10.03s.

Naturally, the fans were not at all happy with how Christian Coleman performed. Thus, they immediately took to social media to express their opinions. 

Christian Coleman gets brutally slammed by fans after back-to-back flops

As soon as the results were out, fans flocked to the comment section to voice out their concerns. Coleman’s struggles in Keqiao were so noticeable that fans joked, “Christian Coleman was nowhere to be found at that finish line. smh another whereabouts problem.” Though physically present, his 5th-place finish and lack of presence among frontrunners mirrored past absences from competition, sparking harsh sarcasm about his fading relevance on the global stage.

Known once for explosive starts, Coleman’s weakness off the blocks in Keqiao drew scrutiny, prompting one viewer to ask, “What is happening to Christian Coleman’s start? Something about his start is not working lately.” The concern is valid—he couldn’t match the opening burst of sprinters like Tebogo and Thompson, leaving him playing catch-up from the gun.

In Xiamen, Coleman clocked 10.18s and finished 4th, miles off his personal best of 9.76s. This led fans to question, “Coleman should be more competitive as a former World Champ & 9.76 guy.” The disappointment stems from how far he’s fallen from elite form, especially when past accolades raise expectations of podium finishes. After another unimpressive outing in Keqiao, the statement “My brother Coleman seems to be washed; what is wrong with you, man?” echoed the growing belief that his prime may be over.

While peers like Simbine and Thompson are climbing, Coleman seems to be spiraling, with little sign of resurgence. Despite a slight improvement from Xiamen to Keqiao, fans weren’t buying into the “early season” excuse. One comment summed up the mood: “Coleman, with another horrible race, it’s the start of the season, but man, do better than this.”

Even in May, consistent underperformance from a former world champion is stirring frustration, not patience. Thus, with the situation looking extremely complicated, it now remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.