Fred Kerley didn’t walk into 2025; he walked into one giant rollercoaster this year. In the very first month of the year, he was arrested in Miami Beach after a dispute with police. In Kingston, he clocked a time of 10.30 s for the 7th place in the 100m and 20.39s for 3rd in the 200m. And just when you thought the athlete was getting back on track, more legal trouble followed…

A day before the Miami Grand Slam Track, he ended up getting arrested on the grounds of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Not only did this mean he had to opt out of the Miami slam, but he was also suspended from the Philadelphia GST as well. But then he showed signs of a comeback. He lit up the Franson Last Chance Meet by blasting a 9.95s in the prelims, then tearing out a wind‑aided 9.87s in the semis, and sealing the weekend with a 9.98s victory in the final, all under 10 seconds. But then again, he has fallen flat, leaving the fans frustrated.

The Olympian is once again back to clocking over 10 seconds in the 100 meters. On July 11, 2025, he was lined up on the track for the 100 m in the Grand Sprint Cerritos Summer Series in California, and he did not clock one sub-10 in the race. Although his 10.19s (1.0) in the 100m finals was the winning time, it fell short of Fred Kerley’s level, and his 10.7s in the heats were also not impressive. A fan just asked, “I don’t know about y’all but I’m concerned for Fred. He has been having a rough go on and off the track.”

Fred has shown flashes of who he used to be on the track, like that wind-aided 9.87 at Franson, but none of it has stuck. The momentum fades as quickly as it builds, and now, it’s not just about slow times. The weight of the legal troubles hangs over everything. No matter how fast he runs, he can’t outrun what’s happening off the track. And fans are left wondering just when he’ll bounce back.

Fans voice out against Fred Kerley’s poor form

One of the major concerns among the fans has been that the 30-year-old athlete has not been on the track of a big or prominent competition other than GST. Listen to this fan saying, “I’m Confused…. Is he running at small meets for workouts or money? Cuz he ain’t been running at big meets,” or this comment from another fan, “No wonder he didn’t race at Prefontaine”, both of them voice out the same concern. Other than the debut Grand Slam track, the Olympic gold medalist raced at a couple of Diamond Leagues.

He claimed a 3rd-place double in Rabat on May 25, 2025, clocking 10.07s in the 100 m and 20.16s in the 200 m. In Doha on May 16, however, he showed up only in the 200 m, but did not reach the podium among event finalists. Meanwhile, he skipped the early-season China legs, specifically Xiamen (April 26) and Shanghai (May 3), with no entries or results listed in those events. He even skipped the Prefontaine Classic, an event not many like to miss.

One other person commented, “fred not making the team”. The 2025 World Athletics Championships will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from September 13 to September 21, 2025, at the National Stadium—marking the 20th edition of the global track and field showpiece. The 2025 USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships—which double as the World Championships Trials for Team USA—will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from July 31 to August 3, 2025.

This four-day meet determines team selection for the Tokyo World Championships. That is where Fred would have to perform to get into the team that will fly to Tokyo. Can he do it? Let us know your thoughts