The Diamond League season this time around in glittering Shanghai led to the unthinkable, with Christian Coleman not getting the momentum he wished for. On April 27th, sprinters like Coleman, Fred Kerley, Akani Simbine, Ackeem Blake, Rohan Watson, Brandon Carnes, Yoshihide Kiryu, and Guanfeg Chen aimed to shine in the men’s 100 meters, setting the stage for an exciting season ahead. However, the tables turned as the US was left stunned when victory went to a South African sprinter instead of American track and field’s sweetheart.

Akani Simbine clinched the race with a time of 10.01 seconds. Interestingly, in this race, Coleman came in 2nd (10.04) and Kerley came 3rd (10.11). Notably, this wasn’t Simbine’s first season-best time. He even secured the South African title in the championship last week as well, running the same time of 10.01.

Going into the race as an underdog and competing in his first competition outside home soil this year, his performance was exceptional. But the question comes as to why Coleman was the crowd’s favorite.

Why Was Christian Coleman the crowd favorite?

Coleman was on his best performance on the stomping grounds in the Diamond League Meeting series opener in Xiamen last weekend. Coleman won over former World Champion Fred Kerley, where he clocked an impressive 10.13 seconds. This will set a precedence for what’s to come next. Even a day before, on 26th April, Coleman boldly set his sights on surpassing Usain Bolt’s iconic 100-meter record of 9.58 seconds, believing it was achievable given the current talent pool and optimal conditions.

“It seems like the times being run, 9.58 is obviously an extraordinary time but honestly I feel like it’s a lot of guys who are competing today who are not that far off, if the track gods see fit for it to happen,” Coleman told reporters on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Shanghai Diamond League. It’s worth noting Jamaica’s Bolt set his 100m record in Berlin in 2009. American Tyson Gay is the second quickest after Bolt with a time of 9.69 set in Shanghai the same year.

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This year, on March 1st, Christian Coleman achieved a remarkable feat by defeating his teammate and triple-world champion Noah Lyles at the Glasgow arena, clocking a world-leading time of 6.41 seconds. Coleman’s world record of 6.34 seconds has remained unbroken since 2018. Lyles in Glasgow secured the silver medal in 6.44 seconds, while Ackeem Blake of Jamaica claimed the bronze with a time of 6.46 seconds. But the competition’s not over yet–there are still 12 more rounds for the Diamond league to ensue, with the next one on May 10th. Keep an eye out for what happens next!