His personal best time of 43.64 seconds makes him the tenth fastest man in history over 400 meters.[3] During the pandemic, Kerley chose to focus on the 100 m during the Olympic cycle to improve his basic speed for future attempts at a sub-43 400 m. The decision to move down paid off as he won the silver medal in the 100 m at the2020 Tokyo Olympics with a 9.84 performance. His personal best time of 9.76 seconds makes him the seventh fastest man in history over the straightaway sprint, behindUsain Bolt,Yohan Blake,Tyson Gay,Asafa Powell,Justin Gatlin,Kishane Thompson and joint withChristian Coleman andTrayvon Bromell.
Kerley is one of only three men along withMichael Norman andWayde van Niekerk to go sub-10 seconds in 100 m, sub-20 seconds in 200 m and sub-44 seconds in 400 m.
In March 2017, he won the 400 m at theNCAA Division I Championships in a world leading time of 44.85 s, one of the top ten fastest indoor times ever. He joined his younger brother Mylik Kerley as he anchored theAggies to a come from behind victory in the4 × 400 m relay. The two first-place finishes contributed 20 points to the team, helping bring Texas A&M to their first ever team victory at the NCAA Track and Field Championships, run on their home track. In May, Kerley ran 44.09 s, just 0.09 s off the NCAA record, while easing to the finish line at theSoutheastern Conference (SEC) Championships inColumbia, South Carolina.[6] A few weeks later Kerley set theNCAA record in the men's400 m at the 2017 NCAA West Preliminary with a time of 43.70 s, taking three-tenths of a second off the 44.00 record by Olympic championQuincy Watts, set almost 25 years earlier.[7][8] Kerley had met Watts just before the race.[9] He concluded his amateur career to win the 400 m and4 × 400 m relay at the2017 NCAA Division I Championships in June.
A few weeks after turning professional and signing withNike, Kerley won the 400 m at theUSATF Championships in 44.03 seconds, qualifying to represent the United States in both the 400 m and the4 × 400 m relay at theWorld Championships inLondon. After winning his heat he finished third in his semi, but qualified for the final on time.[10] In the final he was unable to replicate his form from earlier in the season, finishing seventh in a time of 45.23 s. He came back a day later to help the US qualify for the finals in the relay, and then a few days later earned a silver medal behind Trinidad and Tobago.[11]
Training under Kevin Tyler with widely renowned club ALTIS inPhoenix, Arizona,[12] Kerley finished 3rd in the 400m at the2018 US Indoor Championships, failing to qualify for the individual 400m at the upcomingWorld Indoor Championships but making it onto the 4 × 400 m relay team. There, he helped the team to a silver medal finish.[13]
Outdoors, Kerley ran several races across the international circuit, including a win in the 400 m at theRome Diamond League.[14] However, none of his times came close to his 43.70 personal best. Despite suffering an injury in June, Kerley bounced back in August to win at the Birmingham Diamond League, before winning theDiamond League trophy for the men's 400 meters in Zurich.[15] After the season, he returned to Texas A&M to train underAlleyne Francique, stating toTrack & Field News, "I believe in him so much that I had to come back to train with him."[1]
In May, Kerley was selected to compete for the US in the 4 × 400 m relay at theIAAF World Relays, but the team was disqualified in the final.[16] He won over 400 m at theShanghai Diamond League with a time of 44.81 s,[17] and followed it up with another win at the Racers Grand Prix inKingston, Jamaica.[18] A month later, Kerley won the US title in a new personal best of 43.64 seconds, making him the 7th fastest man on the all-time rankings at the time.[19] At theWorld Championships inDoha, Kerley won the bronze medal in the 400 m with a time of 44.17 s.[20] He also helped the US to win gold in the men's 4 × 400 m relay.[21]
After theCOVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 season and delayed the2020 Summer Olympics by a year, Kerley kicked off his 2021 season with several 100 m races in order to work on his speed for the longer sprint; he broke the historic10-second barrier at the TRUfit Classic inMiami on April 24, winning in 9.91 s (+2.0 m/s).[22] On May 19, he won the men's 100 m in 9.96 s at theGolden Spike inOstrava, finishing ahead of formerOlympic andWorld championJustin Gatlin who settled for second in 10.08 s.[23] Kerley also ran in the 200 m where he placed second with a time of 20.27 s, trailingKenny Bednarek from the start who won in 19.93 s. According toReuters, Kerley was satisfied with his performances, but thought there was more work to do in his 200 m and his focus for theOlympic Trials would be 400 m.[24] However, despite finishing third over 400 m at theDoha Diamond League and winning at theFBK Games,[25][26] he decided to focus on the 100 m and 200 m at the Trials due to his ankle swelling on the turns.[citation needed] Kerley also stated that the popularity of the 100 m was another factor in his switch.[citation needed]
Despite online backlash for his decision, Kerley silenced doubters by finishing third in the 100 m at the Trials, qualifying for his first Olympic team.[27] In the 200 m, Kerley struggled through the rounds due to the turns and their impact on his ankles, and he narrowly qualified for the final on time. However, he managed to finish an impressive fourth with his first sub-20 s performance; this made him the 3rd athlete to join the "Sub 10s, 20s, 44s club for the 100m, 200m & 400m sprints", behind400 mWorld Record holderWayde van Niekerk &Michael Norman.[28]
At theOlympics inTokyo, Kerley won the silver medal in the 100 m, finishing behindMarcell Jacobs.[29] He also ran in the heats of the4 × 100 m relay as the US were eliminated in the heats.[30] Following the Olympics, Kerley placed second at thePrefontaine Classic over 100 m and at theLaussane Diamond League over 200 m.[31][32] He set a new personal best of 19.79 s over 200 m in winning theParis Diamond League.[33] At theDiamond League Final inZurich, Kerley won the 100 m in a time of 9.87 s and placed third over 200 m in 19.83 s.[34] He ended his season in September by winning over 200 m at the Kip Keino Classic inNairobi, running a time of 19.79 s.[35]
In April, Kerley won over 200 m at theUSATF Golden Games in 19.80 s, narrowly beatingMichael Norman who ran 19.83 s.[36] On 13 May, Kerley competed in his first Diamond League of the season inDoha, placing second in the 200 m.[37] He also placed second over 100 m at thePrefontaine Classic, running 9.98 s to finish behindTrayvon Bromell.[38] On 28 May, Kerley won the 100 m at theRome Diamond League in 9.92 s.[39]
At the2022 US Outdoor Championships, Kerley won the 100 m in 9.77 seconds. Kerley ran 9.76 seconds, a personal best, in the semi-final.[40] He went on to place third in the 200 m in 19.83 seconds.
In September, soon after his third-place finish in theXiamen Diamond League 100 m, Kerley announced that he was no longer coached byAlleyne Francique and would be coached byQuincy Watts, the Director of Track and Field at the University of Southern California.[51]
On 4 February, Kerley ran a personal best of 6.55 s over 60 m at theNew Balance Indoor Grand Prix.[52] In a tweet on May 14, Kerley announced that the next time he raced the 100 meter distance, he planned to breakUsain Bolt's world record of 9.58 seconds. On June 9, Kerley was scheduled to compete in the 100 meters at theNew York City Grand Prix, but forfeited the race due to apparent faulty starting blocks. After the race, he parted ways with his sponsorAsics.[53][54][55]
In September 2024, it was announced that he had signed up for the inaugural season of theMichael Johnson foundedGrand Slam Track.[61][62] He competed in theKingston Slam but missed theMiami Slam due to being arrested and charged with battery on May 1, 2025.[63][64] He was later released on bond.[65]
Kerley was charged in spring 2024 with domestic violence and robbery.[88]
Kerley was arrested in Miami Beach on January 2, 2025, after a confrontation with police escalated into a physical altercation. Authorities released bodycam footage showing Kerley arguing with officers near an active investigation scene on 9th Street, where he expressed concern about his parked vehicle. Police instructed him to leave the area, but he refused, leading to a shoving match.[89][90][91]
In May 2025, Kerley was arrested and charged with battery ahead of a planned appearance at aGrand Slam Track meet in Miami.[92][93]
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