United States sprinter and Olympic Games 100m bronze medalist Fred Kerley has revealed he was petrified ahead of the 100m final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.Kerley finished the race in third place in 9.81s behind winner and countryman Noah Lyles (9.79s), as well as Jaimaca's Kishane Thompson who took second in 9.79s.The lead-up to the eye-catching 100m event was encapsulated in tension as the nine-finalist lined up for the ultimate showdown.After taking turns to make their appearance in their respective lanes, there was a long delay before the start gun, as athletes were made to wait in their lanes - with some resorting to pacing to-and-fro, while others took a stand-still approach.The long pause, which lasted for about five to 10 minutes before the finalist flew out of the starting blocks took its toll on the outcome as reminisced by Fred Kerley."I feel like we waited too long, so my heart was just beating, beating, beating, beating fast, so I'm ready to run; and then just went away," he told former U.S sprinter Justin Gatlin on the Ready Set Go podcast."You probably would have saw a faster race out there of everybody.
So, I feel like the 9.7's, even the person that ran the 9.91, we all could have run something that the world was not ready to watch it would happened five minutes earlier," he added.Despite the wait, the 100m final served fans with one of the most exciting Olympic Track and Field races in athletic history as both Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson, just as they had done before the race's commencement, had to wait for the final verdict on deciding the winner, as both men crossed the finish line at the same time.Lyles, however, annexed his first Olympic gold after narrowly edging out Kishane Thompson after a photo finish showed.Kerley, making the podium with Noah Lyles, took the third and first positions respectively for the United States.