Fred Kerley, the 2022 World Champion in the 100m, has parted ways with his primary sponsor, ASICS, after a dramatic New York City Grand Prix.
Kerley, who signed with ASICS in February 2023 after his contract with Nike expired, was looking to rebound in 2024 following a disappointing 2023 season where he failed to qualify for the World Championship final.
Despite a season’s best of 10.11 seconds in the 100m, ranking him 11th among American sprinters, and a 20.17-second run in the 200m, placing him ninth, Kerley has struggled to regain his top form.
At the recent NYC Grand Prix, Kerley was the main attraction for the 100m race and certainly provided entertainment, but not in the way you’d think.
Controversy arose when Kerley was seen in the warmup area wearing Puma spikes, deviating from his sponsored ASICS gear.
Then, during the race, Kerley slipped out of the starting blocks twice in Lane 5. After intense discussions with officials, he chose not to start the race and left the track, quoting “elementary blocks.”
“As a veteran, they was just taking too long,” Kerley said of his situation on the starting line to a Runner’s World reporter. “I was asking them a question for some new blocks. One of my pads was broken. I slipped the first time, and then I slipped the second time. It was not about to happen a third time…I was not DQ’ed.”
All this commotion drew significant attention, especially from the Netflix SPRINT documentary crew that was following him.
ASICS Confirms End Of Sponsorship
Following the meet in NYC, where Kerley was seen wearing Puma spikes, ASICS soon confirmed the end of their sponsorship agreement with Kerley.
This situation is similar to an incident from February 2023 when Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs wore Nike spikes at the European Indoor Championships despite being sponsored by Puma.
Kerley later said “I ain’t switch it up. I left my bag at the airport,” saying that he left his bag at the airport, which led to his wearing Puma spikes.
Kerley’s agent confirmed the sponsorship split, and Kerley posted a video of himself training in Puma spikes on Instagram with the caption, “What’s understood don’t need to be explained.” Later, he tweeted photos of himself in the spikes without any caption.
Kerley plans to compete in both the 100m and 200m at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. The first round of the men’s 100m begins on Saturday, June 22, with the semifinals and final on Sunday, June 23.
