University of Tennessee Athletics
Coleman Earns Spot on Team USA 4x100
July 11, 2016 | Track & Field
Women's Long Jump - Tianna Bartoletta (VFL, formerly Tianna Madison)
Women's 100m - Tianna Bartoletta
Men's 100m - Justin Gatlin
Men's Discus - Tavis Bailey
Men's 200m - Justin Gatlin
Men's 4x100 - Christian Coleman
Women's 200m - Kali Davis-White
EUGENE, Ore. -- Tennessee's Christian Coleman has earned a spot on Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics as a member of the men's 4x100 relay, as announced by USA Track and Field on Sunday.
Coleman was outstanding in the men's 100 meters at the 2016 U.S. Trials. He ran at a world-class level, clocking the second-fastest time in the first round at 9.96 (+2.4) and the third-fastest time in the semifinals with a PR 9.95 (+1.7). Coleman finished sixth in the 100-meter final with a time of 10.03 (+1.6).
He joins fellow current UT track student-athlete Kali Davis-White and Team USA VFLs Justin Gatlin, Tianna Bartoletta and Tavis Bailey as Tennessee stars competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, which run from Aug. 5-21 with coverage on NBC. Gatlin will compete in the men's 100 meters and 200 meters. Bartoletta (formerly Tianna Madison) will also represent the U.S. in two events - the women's long jump and the women's 100 meters. Bailey will compete for the Stars and Stripes in the men's discus. UT rising senior Davis-White will compete for Jamaica in the women's 200 meters.
Coleman enjoyed a spectacular 2016 sophomore season. He was named a 2016 USTFCCCA Indoor Track & Field First Team All-American for the 60m, 200m, and 4x400m relay and captured the 200m national title. He was also the 2016 SEC Indoor Champion in the 60m. Colman was the 2016 SEC Men's Indoor Runner of the Year and USTFCCCA South Regional Athlete of the Year. He garnered USTFCCCA Outdoor Track & Field First Team All-American honors in June after taking second place in both the 100 meters and 200 meters at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He set a new Tennessee record with a 10.03 in the 100-meter semifinals at NCAAs, breaking Gatlin's 2002 school mark of 10.05. Coleman qualified for both the 100 meters and the 200 meters in next month's U.S. Olympic Trials. Last month, he was honored by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame as its Male Amateur Athlete of the Year.
