University of Tennessee Athletics
Coleman For The Bowerman
June 27, 2017 | Track & Field
Tennessee junior sprinter Christian Coleman became the second person in NCAA history to ever win all four sprinting championships in one year as he took the 60m and 200m titles during the indoor season and backed it up with 100m and 200m national championships outdoors. He didn't only win, he etched his name at the top of the record book as the only person in the top-10 of all four sprinting events. Coleman ranks in the top two in collegiate history of all four disciplines and is the 2017 world leader in all four events.
The Bowerman Award was established in 2009 to honor the best student-athlete in collegiate track & field. Coleman has recorded one of the best seasons by a sprinter in NCAA history and is the top contender for the 2017 award. Vote for Christian to become Tennessee's first-ever Bowerman Award winner by following the link below.
Christian Coleman is just the second person to ever win four individual sprint trophies in one year.
2017 Championships
- NCAA Outdoor Champion - 100m
- NCAA Outdoor Champion - 200m
- NCAA Indoor Champion - 60m
- NCAA Indoor Champion - 200m
- SEC Outdoor Champion - 100m
- SEC Outdoor Champion - 200m
- SEC Champion - 60m
- SEC Runner-up - 200m
2017 Awards
- USTFCCCA National Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year
- USTFCCCA National Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
- Bowerman Finalist
- Bowerman Watch List (All 8 watch lists of 2017)
- 2017 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Amateur Athlete of the Year
- 2017 SEC Commisioner's Trophy (High Meet Scorer at SEC Outdoor Championship)
- USTFCCCA South Region Outdoor Runner of the Year
- USTFCCCA South Region Indoor Runner of the Year
- First-Team Outdoor All-American - 100m
- First-Teamn Outdoor All-American - 200m
- First-Team Indoor All-American - 60m
- First-Team Indoor All-American - 200m
- All-SEC Outdoor First Team
- All-SEC Indoor First Team
- Two-time USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week
- Five-time SEC Runner of the Week
Director of track & field/cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan Quote: "Christian Coleman continues to impress. He is a young person who is of unique capabilities; to be able to execute under pressure the way that he does shows the maturity of an athlete that is beyond his years. We are absolutely thrilled to see him accomplish and represent and help take Tennessee track and put it back on the map. We are thrilled he is part of our fabric and our excited about his future."
Christian Coleman in the starting blocks at the SEC Championship where he became the first collegian to ever run wind-legal times under 10 seconds in the 100m and under 20 seconds in the 200m on the same day.
Outdoor Season
Coleman set the collegiate record in the 100m in the prelims of the NCAA Championship as he recorded a time of 9.82 seconds. That mark obliterated the previous record by .07 seconds. He then went on to win the National Championship in both the 100m and 200m dashes. At the NCAA East Prelims, Coleman notched the second-fastest time in collegiate history with a time of 19.85.
At the SEC Championship, Coleman did something no collegian has ever done. He posted wind-legal times under 10 seconds in the 100m and under 20 seconds in the 200m on the same day. He was just the eighth individual in track and field history to ever pull off this feat. Those times propelled him to two SEC Championships and the Commissioner's Trophy as the high point scorer at one of the best track meets in the world.
Assistant Coach (Sprints) Tim Hall Quote: "I just think Christian Coleman is a true example of an individual who just willed his way to be one of the best sprinters in the history of track and field. It has been an absolute joy to encounter an athlete like this; who just sets an example, works hard, listens, is very coachable and is able to allow all that to work to his benefit in a championship setting. He went out and exemplified what it means to be a winner, a champion and a true Vol For Life. I could not be more proud of him. There's more to come, he's going to be a star."
Christian Coleman recorded the sixth-fastest 60m and the third-fastest indoor 200m in world history earlier this year.
Indoor Season
Coleman's accolades during outdoor season came on the back of one of the most historic indoor meets in collegiate history. He was named USTFCCCA National Indoor Runner of the Year after a sterling performance at the NCAA Indoor Championship.
Coleman tied the collegiate record in the 60m dash with a time of 6.45 seconds as he notched the largest margin of victory in NCAA Championship history. He then came back to run the fourth-fastest time ever recorded in an indoor 200m as he posted a time of 20.11. The 200m mark also ranked as the second-fastest 200m ever recorded by a collegian as he claimed his second consecutive indoor 200m title.
Christian Coleman Quote: "This is something that no one has ever done, except for another Tennessee Vol, Justin Gatlin. It is a special moment for both of us and it means a lot to me. It was very important to me to win, but I strive to do better. I never like to put a limit on how fast I can go. I just try to go out there and execute to the best of my ability, listen to my coach and the sky is the limit."
