An Aussie Underdog | Beck Welcomes Kerley Challenge in Sydney

Sometimes, the fastest man in the world needs to remind people of just that. With one arm aloft cruising to victory in Melbourne, Fred Kerley teased the crowd with a taste of his talent. But will the big American decide that the time for games is over in Sydney? Alex Beck hopes so.

One lap at Saturday’s Chemist Warehouse Sydney Track Classic will serve as Kerley’s final stop on his Australian tour, with one of only three men in history to break 10-seconds for 100m, 20-seconds for 200m, and 44-seconds for 400m set to flex his versatility after dominating at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne.

Olympian Alex Beck watched in awe from home on that occasion as Kerley coasted to the most casual of 20.32-second performances to take out the Peter Norman 200m, and when many would retreat – Beck finds himself charging into war:

“A few years ago, I definitely would have been intimidated going up against someone with the calibre of Fred, but in the last couple of years I have raced guys like Michael Norman - the reigning world champion,” Beck said.

“I am so excited to put myself in that environment where you know he is going to go well, probably 44-seconds or better, because it’s an opportunity to put yourself out there and see what you can do.”

Clocking his personal best of 45.54 at his Olympic debut in Tokyo, Beck has spearheaded Australia’s 400m stocks alongside Steve Solomon, but the 31-year-old is under no illusions that the domestic standard must lift – starting with tackling the eighth fastest man in history at 43.64-seconds this Saturday.

“44-seconds is the standard now, for both the Olympics and World Championships. That’s a major stepping stone for myself, Steve and the rest of the guys to get consistently. That’s the place that Australian 400m runners need to be,” Beck said.

“Unfortunately, 46-low is not good enough, we know and acknowledge that we need to get better. The best way we can do that is to race guys like Fred and each other, it is only going to come with competition and we have some really good young guys coming through.”

So, how do you race against the fastest man in the world who is determined to break the world record of 43.03-seconds sooner rather than later? For Beck, the answer is simple:

“I am going to go out hard with him and if we die, we die, but we are going to die trying,” he said.  

“Who doesn’t love an Aussie underdog? It doesn’t get any more underdog status than being up against the best in the world.”

With Kerley’s Melbourne triumph in the back of his mind, Beck is eager to ensure that there will be no time for premature celebrations or showboating at Sydney Olympic Park – despite holding the utmost respect for the international star as the Australian athletics scene enjoys a renaissance.

“The most impressive thing is that he didn’t beat amateurs in Melbourne. We had an Olympic semi-finalist [Rohan Browning], then Calab [Law] and Aidan [Murphy] are World Championship representatives. Calab came third at World Juniors!” Beck said.

“To be able to recruit the guy with the calibre of Fred, the reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist is a testament to the direction Athletics Australia and the domestic season is going. The rising tide lifts all ships and you are going to see that in Sydney.”

The Men’s 400m at the Sydney Track Classic will also feature rising star Aidan Murphy, Japan’s Kentaro Sato and a host of homegrown talent. Full fields can be found HERE.

Purchase your tickets HERE.

By Lachie Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 7/3/2023