ATLANTA — More than 1,000 top student athletes came to Westlake High School over the weekend to show off for a man who knows firsthand what it's like to "go for the gold."
The Christian Coleman Invitational brought in more than 30 high school track and field teams from around Georgia -- including four defending state champions.
The event is named for Coleman, the world-class sprinter who grew up in metro Atlanta. He said he hopes this event can become a high-profile showcase for top prep athletes.
But he also doesn't want the athletes who participate to lose sight of simply having fun.
“When you’re in high school, there’s a lot of pressure to run fast, especially for those aspiring to go to the next level," said Coleman. “When you have opportunities to compete and be healthy and run fast, and to have events like these, the biggest thing is to have fun.”
Coleman is already trying to prepare for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Last weekend, in his first outdoor individual race of the season, he ran the fastest 200-meter time in the world so far this season -- 19.99 seconds.
Coleman missed the 2020 Olympics after receiving a two-year ban for missing a drug test. He adamantly maintained he's never used any kind of performance enhancing drugs, and the ban was later reduced -- but not by enough to allow him to compete in Tokyo.