On a night of dizzying speed and freakish drama, track and field found itself a new sprint sensation. It came in the form of Jordan Anthony, a 21-year-old American with one heck of a story, along with the first global gold medal around his neck.
“The devil is always going to try, but I will never let him stop me from getting a gold medal,” he said after winning one of the great world indoor championships 60m races of all time in 6.41secs, the fourth-fastest time in history.
And then it all came gushing out. Just 36 hours before his victory, Anthony had been left with a blood clot that he claimed was “the size of a soccer ball” after a doping control officer accidentally injected the needle in the wrong place in his arm.
While a swift intervention from US track and field doctors had reduced the swelling, Anthony had found himself unable to sleep on that side, or able to move his arm properly, before the biggest race of his young life.
“When they took blood, he didn’t stick it in my vein but outside, so I got a clot the size of a soccer ball,” he said. “That is why my arm is taped up. But it is what it is. Nothing can stop me.”
He then pointed to the large tattoos on his back, of his aunt and cousin. “My aunt passed a year ago, my cousin passed four years ago before I got to college, so I put them in my back,” he said. “So as I’m winning physically, they’re winning spiritually.”
Behind Anthony was a blanket of fast finishers that took officials several minutes to decipher. Finally the scoreboard showed that the Jamaican Kishane Thompson had taken silver and Trayvon Bromell of the US had won bronze in 6.45sec. Which was terrible news for Britain’s Jeremiah Azu, who missed out on the podium by 0.01sec.
“I’ve gone 6.45 and 6.46sec back to back. I think that’s No 2 and No 3 in the UK all time,” said Azu. “But I would have rather run seven seconds and win the race.”
You felt Azu’s pain. Not only was his time faster than when he had won this title in Nanjing last year, albeit against a much weaker field, it also would have won a medal in every previous world indoor championships.
But this night was all about Anthony, who played wide receiver for the Arkansas Razorbacks in college football before deciding nine months ago to turn professional in athletics. Asked why he had given up his dream of playing in the NFL, Anthony was blunt. “I made the decision because, as you can see, nobody’s running at me to hit me,” he said.
Anthony, who is part of Olympic 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles’ training group in Florida, said that Lyles had told him to expect the unexpected, which turned out to be some prophesy.
However, as he revealed afterwards, he had left nothing to chance. “The thing is, I was not nervous,” he said. “I haven’t been nervous since I got off the plane. I haven’t slept that much due to the fact I’m a big student of the game. I love watching different people race. I love knowing who I’m running against, so I am going to the field of play and being a student.
“It’s just like me playing football,” he said. “I’ve got to watch film on the other team. I don’t think a lot of people in track and field do that, but because they feel like they are just better. But me, personally, I like having the mind game.
“I know what your tendencies are. I know your pros and cons. But if you want to go into a race blinded, not knowing what I do good at and what I do bad at, that’s on you.”
The worrying news for his opponents? Anthony believes he has a lot more to give in the years ahead when he will target gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“The final was a great race but I still have a lot left in the tank,” he said. “Most importantly, I did my debut right and I am bringing the gold medal back to the USA. I used to play college football and I performed in front of a lot more people but coming out here today made me a bit more excited. This felt easy for me. This proves to me I picked the right sport. And I am looking forward to the outdoor season.”