American sprinter Christian Coleman has forgiven high school sensation Maurice Gleaton after a tense post-race moment over his remarks.
On Saturday, June 14, at the Star Athletics Sprint Series, Gleaton made headlines. He thrashed world champion Christian Coleman twice in one day. The Langston Hughes High School senior first clocked a blazing 9.87 seconds in the heats, leaving Coleman trailing at 10.03. Then in the finals, Gleaton doubled down with an astonishing 9.82, while Coleman settled for third in 9.93.
Gleaton punctuated his dominant performance with a cold stare down at the finish line. A a moment that quickly went viral, igniting debate across the track community.
Soon after, he posted a fiery Instagram story:
“@coleman? now run tell dat 9.82 you rolled.”
The post turned heads, but so did the reaction that followed. Gleaton, realizing the intensity of the moment and the stature of the man he’d just defeated, quickly backtracked. In a private message later shared by Coleman, Gleaton offered a heartfelt apology.
“I didn’t mean to be disrespectful or anything,” Gleaton wrote. “I truly look up to you and Sha’Carri… I was excited to race you and meet you two today. I hope you can forgive me and I can meet you in the right way.”
Coleman didn’t hesitate to reply, he wrote;
“All love bro and respect… Good race today and keep it rollin fasho! I’m sure we’ll cross paths in the future, no pressure from me at all… feel free to hit my phone bro.”
He signed off with a nod of mutual respect, calling Gleaton a “young bull”. He acknowledged both the young sprinter’s raw talent and his willingness to learn.
Promising Talent
But make no mistake, Gleaton’s rise isn’t just about one race or one rivalry. His performance marks a potential changing of the guard in American sprinting. As Coach Rob put it in one of the interviews.
“Maybe we’re getting ready for a changing of the guard in American sprinting. If you want to represent Team USA in the men’s short sprints, you have to go through the Avengers.”
The “Avengers” in this context are Coleman, Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley . They are men who have all held the throne at some point.
Gleaton has earned that challenge. He first broke onto the national radar when he smashed the Georgia state 100m record as a sophomore, ran 10.14s. He kept improving, eventually becoming the first high school athlete in Georgia to break 10 seconds, clocking 9.98 at last month’s Region 3-5A meet.
That run shattered the previous state record of 10.16 seconds held by none other than Christian Coleman and D’Angelo Cherry.
Now, he’s taken it a step further . This is by beating the man he once idolized and breaking into uncharted territory for a high school athlete. From a previous best of 10.25s to a scorching 9.82, Maurice Gleaton has gone from local standout to national sensation in a flash.