Former UNI Sprinter Wins Gold At World Track Championships

It was a great day for the U.S.A. at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest! American sprinters showed that they are the fastest in the world, including one who ran collegiately at the University of Northern Iowa!

Despite a program full of talent and depth, the U.S. men had not won an Olympic final since 2000, and had just one gold medal in the last seven World Championships, according to Reuters. But on Saturday, the foursome of Christian Coleman, Fred Kerley, Brandon Carnes, and Noah Lyles were nearly perfect.

The U.S. took home the gold with a blistering time of 37.38 seconds! Olympic champions Italy took the silver with Jamaica earning the bronze. But what you may not realize is that one of the sprinters on Team USA ran his college track at the University of Northern Iowa. That runner is Brandon Carnes. The 28-year-old from Florida ran track at UNI from 2014 to 2017. His brother Brion played football for the Panthers as well. During his senior season at UNI Carnes ran a personal best 10.07 in the 100 meters. In June of this year, he equaled his personal best in the 100 when he ran a 10.02 and won the Music City Track Carnival, according to Wikipedia.

Carnes ran the third leg of Saturday's 4 by 100 and took the lead before handing it to 100-meter world champion Noah Lyles who cruised to victory. Lyles won gold in the 100, 200, and the 4 by 100 in Budapest. Reuters reports that the U.S. women also took gold in the 4 by 100. Things look bright for U.S. sprinters as they prepare for the Paris Olympic games next summer.

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