Sometimes breaking records is the only one for someone to notice them. And for one collegiate athlete from Tennessee, this is exactly what happened in 2024. The 22-year-old nearly came within 0.02 seconds of breaking Sha’Carri Richardson’s 100m record at the NCAA Division I Championships. That was her way of introducing herself to the people.

The fans got hyped about the new kid on the track and field circuit, but then injury derailed her Olympics dream. However, fate hasn’t been able to keep her quiet for long. She is back again and has already started right from where she left off. Winning the 60m event at the Millrose Games with a world-leading 7.02 seconds, Jacious Sears is back again as the talk of the town.

Away from the track, Nike also recently signed a contract with her. With all the chatter going on, an Olympic legend himself weighed in on the new star, and let’s just say he is impressed.

2004 Olympics Gold winner thinks other sprinters should be wary of Jacious Sears

Who doesn’t know Justin Gatlin? The 2004 Athens Olympics gold winner in the 100m sprint. Besides that, he also has 4 gold medals at the World Championships. So, when he says Jacious Sears is doing something special, you listen. In his podcast, “Ready Set Go,” Gatlin explained what differentiates Sears from the others.

He mentions, “These 60m ladies should be, should be a little scared, should be a little nervous because she (Sears) runs with the intent of creating space. She’s not looking to be in traffic and trying to pull off the win by a narrow margin. She is running a race pattern that generates a lot of acceleration, a lot of velocity.”

That has to be an elite competitor, isn’t it? Trying to be outright winners rather than just beating your competition. That’s why the world records are not safe! According to Gatlin, her preparations and the way she is training will help her dominate the outdoor circuit too. “She’s being coached very well to do so and you could tell that same race pattern that she’s had right now will be very beneficial for her going into the 100 meters outdoors,” he mentions.

Gatlin continues his praise towards both Sears and her coach, saying, “So I can see that if she goes and finishes off her 60 m season at a high level, her 100m season is going to be basically mirroring what she did indoors.” That’s just top-tier validation for Jacious Sears right there. If the saying goes “takes one to know one,” let’s just say Sears will hope Gatlin is right.

The Olympics legend had even more praise for the 23-year-old: “She has been building week by week to be a stronger, faster athlete and it’s showing all in her competitive races.” The mark of a champion is to be different from the rest. They have an insatiable hunger and desire to want more, to be the best. Jacious Sears has shown she doesn’t race to beat her competitors. She challenges the world records. And she isn’t relaxing. She already has a target in mind.

After nearly breaking Sha’Carri Richardson’s record, Sears targets another world record

After the Millrose Games, Sears has boldly told Flotrack she wants to claim the 60m indoor world record: “Oh yeah, I want it bad, I want it.” That means she has to beat the 6.92-second mark set by Irina Privalova in 1993. Well, we are intrigued. She is so far unbeaten in the 2025 season. The injury seems to have not been able to limit her in any way.

She trusts her coaching and training and believes she is only going to get faster: “I’m just continuing to run the race model that my coach (Duane) Ross and coach (Ron) Garner are giving me. I think that the more that I execute it, the faster my time will be.” Well, that’s not what her competition will want to hear. Not even Sha’Carri Richardson.

The 2025 US indoor track and field title is on the line, which will take place on March 14-15 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Will Sears extend her unbeaten start to the 2025 season here? More importantly, with Sears, it’s the time that we have to keep an eye on. She has just taken the track and field world by storm.

People are discussing the real chances of her being on the US team that goes to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The way she’s performing and her being on the US team seems like a no-brainer. If anything is making people think, it’s Jacious Sears’ ceiling and how high it is.