It’s been an eventful week in track and field with Noah Lyles racing IShowSpeed, Sprint Part 2, and a Fred Kerley vs. Cole Hocker showdown. So Ready Set Go hosts Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green had a lot to talk about. After Speed’s impressive showing against the Olympic champion, Green once again commented on NFL star Tyreek Hill racing Lyles.

In a race that may seem never materialize, Green explained how Hill may have the best window of opportunity to beat Lyles, “I know Tyreek ain’t stopping this season to race nobody. This would be his best shot, though. His best shot is to race right now while he’s priming.” said the Rodney Green. However, it was Fred Kerley vs. Cole Hocker’s verbal tiff that called for a lot of speculation.

Justin Gatlin brought up how Hocker recently stirred the pot in an interview with Grand Slam Track. The reigning 1500m Olympic champion expressed his confidence in beating his fellow American track and field star in an unorthodox 600m race. However, the former athletes hosting Ready Set Go broke down how things won’t be simple for either athlete.

Discussing the details of the race, Gatlin explained how Fred Kerley’s best bet would be a fast start. As a season 100m and 200m sprinter, Gatlin felt confident Kerley would get the faster start. However, the fifth-fastest man in history also advised Kerley to “keep that distance on him (Hocker),” initially. That’s because Hocker could make up the deficit later in the race. Yet, the Olympic gold medalist would need to pace himself perfectly. “He can’t get out fast too because then he’ll burn himself,” argued co-host Rodney Green.

Going into further detail, Gatlin summarized what both athletes need to do for a shot at bragging rights. “This is what gonna happen, Cole, has to show his foot speed from the beginning, conservatively,” said Gatlin. Meanwhile, the two-time Olympic medalist would have to do the opposite. “Fred, you’re going to have to hold top-end speed longer than you usually hold,” said Gatlin.

“He’s been a 100-meter runner for a couple of years now he’s kind of jumping back into the 200. we haven’t seen him in the 400, we don’t know how his workouts go in that area,” explained the 42-year-old five-time Olympic medalist. On that note, Gatlin and Green also had a word of caution.

Is Fred Kerley making a mistake in brushing off his fellow track and field icon’s challenge?

“600 meters is a tall order,” agreed Justin Gatlin and Rodney Green. Cole Hocker’s analysis of how the race would play outmatched a lot of what Gatlin and Green discussed. “Maybe I’m giving myself the benefit of the doubt in the 600m even but after the 400m, it turns to strength, like distance strength and he is going to gap me by like 20m, and then I’m going to come back.,” Hocker claimed in the GST interview.

Fred Kerley’s personal best of 43.64 seconds places him as the tenth fastest man in history over the 400 meters, a remarkable achievement. But what makes his feat even more impressive is that he’s one of only three men—along with Michael Norman and Wayde van Niekerk—to have gone sub-10 seconds in the 100 meters, sub-20 seconds in the 200 meters, and sub-44 seconds in the 400 meters. Given his history of breaking barriers across all these distances, it’s understandable why Fred Kerley didn’t take the challenge seriously.

He simply responded with a series of laughing emojis to the post. While the 29-year-old has since voiced his conditions for a 600-meter race, his supreme confidence remains intact. “Pick the city, no cold place. No track either, we taking it old school I want the street,” the Texas native posted on X, tagging Hocker.

The Tokyo 2020 silver medalist has no shortage of confidence. During his recent appearance on Ready Set Go, Kerley even claimed that he would “retire” Justin Gatlin from the list of the top five fastest men in history. However, despite the Olympian’s confidence, he won’t be able to afford any mistakes during the 600-meter race, as per Gatlin and Green.

While the track and field icon may have the title speed advantage over Hocker, maintaining that speed across the entire 600 meters would be an impossible task. Yet, who do you think will win the clash between the Olympic medalists? Write our views in the comments.