When you watch champion sprinter Kai Cole, the way he blasts through the track is almost dizzying.
His time in the 100 meters at a recent conference meet should have automatically qualified him for the U.S. Olympic qualifiers, but an administrative error by the Collegiate Athletic Conference appears to have prevented him from pursuing his Olympic dream.
Cole ran a relay at Alexandria City High School in northern Virginia with Noah Lyles, who this week booked his ticket to Paris with a come-from-behind victory in the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials. Cole recently completed his senior year at Norfolk State University, where he might have had the chance to run with his former high school teammate.
In March, Cole won the 100-meter dash at the Middle East Athletic Conference (MEAC) Outdoor Championships in an official time of 10.05 seconds.
Cole didn't know that her time had automatically qualified her for the U.S. Olympic Trials until she got a call from a fellow athlete from her fraternity.
“This is amazing. I wasn't expecting that,” Cole said of his excitement upon finding out.
But what happened next baffled him.
Even though Cole was fast enough, the United States Track and Field Federation (USATF) denied her the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Trials because the event was not sanctioned by USATF.
“Due to a change in USATF policy, this event is no longer officially sanctioned,” the MEAC said in a statement.
“It sounds like you're trying to shift the responsibility onto someone else,” Cole countered.
USATF told News 4 the change was made one year before the conference championships and in March 2023, Cole's final year of collegiate eligibility.
Cole's former coach said he quickly recognized the sprinter's unique talent.
“I did some drills with him and he nailed them, and I thought, 'Wow, this kid's going to be special,'” said Kwaku Attoh, who coached Cole as a freshman at Wesley, where Cole won a Division III national indoor championship in the 60 meters before transferring to Norfolk State University.
Atto said he was disappointed that Cole never got the chance to compete at a higher level.
“For someone who's worked hard and done the right things and is starting to see the fruits of their labor, it's pretty disappointing to not achieve their goals and not get to where they should be,” he said.
USATF said Cole was one of just 15 athletes denied applications out of about 1,500 qualified to compete.
Cole said he was frustrated.
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“When you have the opportunity to ride with the best people in the world and then something outside of your control stops that, you can't help but wonder why you even did it,” he asked.
Although Cole's opportunities were taken from him, no one can deny the fact that he put in the time to get to the next level.
