ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — You can call 18-year-old Christian Miller the fastest teenager in the country. He's the youngest person ever to run 100 meters at 9.93 seconds.
He currently has the two fastest times for an American under 20 years old in the 100-meter at 9.93 and 9.95 seconds, getting that latest time at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor being held this weekend in Philadelphia.
He just graduated from Creekside High School, and this weekend he’ll be running to potentially be the youngest person to make Team USA in the 100-meter dash.
"The thought in my head is execute, execute, execute," Miller said during a training session with his club The St. Johns Striders.
He's been with them for a decade now, joining the Striders and head coach Ricky Fields when he was eight.
“We use a lot of data,” Fields said. He put some of his technology on display during a practice session a week before the trip to New Balance Nationals. Fields says all this work and his latest meet is strategic tapering up to the Olympic Trials.
And most of the technology being used he likes to keep his "secret sauce."
But he and Miller both know, every single step matters in the 100 meter.
“We don’t guess," Fields said. "We kind of know what you’re going to run in the meet by how you run at practice.”
“For me and coach, he gives his 110% and I give my 110% and that gets us to the time that we want,” Miller said.
The time they want is the one that’ll get Miller to Paris.
For perspective, his current personal best of 9.93 seconds would have been good enough for sixth in the 2021 Olympic Trials ahead of Tokyo.
Trayvon Bromell finished first in the 2021 trials with a time of 9.80 seconds.
But Fields and Miller both know everyone has gotten bigger, faster and stronger. So they train for every meter of the race, trying to pull all they can out of the sprinter.
According to USA Track and Field, there are 36 runners will make up the field in the 100 meter.
Miller is currently the third overall seed behind pros Christian Coleman and Noah Lyles who both enter at 9.83 seconds.
“Something faster is in the works,” said Griffin Miller, Christian's dad.
"We're going to do whatever we can to support him, and whatever happens, we're just super excited to see it," he said.
“Having that support system of coaches, family and teammates behind you, it’s a great feeling and great support to get to those times you want,” Christian said.
With a couple of potential options on the table, a trip to Paris for Miller is very possible.
If he finishes Top 3 in the trials, he's off to Paris and will represent Team USA.
If he finishes in the Top 6, then he likely would be chosen to be in the relay pool for Team USA and would still make the trip to the Olympics.
“Not only will I be insanely excited, and that my hard work and trust in God has paid off, kids will be able to see that when you put 110% into something and all your faith in God, let him carry you through this track career, just a great lesson to teach everyone and something to show the world,” Miller said.
When we asked Fields what he thought Miller's chances were to make it to Paris, he kept it measured.
Fields knows it's still a long way to go, and says he does not want anyone to get ahead of themselves. But he is excited for the trip to the trials in Oregon.
“We’ll see, I’m not going to say much," Fields said. "Just get your popcorn ready.”