JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The fastest teenager in the country is skipping college and going professional.
Creekside graduate and two-time All-News4JAX track and field athlete of the year Christian Miller announced on Friday morning that he is bound for the professional running circuit. It comes on the heels of a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month. Miller was a candidate to make the relay team pool but was bypassed for the trip to Paris.
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Miller had signed with the University of Georgia and was the headliner of the Bulldogs signing class. Now, he’ll concentrate solely on competing professionally.
In an Instagram post, Miller thanked God, family friends, teammates and coaches for the support through his track journey and decision.
“After weeks of consultation with family, mentors and coaches I have decided to forego my NCAA eligibility and pursue a professional career as a full-time track and field athlete. I’m excited for what comes next and can’t wait to bring you all on this journey with me,” Miller said in the post.
Miller’s stratospheric rise this year has been one of the most remarkable stories in track and field history.
Miller ran a 9.93 in the PURE Athletics Sprint Elite Meet on May 11 in Clermont, a time that only one U20 athlete, Montverde Academy’s Issam Asinga (9.89) has gone lower on. Asinga’s mark at the South American Athletics in 2023 could be wiped out after he was banned for four years and his record stripped following a failed performance-enhancing drug test. Asinga is currently appealing that decision. Miller’s 9.93, followed by a 9.95 at the New Balance Nationals in June put him in another echelon.
His showing at the trials in Oregon pushed Miller into the elite realm.
Miller has now put up four 100s in the 9s (three of them wind-legal), a feat that gets better and better the farther removed from it that he gets.