Tylertown native Jordan Anthony is a world champion.
Anthony, 21, logged a world-leading time of 6.41 seconds to claim 60m gold at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland on Friday. The speedy Mississippian, who recently capped his collegiate career as a wide receiver on the University of Arkansas football team, earned the achievement mere months after turning pro.
His 6.41 time was the best among a field that included Jamaican native and Olympic silver medalist Kishane Thompson, who landed at 6.45. Anthony has now recorded the joint-fourth-fastest finish in the event’s history, and is the fourth-youngest man to don the world indoor 60m crown.
“My fellow Tylertown native, Jordan Anthony, is making our town and state proud! Congratulations to Jordan for winning the 60m gold at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships,” Elee Reeves, the First Lady of Mississippi, wrote on social media. “Jordan is also ranked No. 4 on the all-time world list!”
Running three rounds of the 60m on Friday, Anthony opened with a 6.54 preliminary win, before claiming a semifinal victory over Azu in 6.43 to match his previous career best. Anthony then claimed the 11th 60m title by an American since the World Indoor Championships started in 1985. Double winners have included Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman.
“I used to play college football, and I performed in front of a lot more people, but coming out here today made me a bit more excited,” Anthony said in a press conference after the event. “This felt easy for me. This proves to me I picked the right sport. I am looking forward to the outdoor season.”
His big win did not come without drama. A day and a half before the big event, Jordan developed a blood clot he said to be “the size of a golf ball” after a doping control officer unintentionally injected a needle in the wrong spot in his arm, The Guardian reported.
Medics with the U.S. track and field team were able to get the swelling reduced, though Anthony couldn’t sleep on that side of his body or move his arm — the night before the big races. Noting that “the devil is always going to try” to stop him from earning a gold medal, Anthony did not allow adversity to overcome him, and instead, made history.