No one knows the times that former Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt was running when he was still in his teens. But now a UK sprinter by the name of Divine Iheme, 14, is reminding the world of Bolt. The Nigerian-born UK boy has taken the world by storm as he smashed the WR in the 100m category in his age-group, at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, recently.
Divine Iheme – Remember the Name
Divine Iheme clocked only 10.30s to win the competition and enter the record books. He broke the previous record held by Jamaica’s Sachin Dennis, of 10.51s, by a big margin. If that is not enough, he was running 11.3s when he was 12. One only wonders, where this kid will reach if he continues this kind of progress. Of course the aim would be, Bolt’s WR of 9.58s, but only time will tell where he actually ends.
Indian Sprinting Standards – A Joke
This makes us also wonder, where is the Indian sprinting scene headed? Our national record stands at 10.26s by Amiya Kumar Mallick, set in 2016, and since then we haven’t lowered it. There are no upcoming sprinters, who are in fray to better the national record only, forget going under 10s. And by all means, in the next one year, a teenager would be better than our best.
In short, Iheme would easily by able to surpass India’s national record of 10.26s by next year max, having achieved 10.30s already. This might not be bothersome, but would be embarrassing to say the least, for a country that is trying to come up the ranks in athletics, and have a champion track & field athlete like Neeraj Chopra in javelin.
While there is visible progress in each and every discipline on the track, 100m sprint remains to be India’s Achilles Heel. Sure, that must be raw talent in the country, but then if there is no one to tap into them, then it’s really of no use. BTW, India’s U-18 record also is held by Amiya Kumar Mallick, at 10.65s (unverified).
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