Schoolboy, 16, beats Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint record to qualify for world championships
Schoolboy, 16, beats Usain Bolt’s 100m sprint record to qualify for world championships
The teenager set the time at the Inter High School Championships in Japan, winning the race comfortably with the runner in second setting a time of 10.27 seconds. Picture: Alamy
By Josef Al Shemary
A 16-year-old schoolboy has broken the world record for the fastest 100m time ever by an under-18 athlete, beating Usain Bolt’s time when the Jamaican legend was 20.
Sorato Shimizu ran the 100m sprint in a staggering 10.00 seconds flat during a track meet in Hiroshima.
This beats the previous record held by two young running prodigies, the American Christian Miller and Thai Puripol Boonson, who ran the 100m in 10.06 seconds.
The teenager set the time at the Inter High School Championships in Japan, winning the race comfortably with the runner in second setting a time of 10.27 seconds.
After blitzing over the finish line Shimizu was visibly overcome with joy, stretching out his arms in celebration and clearly appreciating the magnitude of his achievement as his record-breaking time flashed up on the screen behind him.
Incredibly, his time not only set the new record for under-18 athletes, but also beats Usain Bolt’s fastest time as a 20-year-old.
Bolt still holds the overall 100m world record at an astonishing 9.58 seconds, which he set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.
He also holds the second- and third-fastest 100m times ever recorded, and no other runner has come close to beating his time yet.
But at 20 years old, the fastest 100m time recorded by the Jamaican legend stood at 10.03 seconds – although Bolt was more focused on the 200m race at that point in his career.
Following his achievement, Shimizu said: “I was determined to run under 10 seconds heading into the final.
“I’m happy to have set a high school record. I’d like to get a taste of it if I can make it.”
Shimizu’s time means he qualifies for the Athletics World Championships, which are set to be held in Tokyo this September.
Though Japan hasn’t yet published its selection criteria, and Shimizu didn’t compete in the National Championships, there are only two Japanese sprinters currently registered.
