There used to be a time when a sub-10 second 100-meter track run was an anomaly. Names like Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell were the only ones who could lay claim to that. But then something changed. A decade ago, Trayvon Browell from Baylon introduced the world of NCAA to this record with his 9.97 second run. But ten years down the line, it doesn’t seem to be as exclusive as it was. Why, you ask? Well, just in a few short hours, names like Bonda Waza and Gout Gout have already broken them. Are we seeing a new revolution? Is something changing?
Well, for that, we need to go back to 2015. It all started when Florida’s Trayvon Brawll ran a 9.97 to win an NCAA outdoor title, marking the first-ever legal sub-10 clocking by a teenager. The groundbreaking achievement lasted for a long eight years. Yep, read it correctly. There was no such record until then, but the inspiring fact is that the magic happened on the same track, and another teenager, Letsile Tebogo, in 2022, dropped the clocking time to 9.94 seconds to lower the world junior record. What after that?
According to “Track and Field Nation,” fast forward to recent times, and the trend continues. Though it took over 8 years for two athletes to make records, the last three years have been full of world records by teenagers, lowering the world junior record further. It indicates that young athletes were rapidly closing the gap with seasoned professionals. Things are changing, right?
In the past three years, we have witnessed four other sub-10 Under-20 records set by teenagers, and the recent one is by South African Olympic athlete Bayanda Walaza, who showcased his prowess by recording a 9.99-second sprint at the AAN Championships in the 100 m sprint. This not only set a national junior record but also positioned him among the elite junior sprinters globally.
Another that comes in just 48 hours is Australia’s Gout Gout. He has emerged as a sprinting sensation yet again. At just 17, in the U20 division at the Queensland athletics championships in Brisbane, Gout Gout clocked 10.39 seconds in the 100 m heat and 10.38 in the finals. A bit slower than his past records, due to wind and weather conditions. Records in 48 hours show how teenagers are going forward with their talent. And it seems a new era is to be witnessed in the track and field world.
The growth of sprinting talent worldwide
In recent years, the global sprinting landscape has experienced a remarkable transformation, challenging established records and redefining the sport’s future. One standout is Australia’s Gout Gout, who, at just 16, clocked a wind-assisted 19.98 seconds in the 200m at the Queensland Athletics State Championships. Although the tailwind exceeded legal limits, his legal 20.05-second heat time stands as the fastest 200m recorded this year.
This places him milliseconds behind Usain Bolt’s 19.93-second mark at the same age. The United States isn’t left behind, with emerging sprinters like Quincy Wilson making significant strides. Wilson set the fourth-fastest time ever recorded by an under-18 sprinter in the 100m at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in December 2024 with a scorching time of 10.04.
Not to mention, 21-year-old Letsile Tebogo got the appreciation from legend Usain Bolt himself when the Botswana sprinter won the Men’s World Athlete of the Year by World Athletics. Big deal, right? And teenagers like Gout Gout have been compared with Bolt, which is incredible. And the emerging talent is defying all odds with their talent. What do you think about these new changing track and field records and young talent? Do tell us in the comments below.
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