16-year-old Japanese sprinter sets 100m record for U18s with staggering performance

A teenage sprinter from Japan has smashed the world record in the 100m for under 18s with a staggering performance as he won his event by a big margin.

Sorato Shimizu is only aged 16 but now has an athletics world record to his name after running the 100m in 10 seconds flat.

He has been competing at the Inter High School Championships in his native Japan and won the race he competed in - with the second placed athlete running 10.27 seconds with Shimizu having a margin of nearly three tenths of a second.

After crossing the finish line, Shimizu clearly knew the magnitude of his performance as he jumped for joy and outstretched his arms in celebration, before his time flashed up on the timing screen.

The time also beats the world record for the 100m for that age group - which stood at 10.06 seconds and was jointly held.

Christian Miller set the time at the USA U20 Championships in July 2023, while Puripol Boonson of Thailand clocked the same number at the Asian Games in September 2023, with both aged 17 when they set the record.

The time is also significant for Shimuzu's future career aspirations and where he might perform in just a few months from now.

Sorato Shimizu has set a new U18 world record in the 100m.

Setting a time of 10 seconds in the 100m is the minimum that World Athletics requires to take part in the World Championships, which just so happens this year to be taking place in Shimizu's home country as Tokyo hosts the meeting in September.

Though the Japan Association of Athletics Federations have not publicised its selection criteria as Shimizu did not compete in their National Championships, there is currently only two Japanese sprinters classified in the 100m and only one in the form of Abdul Hakim Sani Brown who has ran below 10 seconds, with his best this year being 10.31 seconds.

Marca reports that despite his amazing performance to break the world record for his age group, it is unlikely that Shimizu would form part of the Japanese 4x100m relay team due to the quartet being 'very stable and works hard on changes and would hardly have time to adapt'.

But there is now the potential that Shimizu could be considered for the squad which competes in September at Tokyo's National Stadium.