A 15-year-old sprinter who has been dubbed the next Noah Lyles is making serious waves in the world of athletics.
Divine Iheme, from Oxford, broke the 60m world record for his age group on Sunday afternoon after clocking times of 6.71 and 6.72 at the next instalment of the BFTTA Indoor Series in London.
To put that achievement into perspective, the record had belonged to American athlete J-Mee Samuels, who ran 60m in an impressive 6.74 back in 2003.
In fact, the teenager is now fourth on the UK 60m under-18 all-time rankings and, as you can from times above, is not far off Mark Lewis-Francis’ record of 6.69, which was recorded in 1999.
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This isn't the first time Iheme has made headlines.
Last year, when he was just 14, the talented sprinter clocked a time of 10.3 over 100m, which was almost one second quicker than the best time Noah Lyles managed at that age.
Lyles, who is the current Olympic champion after winning 100m gold by five-thousandths of a second at Paris 2024, is someone who continues to inspire Iheme.
"Noah Lyles is a great athlete and he's given me a lot of confidence to pursue this career, run quicker, get a better time," he told Sky Sports.
"I feel like it gives me the confidence to break more and more barriers as I go through my journey."
As well as smashing Lyles' time at 14, Iheme also set an English Schools Under-15 record of 10.65.
Iheme has previously recalled being inspired by Usain Bolt after watching footage of the Jamaican sprinter in action but at the same time, he admits that his running style is "unique".
"I've watched quite a lot of Usain Bolt's races and Allyson Felix's 200m, 400m and relays," he says.
"Probably the first race I watched, was his [Bolt's] 200m world record, the 19.19, and I was inspired to pursue the dream. I try my best to slingshot off the bend [in 200m] and continue holding first until I cross the finish line.
"In my opinion, I think my [running style] is unique and natural. I don't try to model it from anyone."
In the future, Iheme may come up against 17-year-old Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout, who smashed his 100m personal best at the 2024 Australian All Schools Athletics Championship in December.
He ran a time of 10.04 seconds, making him the fourth fastest U18 athlete of all time and the fifth fastest Australian of all time.
Topics: Athletics, Usain Bolt, Noah Lyles, Gout Gout
Jack Kenmare