Versatile hurdling sensation Jaheel Hyde of Jamaica took his country and the world to a time no-one his age has seen before: an astounding 12.96secs in the 110m hurdles at the second Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China on Saturday (23), shaving 0.16 seconds off the old mark to register what is regarded as a world youth best time.
Hyde, 17, the 2013 World Youth 110m hurdles champion, continues his rampaging success and has not lost a single hurdles race this season. He first copped the 110m-400m double in record times at the Jamaica Boys and Girls Athletics Championships (Champs) in March and in April replicated both victories at the CARIFTA Games. His winning time of 13.10secs there would have been a world youth best, had it not been for the over-the-limit wind assistance of 2.2m/s. One week later he won the 400m hurdles at the Penn Relays and in July won the IAAF World Junior Championships 400m hurdles title in Eugene, Oregon.
The new title holder said his time did not surprise him. “My times in training suggested I would run this fast. I was a bit nervous beforehand. I knew I had to follow my coach’s instructions, keep a cool head and win that gold medal,” he said.
“To come here and win means the world to me because it now means I’ve won all the major gold medals in my age group: World Youth, World Junior and now Youth Olympics. What more can I ask for?”
Hyde, who also plays soccer, credited his endurance with his 400m hurdles training which, in turn, has helped his sprint hurdling. He doesn’t plan to give up either event any time soon.
Across the continent in Europe, Hyde’s compatriot Usain Bolt set a new best time of 9.98secs for the rarely run Indoor 100m in Warsaw, Poland Saturday.
The World and Olympic champion and world record holder eclipsed the previous best mark for the distance of 10.05 set by Namibian Frankie Fredericks in 1996.
After the race, Bolt, who is set to run at the Zurich’s Diamond League meeting next week, said he primarily wanted to get through this season free of injury as he has suffered enough over the past few years.
“Over the next meetings, starting with Zurich, I’m hoping to run ever quicker,” he said.
The sprint superstar won his first 100m of the year in an exhibition race on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach on 17 August in 10.6secs.
Bolt plans to compete in his final Olympics in Rio in 2016 before ending his career in 2017 after the World championships.