“Next Usain Bolt”: Nigerian Teenager Divine Iheme Smashes World Age 14 100m Record

“Next Usain Bolt”: Nigerian Teenager Divine Iheme Smashes World Age 14 100m Record

  • British-Nigerian teenager Divine Iheme has broken the world age 14 100 metres record
  • He clocked a time of 10.30 seconds, smashing the previous record held by Sachin Dennis
  • The 14-year-old is the son of former Nigerian sprinters Innocent and Nkiruku Iheme

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Nigerian teenager Divine Iheme has broken the world's 100-metre record in the 14-year-old category at the National Championship in Great Britain.

Iheme is the daughter of former Nigerian sprinters Innocent and Nkiruku, both of whom represented Nigeria at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Divine Iheme is competing during the England U15 Track and Field Championships.
Divine Iheme is competing during the England U15 Track and Field Championships. Photo by MI News.
Source: Getty Images

Divine represents the country of his birth, Great Britain, ditching the country of his parents like many other athletes of dual nationality have done in the past.

Divine Iheme sets world record

According to World Athletics Hub, the 14-year-old ran 100 metres in 10.30 seconds at the National Championship, beating the previous record held by Jamaican Sachin Dennis by 0.20 seconds.

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Her mother and trainer Nkiruku, speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the event, claimed Iheme, who broke the British record in 100m and 200m, set his sights on the world record and has deservedly achieved it.

"Everybody knows him as 'Lightning' Divine, that's who he is. He looks at the record and says, 'I want to beat that'," she said.
“He says his target is to beat the world junior U15 [record]. The world junior record is 10.51, and he's run three times 10.46, but because the wind was 0.2, it's not legal, so he has the capacity to do that.”

The boy admitted to studying clips of the legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, and many fans believe he might eventually be that man to break Bolt's 9.58 seconds record in 100 metres.

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Bolt's records that may never be broken

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Usain Bolt smashed the 100m and 200m records in 2009 at the World Athletics Championships.

The Jamaican sprinter clocked 9.58 seconds in the 100m and 19.19 seconds in the 200m, and no one has touched them since.

In fact, he has the three fastest times in the 100m (9.63, 9.69), and only two sprinters have broken 9.7 seconds in history.

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Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Richard Nutakor avatar

Richard Nutakor (Sports Editor) Richard Nutakor is a digital media enthusiast with over 8 years of working experience in media and digital marketing. He's worked with notable media brands in Ghana like Media General, owners of TV3 Ghana, 3FM, Onua FM & Connect FM. He's also worked with Global Media Alliance as a Digital Account Manager. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Ghana in 2016 and a Masters in Brands and Communication Management from the University of Professional Studies, Accra. Email: richard.kekeli@sportsbrief.com

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