12 year old Jamaican sprinter compared to Usain Bolt after smashing national 200 m record
What’s the story?
In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Usain Bolt won two gold medals to help Jamaica reach a tally off 11 medals, their higest yet. In fact, all 11 medals were won on the short track, such has been the domination of the Jamaican sprint team. The future of the team seems to be in safe hands on the evidence of the above video of Brianna Lyston destroying her competition at the National Championships 2017.
So dominant have been her performances that she is now being compared to Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt, and rightly so as the 12 year-old has been setting the pace in Jamaican youth circuits.
In case you didn’t know…
The young sprinter’s dominant performances do not come as a surprise, she has always been ahead of the pack, even bettering her male counterparts at times. Participating in 300m race aged 10, Brianna managed to win the race with a time of 42.41 seconds, which was one second faster than the winner in the boys’ category.
Heart of the matter
In the Championships held earlier this year, the 12-year old managed to win the 200m race with an impressive time of 23.72 seconds, which was only about two seconds off from the senior world record set at the 1988 Olympics.
Apart from breaking the 200m record, she also decimated the 100m record with a timing of 11.86 seconds which is mightily impressive for a 12-year old.
What’s next?
The way Brianna outclasses her opposition in the 200m final suggests extraordinary levels of talent and potential for the young athlete. If she continues to perform at such a high level, she seems to be gifted enough to go on and help Jamaica make history once again.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Jamaica possess a rich sprinting tradition and Brianna looks to be set to partake in it. With the potential she is showing, and Jamaica’s rich running pedigree, she definitely has the resources to go on and become a world star.