New Delhi: When it comes to global sprinting, discussion on the men’s 100m does not even start until it enters sub 10-second territory. While Usain Bolt’s world record of 9.58secs has stood since 2009, only two others have even managed to match the Jamaican legend’s third best of 9.69secs which he clocked to win the first of his three Olympic titles, at the 2008 Beijing Games. Fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake and Tyson Gay (US) are those to run that fast.
While sprinters from the US and the Caribbean islands, and now the rising Africa, rule the speed charts, Asia has had to be satisfied with just a few breaking the 10-second barrier. Chinese and Japanese dominate Asia’s sub 10-second club. Chinese runners (12 times) and Japanese (9 times) have run under 10 secs.
Su Bingtian, the first Asian to break the 10-second barrier, has had a great career. He holds the Asian record for the 100m, having clocked 9.83 seconds in the semi-finals of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to become only the second from the continent to reach the final of the Olympics, and the first non-African since the 1980 Moscow Games.
Japan’s Takayoshi Yoshioka was the first Asian in an Olympic 100m final, having lined up at the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
The first Asian to break the 10 secs barrier, however, may have run his last race after clocking an ordinary 10.49secs in a recent meeting in his home province of Guangdong. At 35, Su does not see a dramatic improvement in the build-up to China’s National Games in November, when he had planned to retire.
“The time for this race, or any other 100m sprint in May, June or July, won’t differ much,” Reuters quoted him as saying in the Chinese media in its report on the development.
“So, (I thought before the race) if the result is good, there will be another one, but if the situation isn’t ideal, it might be my last one.”
Considering that Asian sprinters have struggled to go under 10 seconds, Su having run 10 sub-10sec races is remarkable.
But leaving aside a handful of others – China’s Xie Zhenye has clocked and Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown both have a personal best of 9.97 seconds — the 10 secs mark has been elusive for the rest. Xie has a 19.88 in the 200m.
Despite being the largest continent, spread from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to the South Pacific Ocean, with around 50 countries and territories, athletes with fast-twitch fibre and build that will provide the power to blast off the blocks have been few.
Genius and the genes
While the 100m is the blue riband event, and nothing gets the fans excited like the dash, a few Asian athletes have been great inspiration to those aspiring to take on the best in the world, especially when it comes to polishing their pure sprinting with technical prowess.
Su Bingtian is held up as a great example of overcoming any natural disadvantage with innovation. The Chinese sprinter in 2013 clocked 10.06 seconds but decided he will have to change things to try to go faster. And he took a brave decision to switch the foot with which he would push off from the blocks.
“I wanted to use the change to redesign my pace for the 100m,” Su was quoted as saying in an interview with Chinese publication The Fair. The change meant he began placing the left foot on the front on the starting block instead of the right foot. There were many sceptics, but when he clocked 9.99 seconds in 2015 to become the first from the continent to dip under the 10-second barrier, it became clear the change made a huge difference. The five fastest 100m timings by an Asian belongs to Su, and all were set after the switch.
China’s Liu Xiang is another towering name who can inspire athletes in the continent. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he tied the 110m hurdles world record of 12.91 seconds on way to winning the gold medal. Two years later, he clocked 12.88 seconds, and went into his home Beijing Olympics in 2008 as the favourite. However, he was forced out of the competition because of an ankle injury.
India’s best sprinters have plateaued at around 10.25 secs. Gurindervir Singh this season set a national record of 10.20 seconds at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru, surpassing Manikanta Hoblidhar’s 10.23 secs. In the race where Gurindervir set the national mark, Manikanta ran 10.22.
