Nicholas Bramwell, a 16-year-old Jamaican runner, broke Usain Bolt’s Under-17s 400m world record. The record had been unbroken for 22 years. Bolt set the record in 2002 with a time of 47.33 seconds. This was six years before he won his first gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
But now his fellow countryman Bramwell has done better. At the Carifta Games in Grenada’s Kirani James Athletics Stadium, Bramwell ran a time of 47.26 seconds, which was just under a tenth of a second faster than Bolt’s previous record.
Even though he was hurt, the young athlete beat Kemron Mathlyn, who came in second with a time of 47.96 seconds, and Eagan Neely, who came in third with a time of 48.16 seconds.
A happy Bramwell said after his record-breaking run, “It’s great to break the record.” “I’ve had my eye on the record since last summer, so it feels great to be able to get it here.” “I just put the record in my mind and forgot about it.”
Fans were amazed by what they had done. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” said one. I’m glad that another Jamaican is taking over. You should be aware of our strength.
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“And he slowed down before the finish line,” wrote someone else. Picture him going straight through. Others just said things like “Wow, wow, wow!” and “Serious achievement!” to show their respect.
We still have Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record for the fastest 100-meter dash, which he set in 2009. Bolt stopped in 2017 after winning eight Olympic gold medals. Bolt has been loving family life and taking part in charity soccer events like Soccer Aid since he retired. He has also been mentoring up-and-coming track stars.
Bolt said in a speech last year that he wanted to stay involved with sports: “I spend my time doing a lot of family things, when it comes to track and field, not as much as I would want to but I still try and stay in touch with what is going on.”
He also wants to make a big difference in the sport through World Athletics: “I’m still waiting on a position from (World Athletics), I’ve reached out to them and let them know I would love to make a bigger impact in sports, as long as they want me to.”
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Talks are still going on, and Bolt is still positive about the future: “We’ve been in talks but we’ll have to wait and see what comes around.”
Bolt said that track and field lost some of its draw after he left: “Being the person I was and how big my personality was, it kind of went down… after me.”
“But I think things will get better in time. I believe that young players are on the rise, and I see a few personalities that are needed in sports. Hopefully, this will change in the coming years. I hope I can do something to help the sport grow.
