Australian (& Townsville North Star Athlete) Jake Doran broke the Oceania Area U20 100m record, clocking 10.15 (+1.5m) in Jämsä, Finland, on Sunday (1).
The performance by the 17-year-old sliced 0.07 from the previous mark of 10.21 set by compatriot Jack Hale two years ago, and elevates Doran to the No. 2 spot among U20 athletes in the world this year, and equal sixth fastest among Australians all-time.
Doran was very surprised by his performance.
“I’m so stoked with how I went today," he said. "I didn’t think anything remotely like that would happen today, I wasn’t very hyped or feeling the greatest going into the competition so when I got a (10.35) PB in the heat I was over the moon. I pulled up a little sore as I didn’t have much race fitness after my injury so I was just gonna try and win the final, but to come out and pull that time was absolutely insane. Completely out of nowhere.”
After missing the 2017/18 domestic season due to injury, Doran was a late addition to the Australian team for the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018, originally slated as a member of the 4x100m relay squad. However, with his performance coming on the eve of the qualification deadline, he's been entered in the 100m as well.