There were two American runners in the World Athletics Championships this year who were believed to be capable of getting the coveted sprint doubles. Sha’Carri Richardson was the female contender for the challenge, while Noah Lyles maintained the vanguard on the men’s side. Yesterday, the American team experienced both jubilation and disappointment after the two talented athletes entered the 200-meter finals.
Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles both got the first lick of success at the World Athletics Championship in the 100-meter race. Thereafter, they hoped to continue their dominance in the 200-meter final on Friday. Richardson lost the bid to Jamaican national champion Shericka Jackson, but Noah Lyles managed to write his name in the history books.
At just 18 the Indonesian is already the fastest man in Southeast Asia, and was just 0.3 seconds away from beating Olympic gold medallist Justin Gatlin in Japan in May 2019.
Zohri came 3rd at the Golden Grand Prix Osaka on May 19, booking his ticket to Tokyo 2020, and setting a new national record.
And his 10.03 is a marked improvement on the young gun’s headline grabbing 10.18 that won him the 100m race at the IAAF world U-20 championships in Tampere, Finland, in July 2018.
It was the first time an Indonesian athlete had won a medal in the 32-year history of the competition.
What a historical moment!
Lalu Muhammad Zohri becomes the first Indonesian ever to win any medal of any kind at these championships#IAAFworlds pic.twitter.com/Gc5aMf5yN4
— IAAF (@iaaforg) July 11, 2018
Life Changing
It’s even more impressive when you realise where he comes from.
Zohri is the youngest of a family of four born on the eastern island of Lombok where they shared a wood and woven bamboo home.
He lost his mother and his father while still in elementary school, and was raised by his brothers and sisters.
The teenager had to borrow 400,000 Indonesian Rupiah (28US$) from his older sister to buy shoes to compete in Finland.
It might just be the best investment she’s ever made.
“He asked me for money to buy new shoes before going to Jakarta to continue competing abroad. I could only give him what I had. I am very proud and he never demanded more,” his sister, Baiq Fazilah, told kompas.com.
Fazilah remembered her brother training barefoot.
The victory in Finland changed everything and suddenly he was meeting the president of Indonesia.
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