Emerging sprinter chasing Asian Games medal, nat'l record in 100m dash
Korean sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi speaks during a press conference at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. Yonhap
Korean sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi has been setting new personal-best times in the men's 100 meters at virtually every meet this season.
The 20-year-old said he will try to break it one more time next month at the Asian Games in Japan.
Born in Seoul to a Nigerian father and a Korean mother, Nwamadi posted a personal-best 10.23 seconds at an event in Japan in April. Earlier at the same competition, he clocked a wind-aided 10.08 seconds, just 0.01 second shy of a nine-year-old national record, with a tail wind of 3.5 meters per second (m/s). In athletics, if a tail wind exceeds 2.0 m/s, the result is not recognized as official.
Later in April, Nwamadi broke his personal record with 10.19 seconds.
In May, Nwamadi posted a time of 10.09 seconds with a tail wind of 2.8 m/s at the Asian Games national team trials. Two months later, he ran 10.13 seconds at a Japan meet in more pristine conditions.
The sprinter then reached even greater heights this month, touching 10.07 seconds with a 3.2 m/s tail wind in Japan to unofficially tie the national record.
Nwamadi's surge has prompted the record holder, Kim Kuk-young, to declare earlier this week that Nwamadi will not just break his national record but will even shatter the 10-second barrier in the near future.
At a joint press conference for the Korean Asian Games delegation Thursday, Nwamadi said he will keep his focus on the more immediate task.
"Since this will be my first Asian Games, I am nervous but also excited at the same time," he said. "I have been setting new personal-best times and have been riding some good momentum this year. I think I should go into the Asian Games feeling confident that I can break my own record again and reach the podium."