Asia’s fastest sprinter to challenge Bolt in New York

Tokyo, April 25:

Japanese teenager Yoshihide Kiryu, the fastest runner in Asia, has been invited to race 100 metres against world record holder Usain Bolt at the Diamond League New York Grand Prix in June.

The Japanese clocked a wind-assisted 9.87 seconds victory at the Texas Relays in Austin on March 28, becoming the fastest Asian sprinter under any conditions, reports Xinhua.

Kiryu recorded the result under a 3.3-metre-per-second wind condition, exceeding the allowable 2 m/s, so his time is deemed invalid for official purposes but the 19-year-old’s time is the fastest ever electronic performance by an Asian sprinter under any conditions.

He also holds the world youth best of 10.19 and the Asian junior record of 10.05 in 100m. In 2013, Kiryu covered 100m in 10.01 seconds at the Mikio Oda Memorial in Hiroshima, tying the junior world record on April 29 at the age of 17.

After that victory, Kiryu said: “I want to run alongside Bolt and see how he is different from me.” Now he has got the chance to run alongside the Jamaican, whose 9.58 seconds record was set in August 2009.

Kiryu broke the world youth 100m record as a 16-year-old twice in 2012, breasting the tape in 10.21 seconds in October and 10.19 seconds in November. In the 2003 Birmingham Grand Prix, Kiryu finished last in 100m preliminaries in his first prestigious competition and his first overseas travel. (IANS)