British sprinter Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake recorded a 19.95 second 200m at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships in Alabama on Saturday to leave himself one-hundredth of a second off the British record.
The current record of 19.94 seconds was set in 1993 by John Regis, when he achieved a silver medal at the IAAF World Championships in Stuttgart.
Regis also ran 19.87 for 200m the year after but the result was never ratified, leaving his 200m record on the brink of being surpassed.
This makes Mitchell-Blake only the third ever British sprinter to run under 20 second for a 200m, along with John Regis and current 200m European Champion Adam Gemili.
Mitchell-Blake described his performance to LSUsports.net as “Unbelievable,” breaking sub-20 for the 200m despite winning the 100m and the 4x100m relay for the Louisiana State University on the same day.
“Not many guys go 19 (seconds),” he added “it’s nice to know you’re in a category like that. The work’s not done. We’ve still got great things ahead.”
The 22-year old will look to continue his strong form in time for the Rio Olympics, which would be his first appearance for Great Britain at a senior championships.
