Twitter / Matthew Boling
- A Texan teenager nicknamed "White Lightning" wowed crowds with a 9.98 second finish in the 100 meter event at the Challenger Columbia Stadium on Saturday.
- Though wind-assisted, Michael Boling’s time would not look out of place in an Olympic final.
- Boling said "it definitely felt good," according to The Houston Chronicle.
- Visit Business Insider’s home page for more stories.
We all know about Usain Bolt, but now there’s a new athletic phenomenon on the starting block — and his nickname is "White Lightning."
18=year-old Texan sprinter Matthew Boling smashed a high school "all-conditions" 100 meter record when he completed a 9.98 second run at the Class 6A Region III track and field meet on Saturday.
That alone was enough to get the Challenger Columbia Stadium crowd off the edge of their seats, but the teenager also excelled in two relay events and the long jump.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Boling’s 9.98 second dash does not count as a national record because of the prevailing 4.2 mph wind, however it is the fastest "all conditions" record in high school history.
"It definitely felt good," Boling said according to the Chronicle. "My block start was pretty good and right out of the gate I knew it was going to be fast, so I decided to turn it up a little bit and ran my best. I was really happy with the time."
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Boling helped the Strake Jesuit 400 meter relay team win gold with a record a time of 40.72 seconds. He also anchored the 1,600 meter relay event, helping the team secure a second gold with a time of 3 minutes and 13.7 seconds.
He even won the long jump event with a distance of 25 feet and 2 inches.
Watch Boling’s incredible 100 meter sprint right here:
Though wind-assisted, Boling’s run would not have looked out of place in an Olympic final.
In 2016, two finalists, Jimmy Vicaut of France and Trayvon Bromell of the US, posted finishes of 10.04 seconds and 10.06 seconds.
News.com.au reports that Boling is the first American teenager since Bromell to run a sub 10 second 100 meter sprint. Bromell posted a 9.99 second wind-assisted sprint in 2013.
As Bromell ended up in the Olympics three years later, it might not be long before the wider sporting world is introduced to Boling.
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Alan Dawson)