Have a look at the bio, age, height and parents of sprinter Divine Iheme
A British teenager, Divine Iheme, is grabbing headlines after officially becoming the fastest 14-year-old 100m sprinter in the world, breaking the previous record with a remarkable new time.
Who is runner Divine Iheme, bio, age, height, family, parents, school and 100 record
Divine Iheme, a rising star in athletics at just 14 years old, set a new milestone by clocking an incredible 10.30 seconds.
The teenager, known as Lightning Divine, was already the fastest 14-year-old over 100m in the UK and had a personal best of 10.56.
Nicknamed โLightning,โ Divine has already been recognized as a future track superstar after setting the UK best times for the 100m and 200m earlier this year.
About Divine Iheme
10.30s!!!! ๐ฅ HEโS DONE IT!
Age 14 World Record โ๏ธDivine Iheme ๐ฌ๐ง smashes the World Age 14 100m record as he clocks a blistering 10.30s (1.7) at Lee Valley.
The previous record was held by Sachin Dennis ๐ฏ๐ฒ with 10.51s
10.30s at 14 YEARS OF AGE!! ๐ฅ๐คฏ๐คฏ๐คฏ๐ฑ pic.twitter.com/skczO4Jcrh
โ World Athletics Hub (@wldathleticshub) August 26, 2024
In June, he surpassed his personal best with a time of 10.65 seconds, and although he has run even faster, those times were wind-assisted and did not count for records.
However, his recent achievement at Lee Valley will go down in history, as his verified time shattered the previous record of 10.51 seconds held by Jamaican sprinter Sachin Dennis.
Divine is known for studying footage of legendary sprinters to enhance his performance, though he emphasizes that his talent is โGod-givenโ and not a direct imitation of others.
What Did Divine Iheme Say?
Earlier in an interview, Divine Iheme said, โIโve watched a lot of Usain Boltโs races and Allyson Felixโs 200m, 400m, and relays. The first race I watched was Boltโs 200m world record, the 19.19, and it inspired me to pursue this dream.โ
Already the fastest 14-year-old 100m sprinter in the UK, Divine had previously achieved a personal best of 10.56 seconds at the England Athletics U15 & U17 Open Championships.
Though he ran faster times earlier in the year, 10.46, 10.48, and 10.49 seconds, those efforts were not record-eligible due to wind conditions.
With his wind-legal 10.30 seconds, Divine has now surpassed the world 100m best of 10.51 seconds, previously held by Jamaicaโs Sachin Dennis.
Divineโs incredible performance has also propelled him up the international junior rankings, placing him third on the European U18 all-time list, just behind Britainโs Teddy Wilson (10.26) and Franceโs Jeff Erius (10.27).
Family
Divine is coached by his mother, Nkiruku Iheme, the founder of the PWD Athletic Academy in Oxfordshire, which aims to help young athletes realize their potential.
Both of his parents, including his father Innocent Iheme, represented Nigeria at the international level, including the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
In interviews, Divine, who was born in Nigeria, has expressed his desire to represent Great Britain in the future, saying, โbecause they have helped me the most.โ
His mother, a former sprinter herself, is confident that Divine is destined for greatness and believes he will break the World U15 record.
Son of two former Nigerian track and field athletes, Nkiruka Anu and Innocent Iheme who represented Nigeria at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002, age 14 Divine’s height isn’t known.
The Oxfordshire-based athlete represents the country of his birth, Great Britain where he has received free education and he is the reigning English Schools 100m champion and also won the sprint double in the English Athletics indoor age-group championships.
Profile
Date of Birth: October 1, 2009
Representing: Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Highest event ranking: 1160 (Menโs 100m)