Sprinter Joel Jin Nwamadi Eyes Asian Games Record After Strong Season

By Yoo Jee-ho

JINCHEON, South Korea, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- South 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 South 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."