European Athletics (EAA) – News – Vicaut in quest of sub-10

Jimmy Vicaut almost caused a big upset at the Helsinki European Athletics Championships when fellow Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre struggled to beat him.

For the young Frenchman it was a sign he was maturing fast. For a man who had only been proclaimed European junior champion last year, it was an impressive step up in class.

It seemed as though Lemaitre, only Vicaut's senior by two-years, would soon have someone threatening his reign as Europe's top sprinter, but it seems that Vicaut has decided to dispense with waiting and is knocking on the door already.

In Lausanne last Thursday, the young Frenchman came very close to breaching the 10sec barrier when he clocked 10.02 in the wake of Yohan Blake's blistering 9.69. That is 0.02 faster than his more illustrious compatriot has run this season and strongly suggests he will be the third Frenchman to dip under the magical 10sec barrier in the near future following in the wake of Ronald Pognon and Lemaitre.

"I am very happy to break my personal best," Vicaut told athle.com, "that is what I went for. But the season does not end there. I hope now to go under 10sec in Berlin or Brussels, my last two meetings."

Breaking down the elements of his record run, Vicaut said: "I got a good start, maybe I came up a bit too quickly, but afterwards I stabilised and everything went well. I was really happy about the time, but I shall be even happier if I go under 10sec before the end of the season."

Vicaut recorded 10.07 winning the European junior title in Tallin last year, then reduced that to 10.05 at the national championships this year before beating it yet again last week. What will going under 10sec signify for him?

"I depart from the principle that I shall only be a true sprinter from the moment I go under 10sec," he explained. "If I don't manage it this year I'm bound to be disappointed."

Though he was out in lane eight in Lausanne, Vicaut is convinced it was the quality of his rivals that dragged such a fine performance out of him. "I don't think I would have run that time with guys of my own level. Running with rivals of this quality (as in Lausanne) makes me want to run even faster. It was motivating to be there. I hope I get a better lane next time."

European Athletics (EAA) – News