Sorato Shimizu dashed into the record books by lowering the 100m Under-18 mark in the men’s 100 metre at Japan’s inter high school athletics meeting in Hiroshima on Saturday (26 July).
The 16-year-old Sorato crossed the line in a blistering time of 10.00 seconds to become the joint-fifth fastest Japanese athlete in history over the sprint distance.
Sorato, a pupil at the Seiryo High School in Ishikawa Prefecture, lowered the previous world best of 10.06s jointly held by Puripol Boonson of Thailand and American sprinter Christian Miller. Miller set the mark in July 2023 before Boonson matched his effort nearly three months later.
In the process, Sorato also broke Japan’s high school record of 10.01s set by Yoshihide Kiryu in 2013.