Trinidad and Tobago athlete Jereem Richards on Saturday ran an astounding time of 19.80 seconds to break a 28-year-old Commonwealth Games 200m men’s record that was set by Namibia’s sprint legend Frank Fredericks in 1994.
Richards on Saturday successfully defended his 2018 Commonwealth Games men’s 200m gold medal when he won the 2022 Commonwealth Games men’s 200m final in 19.80 seconds, breaking the game’s record of 19.97 seconds set by Fredericks during the 1994 games.
Richards also became the third 200m runner of all time to successfully defend the title.
The legendary Fredericks, who remains a world-renowned athletics icon, competed in the 100m and 200m events and won a combined four silver medals at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain and Atlanta, US.
He remained Namibia’s only able-bodied Olympic medallist until Christine Mboma’s silver medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
He also won multiple gold medals at the World Championships, World Indoor Championships, All-Africa Games and Commonwealth Games.
– ohembapu@nepc.com.na