Britain’s Peacock Runs Fastest Ever Time in Amputee Sprinting

“Thank you so much everyone for the messages. So happy right now even though drug testing took 2 hours……10.85. Look 4ward to London.”

Great Britain’s Jonnie Peacock created a huge shock overnight (30 June) running 10.85 seconds for the 100m at the US Paralympic Track & Field Trials, a world record mark that eclipses times set by South African ‘Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius and USA’s 2004 Paralympic Champion Marlon Shirley.

Single leg amputee T44 athlete Peacock, who turned 19 in May, led home a strong field that included world champion Jerome Singleton, former Paralympic champion Shirley and last year’s Parapan American Games gold medal winner Jarryd Wallace.

His time of 10.85 was 0.06 second faster than the previous T44 record set in 2007 by Shirley and was also faster than the 10.91 mark set by T43 sprinter Pistorius five years ago.

“This was only my fifth race this year. I’ve had head winds for the two decent races I’ve run. All I’ve been asking for is a tail wind and I finally got one,” said Peacock who finished sixth at last year’s World Championships in 11.89.

He later tweeted: “Thank you so much everyone for the messages. So happy right now even though drug testing took 2 hours……10.85. Look 4ward to London.”

Reigning 100m T43/T44 Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius, who beat Peacock at May’s BT Paralympic World Cup, also took to twitter to offer his congratulations: “Well done, great to see progress in the sport! Looking forward to a very fast race at London 2012.”

Peacock was not the only record breaker in Saturday’s 100m race. In finishing second in 10.95 Blake Leeper, a fifth place finisher at last year’s World Championships, set an Americas record and became the first American T43 sprinter to go under 11 seconds.

Third place went to Richard Browne (11.16), world champion Singleton (11.17) finished fourth, Wallace (11.44) took sixth whilst Shirley (11.45) came home seventh in an extremely fast race that saw all top five finishers beat the 11.34 time Singleton ran last year to be crowned world champion.

Peacock’s world record has made the already much anticipated men’s 100m T43/44 London 2012 Paralympic final on Thursday 6 September an even more mouth watering prospect.

The line-up in the Olympic Stadium is expected to include world record holder Peacock, reigning Paralympic champion Pistorius, world champion Singleton, Americas record holder Leeper together with South Africa’s Arnu Fourie. The 27 year old ran 11.09 in February this year and a month later became only the second person in eight years to defeat Pistorius over 100m.

Brazil’s Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira, a bronze medalist at last year’s World Championships, is also expected to be a contender.

To see footage of Peacock’s world record breaking run, please visit http://bit.ly/LGkMdy.

The US Paralympic Track & Field Trials conclude on Sunday (1 July).