Israel Olatunde and his new Irish 100m record has to be seen as a staging post for more
Olatunde's goal is to move on and break 10-second mark
Israel Olatunde and his new Irish 100m record has to be seen as a staging post for more if he wants to make a breakthrough on the professional circuit.
The 100m sprint may be the most glamorous of the track and field events by a considerable distance and the Irishman's 10.12 in London last Sunday was impressive.
But he knows the entry level for racing against the world's best dropped below the 10-second mark a long time ago.
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Slashing half-second of his personal best is the equivalent of a half-a-metre but there is just over another metre to be found before the global track and field invites start pouring in.
And if the first step is being asked to start filling out fields in Europe then it is Lamont Marcel Jacobs who is the benchmark. The Italian is World Athletics-ranked European no1 and world ranked no6.
His fellow countryman Chituru Ali is European no2 and world no14 and GB's Louie Hinchcliffe is European no3 and world no16.
Jacobs had broken the 10-second barrier three times this year, Ali has broken it once and has a further 10.01 and Hinchcliffe has broken it once.
Moreover, other Europeans such as GB's Jeremy Azu, Germany's Joshua Hartman and Owen Ansah, Turkey's Kayhan Ozer and two Frenchmen Pablo Matteo and Jeff Erius have also broken the 10-seconds mark this year. Erius is world-ranked no70.
Thus while Otalunde's 10.12 was a significant improvement on his previous time of 10.17 set in the 2022 European Championships final (breaking the then record of 10.18 set by Paul Hession in Vaasa, Sweden in 2007) there is a need for more.
"It is good news to have pushed on from that mark I set a couple of years ago, to take Ireland sprinting into kind of a new dimension again after missing the Olympics," says Otalunde.
"That was disappointing but the show has to go on, I have to keep training, keep racing, keep pushing.
"My coach Daniel Kilgallon, we planned this race, it was a good opportunity to show what we had been working on over the last few months. It is really cool to kind of see how everything played out."
Sunday's run at the NEB Open has bridged a 'two year gap' from the highs of the 2022 European Championship final over the lows of not qualifying for the 2023 European Champions final and the 2024 Olympics and is a sign of a significant return to form.
"I guess the biggest thing is that my confidence has grown over the summer, times have been dropping and it has led to a new Irish record.
"The standard is 10 seconds flat and I have run 10.12 so I am literally a metre away from getting qualification for global championships.
"That's my goal, that's my dream and I am inching closer and closer to that."
The signs are good for the 22 year-old in a sport where he is still, barring injury, six to eight years from peak physical power.
There is a lot going for Ireland's adidas-contracted star.
"I am still relatively young, I still have to remind myself sometimes that I still have room and space for growth, I am not a finished product, by far, and I have a long way to go.
"Every year I am trying to produce my best performances but I understand I have to be patient and take my time with things."
Olatunde part prepared for this season in conditioning camp in Florida with his coach Daniel Kilgallon - who is also noted for his work with Rhasidat Adeleke.
"I was just here for three weeks. It was very exciting actually being on campus in Florida because along with my coach, I was able to work on certain things.
"Not all of the things we do will always work straight away but I know it is going to get better once I stick with it, grow through those awkward phases and you know it is going to pay off in the long run.
"There are very fine margins in the shorter sprints, there is no room for mistakes so you have to be in the right mindset going in, you can't be thinking about anything else.
"Your mind has to be set before you start an event because if you are not in the right place beforehand it will come out when you race just as the converse is true, if you are in a good place it will come out when you race."
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