Oduduru runs world leading 100m, 200m records at MJ Invitational
Divine Oduduru was in red-hot form for Texas Tech at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco as he set astonishing individual, school and national records in the 100m and 200m events.
The Nigerian speedster stormed to a lifetime best of 9.94s (0.8m/s) to win the 100m ahead of teammate Andrew Hudson - who clocked 10.13s to finish 2nd - and Maxwell Willis who came 3rd with a time of 10.21s.
The record set by Oduduru on Saturday, which is a World Lead this season, makes him the first Nigerian to run sub10 seconds since Olusoji Fasuba’s African Record (AR) of 9.85s set in 2006.
Oduduru can now also boast of holding the fastest 100m record set by a Texas Tech athlete ever even as he now holds half of the MJ Invitational’s top-10 times.
But Oduduru wasn’t done just yet, 45 minutes after the stunning 100m race, the 22-year-old sprinter ran another World Lead time in the 200m event - stopping the clock at 19.76s (0.8m/s).
His 200m record shatters the Francis Obikwelu’s national record of 19.84s set in 1999. The time is also second to only Walter Dix’s 19.69s record on the NCAA outdoor record book.
Worthy of note, his new records on Saturday evening eclipses his previous school records: 10.10 that he ran last April, also at the Michael Johnson Invitational, and 20.13 that he ran last May at the Big 12 championships, also in Waco.
Earlier this year, Oduduru made known the great form he was in when he ran the world leading indoor time of 20.08s to win the 200m at the Big 12 Championships, before taking the 60m as well with a time of 6.52s to bag double sprints titles at the competition.
He also opened his outdoor season at the Reville Meet three weeks ago in exquisite style, winning the 100m in 10.13s but with a wind reading just outside the legal reading at 2.3m/s.