Daegu 2011 logo (© IAAF.org)
In an unexpected victory at the National Athletics Championships held in Daegu (6), 19-year-old Gook-Young Kim sensationally broke the 31-year-old men’s 100m National Record with his winning time of 10.23.
The young athlete, who placed eighth at the 2010 Colorful Daegu Pre-Championships Meeting, blew away the competition and also Mal-Koo Seo’s longstanding record (10.34), which was set at the 1979 Summer Universiade in Mexico.
It was a day to remember for Kim, who actually broke the National Record during the preliminary round by .03 before smashing his new record by a staggering .08.
Kim’s record-smashing performance came as a surprise, as his time at this year’s Colorful Daegu Meeting was a modest 10.74.
“I didn’t expect this to happen to me,” said the new national teenage sensation. “I am just happy now and hopefully I can carry with this form the next time I compete.”
The IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011, which will be held in Daegu between 27th August and 4th September next year.
