Divine Iheme scorched to a championship best to win the men’s 100m in stunning style at the Rieti 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships on Friday (17).
Running in lane six, the British sprinter exploded from the blocks with Spain’s Francisco de Las Heras mounting a strong challenge from lane three.
But Iheme held his form brilliantly through the finish, stopping the clock at 10.29 (0.1m/s) to equal his lifetime best and slice 0.03 off the previous championship record set by Marek Zakrzewski in Jerusalem in 2022.
De Las Heras could also reflect on an outstanding evening, taking silver in 10.36 to improve the Spanish U18 record he had set less than two hours earlier in the second semifinal by a further 0.03.
Iheme had already signalled his intent in the semifinals, winning the opening race in 10.36 (0.2m/s) before finding another gear when the medals were on the line.
Austria’s Marco Glinz claimed bronze in a national U18 record of 10.45, edging out Sweden’s Eliah Andersson, who finished fourth in 10.46, and Slovakia’s Timotej Nemcek, who was fifth in the same time.
Consistency key for Iheme
"This gold medal, and the championship record, that is what I was looking for," said Iheme afterwards.
"I would say it is just about the consistency, working hard, make sure that I attend every session, and I just do my regular massages, ice baths, cold baths, just everything good for myself. It is very hard to balance the sport and the school.
"I had to go to bed late at night, revise after training. But I would say I am much better on track than I am in my academics for sure. But I can still balance it pretty well. Obviously, everyone in my school was watching and they are going crazy right now.
"By the grace of god, I see myself in the Olympics hopefully. But we will see, the one in two years, I will be 18. But we will see what god has done for me. I also want to be breaking more and more records, getting more medals and everything around it. In Rieti, I gained more confidence speaking to other countries and to other people."
*Geoblocking restrictions apply in territories where Rieti 2026 is being covered by a national broadcaster