ISHMAEL SHATTERS HIS LIFETIME FASTEST!

Yet another lifetime best mark has been annihilated by a trackspeed1-UK sprinter - this time it was the turn of Ishmael Smith-John to produce not one, but the two fastest 100 metre sprints of his life at the weekend.

Ishmael Smith-John's PB at the weekend moves him to
within 8 places of the top 100 sprinters in the UK for 2017!

The 21-year-old Blackheath and Bromley AC athlete began the year with a 2016 best ever of 11.12 seconds, but at the Medway track in Rochester on Sunday all of that changed

First he cracked the infamous 11-second barrier with a wind-legal 10.92s, but then in the second round of the open meeting, he switched on the after-burners up the home straight to record another wind-legal time - this time of 10.79 seconds.

Ishmael - one of Trackspeed1-UK's most dedicated and hard-working athletes, having barely missed a training session since he joined the group back in 2014 - now rates as one of the most improved sprinters in the country at this level, with a host of new opportunities now available as a result.

When he began with the Crystal Palace-based training group he had a recorded best of 11.32s over 100m, but improved that pretty quickly to 11.17 in 2015, albeit levelling out a little in 2016 with a slightly improved 11.12s.  2017, however, has launched him into a different stratosphere of sprinting.

"I'm looking to compete in the European Athletics Permit meeting at Loughborough in a couple of weeks now I have the entry standard," he said after his achievement on Sunday, and coach John Powell endorsed his athletes new pitch:

"These were outstanding performances by Ishmael," he said, "and it is only right that he takes advantage of some good quality races now - not necessarily to set more new PB's, although we obviously hope he does, but to gain more experience of running at this level and above."

Ishmael joins training partner Brandon Murray as another hugely improved athlete this year, having moved his best 100m time down from 11.16s to 10.71s this year.

Meanwhile, their coach is doing his bit to add to the Trackspeed1-UK list of 2017 achievements, having been asked to act as team coach for the South of England Junior team competing in the home international in Cardiff on Wednesday (12th July).