“Is this true?”
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Confusion over Alex Wilson’s European 100m record
Did he or did he not? Alex Wilson is said to have set a new European record.
Photo: dpa / Hendrik Schmidt
Atlanta Shortly before the Olympics, the supposed European record in the 100-meter distance caused an uproar. The Swiss Alex Wilson is said to have set a new record – and he himself doubts it.
Alex Wilson’s 100-meter European record aroused suspicion – even among the Swiss athlete himself. “Immediately after the race, Alex thought he might have ran 10.10secs or 10.00 at best, but not as fast as he was on the scoreboard at Monday’s Keystone-SDA news agency,” Wilson advisor Andreas Heidegger told Keystone-SDA news agency. Is everything alright?” Wilson is said to have asked officials.
The 30-year-old ran the distance in 9.84 seconds at a meeting in Atlanta on Sunday. The original Jamaican improved to the Old Continental Best for Portugal’s Francis Obekuelo and France’s Jimmy Vicote (9.86 seconds). In addition, he broke the Swiss record of over 200 meters by nine hundredths of a second to 19.89 seconds.
“In these appearances, I ask myself the same questions as you journalists. The athlete did not see himself in good shape, even if he had prepared well. But the result sheet says 9.84 seconds over the 100 meters and 19.89 seconds over the 200 meters,” continued Heidegger.
The Swiss Athletics Federation has reported that the records are “subject to change” and has since requested the data. Wilson had a favorable tailwind of 1.9 meters per second at a height of 100 metres. In the Olympic season, the sprinter hasn’t caught much attention so far and his best times were 10.38 and 20.64 seconds, respectively.