British sprinter Louie Hinchliffe has become the first European to win the men’s 100m at the NCAA Championships.
The 21-year-old, from Sheffield, ran 9.95 seconds in Eugene, Oregon, to claim the US collegiate title.
He is now the sixth quickest British sprinter and his time was the ninth fastest in the world this year and the best by a European.
Hinchliffe races for the University of Houston, where nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis is head coach.
“I’ve got to forget about this now and focus on the job at hand because the main job is the Olympics,” said Hinchliffe.
“I need to shift my focus to the Olympic trials.”
He is set to compete at the UK Championships in Manchester later this month, which act as the British trials for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Hinchliffe won the English national title in 2022 and spent the 2023 season with Washington State before transferring to Houston to work with Lewis.
Coming into 2024, his personal best was 10.17, but he has gradually improved it this year and ran a wind-assisted 9.84 in the NCAA regionals two weeks ago.
