Sunday 15th August 2021
Nobody was faster, but …
The fabulous time of a German sprinter does not count
Lucas Ansah-Peprah runs the fastest time in Switzerland that a German has ever achieved over 100 meters. However, the brand is not considered a German record – because the wind helps too much. It is better for his club colleague, who sets a new German annual record over 200 meters.
10 seconds isn’t long, but it’s a magical mark in the men’s 100-meter sprint. Those who undercut them can count themselves among the (extended) world leaders. Lucas Ansah-Peprah has now broken this sound barrier, the Olympic participant with the 4×100 meter relay of the German Athletics Association sprinted to the finish line in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland after 9.98 seconds. It is the fastest time that has ever been recorded for a German – but as a new national record it will not be included in the leaderboards. Because the rules stipulate that the tail wind may push at a maximum of 2.0 meters per second, while Ansah-Peprah’s run measured 2.5 meters per second.
Nevertheless, the 21-year-old, who only came to athletics as a 16-year-old through the school competition youth trained for the Olympics, manages a record, even if it is not an official one. Because before him, two Germans have already stayed below those magical 10 seconds, but the time measurement for Martin Keller in 2013 and for Julian Reus in 2017 recorded 9.99 seconds each. Keller (+3.7 m / s) and Reus (+4.8 m / s) also had significantly more tailwind. Reus, sixth in the sprint relay with Ansah-Peprah at the Tokyo Games, has held the German record since July 2016 with 10.01 seconds.
A second DLV sprinter, Julian Wagner, was faster than this record in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In the same run as Ansah-Peprah, exactly 10.00 seconds were measured for him, which, however, will also not be included in the official best lists . The 23-year-old had already shone with 10.21 seconds in the run-up, a remarkable time with 1.7 meters headwind per second.
This was also achieved in Switzerland by Owen Ansah over 200 meters, who ran the fastest time of a German sprinter since 2017 over half the stadium lap in 20.35 seconds and improved his personal best by around three tenths. At the age of 20, he too belongs to the young guard of the DLV, which is preparing to cause a sensation at the 2022 European home championships in Munich’s Olympic Stadium.
.