WATCH: This 12-year-old girl could be the next Usain Bolt
It’s the sort of spread you’d expect from Secretariat... Michael Phelps... Usain Bolt... But this time, the superhero athlete at the front of the pack is a 12-year-old girl from Jamaica.
Her name is Brianna Lyston and, this weekend, she left her competition in the dust, posting a record-breaking time of 23.72 in the 200-meter final of the Boys and Girls Championship in Kingston, Jamaica. If that sounds familiar, it’s likely because it’s the same event that catapulted Usain Bolt to national stardom when he won his first medal.
Lyston now holds the Class 4 (under-13) 200-meter record, which is all the more incredible when you compare the 12-year-old runner’s time to the times of the adult legends in the sport. She’s just 2.38 seconds behind the female world record of 21.34 set by American sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 Olympic Games. Years later, Usain Bolt set the male record at 19.19.
Little Brianna Lyston is right on the heels of the greats and she is only 12 years old. Just check out the footage of her record smashing race on Saturday and prepare to be blown away.
