In track and field, where milliseconds separate legends from the rest, a 14-year-old freshman from Houston’s C.E. King High School, a member of the class of 2028, is rewriting the playbook. He shocked the sprinting world with an eye-opening 10.07-second 100-meter dash earlier this month. Do you realize it puts him ahead of where an American running legend was at the same point in his career? The 14-year-old track and field sensation has accomplished what a future Olympic gold medal winner and one of the quickest men ever could not equal until he was at least 17 or 18.
Freshman Dillon Mitchell broke the record on 14th March 2025, when his 10.07-second run in 100m created a buzz on social media platforms such as X. Only a week earlier, he ran a wind-legal 10.35 seconds, which was a freshman class record and demonstrated his consistency under sanctioned conditions. Now, he has become the center of attention. In a video uploaded by the ReadySetGo podcast by Justin Gaitlin and Rodney Green today, the young phenomenon was discussed. Justin Gaitlin appeared to be full of praise for the young record-setter, Mitchell. He said, “I met Dillon, young fellow, sort of a fellow like you can tell like he just keeps to himself. To know I met this kid and him going out there doing that, and staying in touch with him. It blew my mind!” Justin Gatlin, with his personal best of 9.74 seconds, puts him fifth on the all-time 100-meter list.
He further said, “Cause I am thinking about this kid gonna go and maybe run, you know 10.4, as a freshman at that. So, when he went 10.35, I hit him up and say, hey man, I didn’t run 10.35 till I was a senior. So you out here doing your thing, dawg as a freshman, and then double back around, the next week and run 10.2 with a little wind, tailwind to it. But, then, double back again to run 10.0 now.” The contrast between the two is even greater, however, when placing their development timelines against each other. Gatlin, who was born in 1982, did not always break below 10.1 seconds until his early 20s or late teens, years into formal training. Mitchell, born in 2010 or 2011, is doing so with a body still developing. In track, in which physical peak generally comes in the mid-20s, Mitchell’s early supremacy presumes a ceiling that may reach or exceed that of Gatlin’s.
The story is developing…
The post 14-Year-Old Track and Field Sensation Achieves What American Legend Could Not at 18 appeared first on EssentiallySports.
