According to athletics expert Lauri Hollo, improving a record by even a tenth of a second in a year can be a challenging feat for adults.
Yousif Joseph, a 26-year-old athlete, has set an ambitious goal for himself at the WC Indoor Championships held over the weekend. He aims to become the fastest man in Finland within two years.
Joseph began his proper training regimen last summer and has since made impressive strides. At the SM halls in Tampere, he qualified as the second-best runner in the 200 meters final.
Lauri Hollo, an editorial athletics expert, acknowledges that Joseph’s two-year goal is a demanding one. However, he also believes that it’s not entirely impossible for Joseph to reach the final level of the Kaleva Games within this time frame.
Being the fastest man in Finland is typically determined by the 100-meter distance record. Joseph’s record from last year stands at 11 seconds, while the standing record is 10.88 seconds. This leaves Joseph 0.76 seconds behind the Finnish record of 10.12 seconds, set by Samuli Samuelsson last summer.
At 26, Joseph’s progress will not be due to physical maturation, as is the case with younger athletes. Instead, he will have to optimize his training and rest periods. His brief training background could potentially give him a slight edge in his rate of improvement.
Hollo states that improving by two-tenths of a second each year would be a significant achievement for an adult. A more realistic goal would be improving by a tenth of a second each year, provided all other factors align favorably.
Despite the seemingly lofty goals, Hollo admires Joseph’s determination and finds his journey intriguing. He commends Joseph for publicly announcing his goals and striving to achieve them.
Hollo’s assessment of Joseph’s performance at the Tampere Games suggests that while Joseph has good step contact, his steps might be a bit short. He sees potential for improvement in Joseph’s step length, frequency, and knee lift.
Even though Joseph is older, Hollo points out that it’s still possible for him to rise to the top in Finland. He cites Linford Christien, who ran at the world’s top level into his forties, as an example. There have also been instances of people starting their sprinting careers later in life.
Joseph’s time of 10.88 seconds for one hundred meters last season ranked him 39th in domestic statistics. To reach the top ten, he would need to improve his time to 10.51 seconds. If he can maintain steady progress, he might be able to achieve a time of 10.50 seconds next year, which would have placed him among the top ten fastest last summer.
However, Hollo remains skeptical about the feasibility of such rapid improvement.
