23-year-old Owen Ansah is now the first German to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds

A 23-year-old 100-meter sprinter, Owen Ansah, has broken the German record by clocking 9.99 seconds at the national championships in Braunschweig, surpassing Julian Reus’s previous record of 10.01 seconds.

This performance earned him a place at the upcoming Paris Olympics. He edged out pre-race favorite Joshua Hartmann, who set a personal best of 10.06 seconds on Saturday, as reported by Dpa.

Ansah celebrated his achievement with a wide smile in front of the timing board. “It had to happen sometime. It happened today,” said the newly crowned German champion. “And I’m mega-happy that I was the first.”

Ansah dedicated his record-breaking victory at the national championships to his father, whose birthday coincided with the event.

Speaking fondly of his father, a former track and field athlete who emigrated from Ghana to Germany, Ansah described him as his role model. His father’s guidance and encouragement from his seventh-grade sports teacher inspired Ansah to pursue athletics.

This achievement is especially significant for Ansah, who overcame a challenging period due to a thigh bone injury that sidelined him for six months last year.

“That was a tough time, but that’s part of it,” the Hamburg SV athlete reflected.