In a reverse of the movie plot of Cool Runnings where Jamaican sprinters turn into a bobsled team, India’s brand new 100m track sensation Animesh Kujur availed the expertise of a bobsleigh coach, ahead of his momentous dipping under the 10.2 second mark for a 10.18s national record.
While Indian fans were soaking in the excellence of their greatest individual Olympian at the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Bengaluru, another historic moment was unfolding in a quiet suburb of Greece, as Kujur became the fastest Indian man.
Participating in the Dromia International Sprint and Relays meet in Vari, Greece, Animesh won the second final of the men’s 100m and overall clocked the third best timing behind Benjamin Richardson (South Africa) who ran in 10.01s and Ali Al Balushi (Oman) who clocked 10.12.
But it was what the sprinter did in the months leading up to this breakthrough, that riffs off the famous Jamaican tale. Animesh worked on his strength and conditioning with Chris Wolley – a renowned coach of winter Olympics sport, Bobsleigh.
Martin Owens, coach of Animesh at Reliance Foundation, told The Indian Express from Greece, about how the association came about. “One thing I have realized that a lot of technical improvements happen in the gym and with the physio. We worked with Chris at the Swiss Olympic Center and it paid off. He worked on movement patterns of Animesh when he starts and how he can be more dynamic while taking initial strides,” Owens mentioned.
“The initial strides sets him up for a better race. The first couple of strides aren’t always as fast as they can be but they are better mechanically for setting him up for the race. So, we have worked on those first two strides,” he explained the technical adjustment.
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The work done has certainly paid off as Animesh shaved off nearly 0.09 seconds from his previous personal best of 10.27s which he clocked last year in Spain. He also ran 2.27s in 200m last month at Geneve Meet, fastest ever 200m by an Indian, but the timing was not counted, due to illegal windspeed of +2.3m/s
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Even as they head back to Switzerland pretty knackered, coach Owens was a happy man. “I am elated at the National record for sure. It was a long day for us and now we are flying back but the timing he clocked makes it all worth it,” Owens said, audibly exhausted.
The 22-year-old comes from the tribal Ghuitangar village of Kunkuri tehsil in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh.
Kujur rewrote the previous national record of 10.20s in 100m which was clocked by Gurindervir Singh at Indian Grand Prix earlier this March 2025. Racing in the second final of the men’s 100, Kujur didn’t start quick but shifted gears in the final 40m and a final push near the finish line resulted in him pipping the Greek runner Sotirios Garagganis to the finish line.
“I thought he ran a great race. He didn’t give away anything in the first 10 or 20 meters, held his shape through the middle of the race, and finished perfectly at the end. It is due to the competition he gets here,” Owens said.
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“In India, when he gets in the top speed, he is faster than everybody else. However, here everybody was matching him and he didn’t panic in the end. If he would have been in the third final (where Benjamin and Balushi raced), he would have ended with a better timing,” he explained of the pacing dynamic further.
European tour crucial
The Indian group of sprinters — Animesh Kujur, Lalu Bhoi, Manikanta Hoblidhar, Gurindervir Singh, and Jayaram Dondapati — are on a European sojourn to participate in the World Athletics continental meets and also improve their timings.
“We are looking at him and the other sprinters to go faster on this tour. It is important to have quality competitions where the participants keep pushing each other,” said Owens.
Besides training with the Winter Olympian coach, another reason that resulted in Animesh going faster is the conducive environment for sprint in Greece. “We were afraid in morning as the tailwinds were very strong and it looked like we might get a good time but won’t see the national record,” Owens said.
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“However, as the evening came on, the winds dropped and the red&white wind sock that indicates the wind direction was barely moving and as the timings came, it was a satisfying race overall,” he added.
Monaco DL next
When asked what’s next for Animesh on the European tour, Owens confirmed that he will be racing at the Monaco Diamond League in the men’s U23 200m race on 11th July.
“We are heading back to Switzerland for now and will rest. Animesh will race at the Monaco Diamond League. It is the U23 race for up and coming sprinters. A good initiative which will help someone like Animesh,” Owens said.
The U23 Men’s 200m at the Monaco Diamond League will be part of the one day programme and serve as the pre competition race for the men’s 200m which will witness the Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana in action.
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It will be a great chance for Animesh, who also rewrote the 200m national record twice in the year, to have shared field with the best in the world.
As of the now, with both 100m and 200m national records to his, Animesh has definitely earned the right to be called the fastest man in the country.