At 31 years old, Eugene Amo-Dadzie is now one of the fastest men in the world. The British runner performed a time of 9.93 seconds during the 100m race in Graz, Austria, Friday, making him the quickest 100m runner in Europe this year and the fourth all-time fastest in the United Kingdom, according to the BBC.
Not only is the achievement significant from an athletic standpoint, but his time is also awe-inspiring as Amo-Dadzie took up running later than most athletes at age 26 after stumbling across a local track meet in east London in 2018.
The friend he was with asked Amo-Dadzie why he never took up running. The 31-year-old had performed a time of 11.3 seconds in secondary school (the British equivalent to middle and high school) without any training. Amo-Dadzie then got caught up in student life at the University of Nottingham and grew a reputation for his speed in amateur soccer matches.
He eventually joined Woodford Green Athletics Club and competed in the British Championships semifinals within a year of training. He performed at 10.55 in his debut season, then at 10.20 in 2021, and 10.05 the following year.
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“I got a really good reaction, a really good start, and then it was like, ‘Do not let your foot off the gas,’” he told the BBC about Friday’s achievement. “I got into my upright running, and I literally felt like I was flying.”
“I leaned toward the line, looked over, saw the time began with a nine and went crazy. I just went mad. God willing, I will run that many more times, but you only get the first one once. It was one of the best days of my life,” he said.
On the Sunday morning after the race, UK Anti-Doping officers knocked on his door, asking him to provide a urine sample. For Amo-Dadzie, this acted as a validation of his achievement.
“As soon as I saw their credentials, I was buzzing,” he said. “I’m a big, big supporter of clean athletics. Ukad are more than welcome to break my door down. My wife will tell you how excited I was when they banged on the door the first time.”
“It’s validation of all the hard work,” he added. “They are not going to test someone who is running 10.8. If I want to be a professional athlete, this is what comes with that.”
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Amo-Dadzie currently works as a senior management accountant for a property company. He hopes to compete professionally with the British team on the 4x100m in the World Championships next August. Amo-Dadzie is also on the lookout for sponsors or funding.
“If you know anyone at Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Puma, Asics or anywhere else, send them my way,” he said.
