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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

Israel Olatunde smashes 60m National Record in magical performance

Ireland's fastest man Israel Olatunde lived up to the billing as he set a new indoor 60m Irish record of 6.57 at the National Senior Indoor Championships on Sunday afternoon.

The UCD star ran the lightning fast time as he took home victory in the Craig Lynch Memorial Cup at the Sport Ireland Arena, smashing Paul Hession's record of 6.61 which he set in Birmingham back in 2007.

This is the second record that Olatunde has snatched from Hession in recent months, after the Dundalk speedster claimed his 100m Irish crown at the European Championships last August.

READ MORE: Rhasidat Adeleke smashes longstanding Irish 400m record in sensational US run

Today, it was Hession's 16-year-old 60m indoor record of 6.61 that fell as Olatunde blew away the field, finishing ahead of Oliver Sweeney (SDPT) and Gabriel Kehinde (Ennis track).

The 20-year-old phenom found his rhythm right from the off and raced into the lead early doors. He extended his advantage over the final 20 metres eventually winning by a metre or so.

Olatunde's rapid ascension has earned himself no shortage of admirers, with a number of US colleges keeping a close eye on the young starlet.

He's had offers too to tread a path already laid out by fellow Irish track supremo Rashidat Adeleke, who moved to the US after her leaving Cert and has starred on the NCAA scene with the University of Texas.

Olatunde chose to stay in Ireland to finish his studies and further his development, although a move to the states in the near future hasn't been ruled out.

Regardless, it was yet another stunning performance from the electrifying youngster, who didn't even need to dip his head as he crossed the line to obliterate Hession's now fallen record.

With the 60m and 100m records in the bag, Olatunde can now truly lay claim to being the fastest Irish man in history.

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