Adam Gemili gallops to World Junior gold in Championship-record time

Adam Gemili celebrates his victory in Barcelona last night (Getty Images)

Adam Gemili, Britain's burgeoning sprint hope, maintained his momentum with a gold-winning, championship record-breaking 100-metre run at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona last night. The 18-year-old ran 10.05sec, winning by 0.12sec from Aaron Ernest of the United States and breaking Trinidadian Darrel Brown's championship record by 0.04sec.

It was a mightily impressive performance by the young man whose coach, Michael Afilaka, had been wary of him being "burnt in the cauldron of Olympic competition" before allowing his protégé to accept a place in the 100m at the London Games.

Yohan Blake, the world 100m champion and conqueror of Usain Bolt over 100m and 200m at the recent Jamaican trials, was third and fourth in the two World Junior Championship 100m finals he contested as an under 20. His times were 10.47sec and 10.51sec.

Gemili's previous best, set at Regensburg in Germany last month, was 10.08sec. He is now the seventh-fastest British man ever.

Gemili is the fourth Briton to win the world junior 100m crown, following Christian Malcolm (10.12sec, 1998), Mark Lewis-Francis (10.12, 2000) and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (10.37, 2006). Darren Campbell and Jason Gardener – like Lewis-Francis, members of the Olympic gold-winning 4x100m relay team in Athens in 2004 – won silver medals in the event.