Divine Iheme
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | Divine Ebubechukwu Iheme 1 October 2009 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Sprint |
| Club | PWD Athletics Academy/Radley AC |
| Coached by | Nkiruka Anu |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | |
Medal record | |
Divine Ebubechukwu Iheme (born 1 October 2009) is a British sprinter. In February 2026, he set the European under-18 best time for the 60 metres and that summer won the gold medal over 100 metres at the 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships.[1]
Early life
[edit]Born in Oxford,[2] he is based in Radley in Oxfordshire.[3] His early athletics training was at Radley Athletics Club, based at Tilsley Park sports facility. He started focusing on sprinting in 2022 at the age of 12 years-old.[4]
Career
[edit]2024
[edit]He became English Schools Champion over 100 metres and won the 100m and 200m sprint double in the English Athletics indoor age-group championships in April 2024.[3]
Iheme set a UK under-14 record of 10.56 for the 100 metres at the England Athletics U15 & U17 Open Championships in July 2024.[5] He ran a world U14 best time of 10.30 seconds over 100 metres in August 2024 at Lee Valley. This time also placed him third on the European U18 all-time list behind Britain’s Teddy Wilson and France’s Jeff Erius.[6]
Having turned 15 years-old in October 2024, he ran a personal best time of 6.76 seconds for the 60 metres in Lee Valley. This mark was 0.02 seconds behind the British U18 record set by Mark Lewis-Francis in 1999.[7]
2025
[edit]In January 2025, he broke the world best mark for a 15-year old over 60 metres, previously set by J-Mee Samuels in 2003, running 6.72 and 6.71 seconds in consecutive races at the BFTTA Indoor Series in London.[2][8] At the English Schools Championships he broke the inter boys 100m championships record of 10.48 with a run of 10.41 seconds (+1.2 m/s).[9] In August 2025 in Lee Valley, he ran the 100 metres in 10.29 seconds (+1.7 m/s) for a British U18 best, and a European all-time best for 15 year-old sprinters.[10] That month, he won over 100 metres and 200 metres ahead of Bronson Hearn-Smith in both races at the England Athletics U17 Championships in Birmingham.[11]
2026
[edit]In February 2026, Iheme set a new European under-18 best time for the indoor 60 metres in Sheffield, running 6.68 seconds in winning the England Athletics U17 title.[12][13] The following week, Iheme was a semi-finalist in the 60 metres at the senior 2026 British Indoor Athletics Championships in Birmingham.[14]
In July, he won the gold medal in the 100 metres as a member of the Great Britain team at the 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships in Rieti, Italy. His winning time of 10.29 seconds a new championship record, breaking the previous best set by Marek Zakrzewski in 2022.[15][16][17] It was the first time a British male had won the gold medal in the 100 m discipline in the history of the championships.[18]
On 6 August, he was part of a Great Britain 4 x 100 metres mixed relay team alongside Savannah McKenzie Morgan, Sophie Thomas and Mathew Ajayi who set a world under-20 record of 41.60 seconds in heat two at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships.[19][20] In the final, he ran as the Great Britain team lowered their time to 41.38 seconds and won the silver medal, finishing behind a new world-record setting Italian quartet led home by Kelly Doualla.[21][22]
Personal life
[edit]His parents, Innocent Iheme and Nkiruka Anu, were both athletes who represented Nigeria at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[23][24] He is coached by his mother, who after spending nine years in the British military founded the PWD (Power, Will and Drive) Athletic Academy in Oxfordshire. He has two older brothers, Praise, and Wisdom.[25][2][4] He is nicknamed "Lightning".[26][4]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Divine Iheme". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- 1 2 3 Adams, Tim (5 January 2025). "Divine Iheme runs world age 15 best of 6.71 over 60m". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
- 1 2 Smythe, Steve (16 April 2024). "Divine Iheme, 14, runs 10.76/21.74 sprint double". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- 1 2 3 Wilson, Jeremy (6 February 2025). "Divine 'Lightning' Iheme – the British teenager who is faster than Usain Bolt". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ↑ "Teenage sprinter Divine Iheme excels at England U15 and U17 Champs". Athletics Weekly. 30 July 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
- ↑ Adams, Tim (26 August 2024). "Divine Iheme runs world 14 best of 10.30 over 100m". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ↑ Adams, Tim (10 December 2024). "Divine Iheme runs blistering 6.76 over 60m aged 15". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
- ↑ "Divine Iheme: British sprinter dubbed 'the new Noah Lyles' breaks 60m age 15 world record twice". Sky Sports. 6 January 2025.
- ↑ Henderson, Jason (13 July 2025). "CLASS OF 2025 SHINE AT SUN-DRENCHED ENGLISH SCHOOLS". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
- ↑ Broadbent, Chris (1 September 2025). "9.87! Amo-Dadzie goes to fifth all-time in European over 100m". European Athletics. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ↑ Henderson, Jason (12 August 2025). "ENGLAND ATHLETICS U17/15 CHAMPS RESULTS". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
- ↑ "U15/U17/U20 Indoor Championships - Day 1, a world class start to the weekend". England Athletics. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ "DIVINE IHEME SETS EUROPEAN UNDER-18 INDOOR 60M RECORD". Athletics Weekly. 7 February 2026. Retrieved 7 February 2026.
- ↑ "Novuna UK Athletics Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 14 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ Adams, Tim (1 July 2026). "DIVINE IHEME, FREDDIE ROWE AND SONNY ALLEN LEAD GB EURO U18 TEAM". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ "Strong Team of 43 Athletes selected for 2026 European Athletics U18 Championships in Italy". British Athletics. 1 July 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ Broadbent, Chris (17 July 2026). "10.29! Iheme sets championships record in men's 100m final in Rieti 2026". European Athletics. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- ↑ "DIVINE IHEME STRIKES 100M GOLD ON BRITAIN'S BEST NIGHT YET IN RIETI". Athletics Weekly. 17 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- ↑ "World U20 records set as mixed 4x100m makes debut in Oregon". World Athletics. 7 August 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "TAYLOR AND MAXWELL COMPLETE US 100M DOUBLE AT WORLD U20 CHAMPS". Athletics Weekly. 7 August 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ "Italy break world U20 mixed 4x100m record to get gold in Oregon". worldathletics.org. 8 August 2026. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 7 August 2026. Retrieved 7 August 2026.
- ↑ Hodge, Stuart (10 September 2024). "Divine Iheme: Meet 14-year-old British sprint star dubbed 'the new Noah Lyles' who is quicker than Olympic champion was at same age". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
- ↑ Pandey, Animesh (27 August 2024). "Who is Divine Iheme? All about the 14-year-old sprinting sensation from UK who has broke the 100m age group world record". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
- ↑ Ogunshakin, Daniel (11 July 2025). "The British sprinter who was faster than Lyles and Gout at 14". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
- ↑ "Divine Iheme targeting world record in his age group after becoming fastest 14-year-old in Britain". Sky Sports. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.