Being a 13-year old running faster than Usain Bolt did at that age doesn’t mean you’ll be a world or Olympic champion, but it certainly is promising. James Gallaugher of Australia is still years away from actually finding out if he’ll make it at the highest levels, but his times in recent 200 meter races are showing a lot of promise.
Gallaugher, 13, ran a 200 meters race in a time of 21.73 seconds, which is faster than the best time Bolt himself, a six-time gold medalist in the Olympic games, ran at that distance when he was 14.
Gallaugher, coming from Western Australia, is already being marked as someone who might compete in track & field for the Aussies in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, maybe even against Bolt himself, but some might suggest that he’ll still be a bit too young for such a level of competition.
He’s already been scouted by some NRL clubs for his size, strength and pace but at the moment, it seems like he’s more interested in sprinting and seeing his name become bigger and bigger in the world of track and field.
If Sara Mulkearns, the national junior high performance manager, has her way, Gallaugher won’t be rushed into anything: We don’t want to put too much pressure on a 13-year-old. He’s in good hands and will definitely be a part of our junior programs, but he is pretty exciting.