Latest update: 14/08/2009 

- athletics - Berlin


French sprinter eyes gold in Berlin
French sprinter eyes gold in Berlin
Christophe Lemaitre, France's most promising sprinter in years, believes the French 4x100m relay team can have a shot at gold in Berlin. He spoke to FRANCE 24 on the eve of his departure for the world championships.
By Thibault LIEURADE (text)
Power is his defining trait. Standing tall at 1.89 m and weighing in at 79 kg, 19-year-old Christophe Lemaitre doesn’t have the typical physique of a sprinter, but his style – a combination of a long stride and aggressiveness – allowed him to set the European record for the 100m sprint in the junior division, clocking in at 10.04 seconds on July 24. That makes him faster than Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay or even Carl Lewis when they were his age and a big hope for French athletics.

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