(Reuters) – Eugene Amo-Dadzie calls himself the world’s fastest accountant and the number-crunching British athlete put his money where his mouth is by scorching the track in Graz, Austria with a superb 9.93 seconds finish in the 100 metre run.
The 30-year-old full-time accountant, who only started running seriously four years ago, improved on his personal best at the Horst Mandl Memorial last week to become the quickest 100m runner in Europe this year.
Amo-Dadzie’s astonishing effort also left him joint-fourth on the British all-time list which features names like Linford Christie (9.87), James Dasaolu and Zharnel Hughes (both 9.91) and Reece Prescod (9.93).
“I got a really good reaction, a really good start and then it was like ‘Do not let your foot off the gas’,” Amo-Dadzie told the BBC. “I got into my upright running and I literally felt like I was flying.
“I leaned towards the line, looked over, saw the time began with a nine and went crazy. I just went mad. God willing, I will run that many more times, but you only get the first one once. It was one of the best days of my life.”
Amo-Dadzie, who previously used his express pace to run rings around fellow amateur soccer players, started training at Woodford Green Athletics Club and has steadily improved his performances with a peak time of 10.05 seconds last year.
The late bloomer, who does not have a sponsor or funding, said he might not have realised his full potential had he been discovered earlier.
“I feel like I came into the sport at the right time,” said Amo-Dadzie, who reached the 60m semi-finals at the European Indoor Championships representing Britain.
“The head that I had on my shoulders at that time has allowed me to navigate this thing in a sensible way. I very much enjoy that I have a different story.
“I still refer to myself as an accountant that happens to operate in the world of track and field.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru)
