An unexpected name has emerged in American sprinting.
Recently, in Tennessee, USA, Music City Track Carnival event, former NCAA third-level (Division III) Sam Blaskowski in the men's 100 m final, ran 9.89 seconds（+1.5 m/s）to claim the win with an astonishing time, not only did he break the 10 second barrier, but he alsobroke French great Christophe Lemaitre in 2011 year when he set 9.92 record for a white athlete, becoming the fastest white male 100 m runner in history.
When it comes to the 100m record among white athletes, Italian sprinter Marcell Jacobs won the Tokyo Olympic title with 9.80 seconds with that time, but he is half West African (his mother is Italian, his father is an African American of West African descent), so he cannot be considered fully white. The Asian record is held by Chinese sprinter Su Bingtian at 9.83 seconds.
Back to Blaskowski this result was so surprising because before this race his personal best was only 10.05 seconds.
Sam Blaskowski During his time at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (UW-La Crosse) he virtually dominated NCAA Division III sprinting, accumulating 11 individual national titles in his career, including the men's 100m four straight titles, 200m four titles (two indoor, two outdoor) and three 60m titles.
In addition to his individual results, he also helped his school win three 4×100 metre relay titles and set NCAA Division III men's 60 metres in 6.65 seconds and 100 metres in 10.05 seconds records; however, even with such a brilliant collegiate career, few expected him to move into the ranks of the world's top 100 m sprinters.
In fact, this 9.89 seconds performance was so stunning because it came almost completely without warning.
This is Blaskowski's first full professional season since leaving campus; he moved to Florida to train with former Olympic medalist Dennis Mitchell at the Star Athletics team. However, before this race he had already competed in five different events, including three at high altitude, but he still hadn't improved on his collegiate 10.05-second personal best, and his placings have never been higher than third.
So, when the clock finally stopped at 9.89 seconds, many even briefly wondered if they had misread the time. Because he didn't just beat his personal best; he actually skipped past the entire 9‑second range , instantly joining the ranks of world-class 100m sprinters.
With this 9.89-second result, Blaskowski is currently (as of June 1) the fastest American men's 100m sprinter of the 2026 season and is tied for second in the world rankings; Historically, 9.89 seconds is also tied for the 54th-fastest time in men's 100m history.
According to alltime-athletics.com statistics, in officially sanctioned competitions that meet wind-speed regulations, there have been only 299 performances faster than 9.89 seconds, in other words,Blaskowski this result not only rewrites his personal career but also places him among the top ranks in the history of world sprinting.
However, the race still leaves plenty to discuss. Aside from Blaskowski , the top seven finishers all posted season-best marks, prompting many to wonder whether the day's conditions were particularly favorable for fast times. Therefore, next we'll see Blaskowski can run a similar time again.
If he can keep posting 9.9 seconds even faster intervals, then this sprinter from NCAA Division III sprinter who could emerge as a new, not-to-be-ignored force in U.S. men's sprinting.
