[Video] Cuba’s Reynier Mena runs 19.63 secs at Swiss meet

The men’s 200 meters at the upcoming World Athletics Championships became even more interesting this weekend after Reynier Mena of Cuba blasted 19.63 (1.2 m/s) seconds to win the event at the Résisprint International meet in Switzerland on Sunday (3).

With his performance this weekend, Mena became the joint-10th fastest man ever in the 200m, while his time is the third-fastest in the world this year behind Americans Erriyon Knighton (19.49) and Noah Lyles (19.61).

READ MORE: Wayde van Niekerk runs 44.58 in 400m opener in Atlanta

After getting away to an explosive start to cover the men in front of him in the first 100m, Mena motored down the homestraight as he tore away from the rest of the field to set a new personal best and Cuban national record and became the first Cuban man to dip under 20 seconds for the 200m.

The 25-year-old who was a double bronze medalist at the 2013 World Youth Championships in the 100m and 200m, also set a new personal best in the shorter sprint event at the Résisprint International meet, clocking 9.99 seconds (1.6 m/s) for second place behind Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon who posted a national record of 9.96 secs to win the event.

With his run, Abeykoon also did something never been done before –becoming the first man from South Asia to break the 10-seconds barrier for the 100m.

Mena entered the 2022 World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger series meeting on Sunday in good form this season, and he will be absolutely delightedly with his performance in what was the last meet on his schedule before the World Championships in Oregon, next week.

More Fast Times At Résisprint International

Finishing second in the 200m to the Cuban sprinter on Sunday was Mickael-Méba Zeze of France who ran a distant personal best of 19.97 while third place went to Italy’s Filippo Tortu in 20.15.

Zeze also posted a lifetime best 9.99 seconds for third place in the 100m.

Meanwhile, Belarusian-born Israeli sprinter Diana Vaisman won the women’s 100m with a quick 11.06 secs to set a new national record and defeated two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers from The Netherlands who clocked 11.13 secs for second place. 

Olympic finalist Beatrice Masilingi of Namibia posted a season-best 22.29 seconds to secure the top spot in the women’s 200m.

Also in national record breaking form was Line Kloster who set a Norwegian record with an impressive 53.91 to win the women’s 400m hurdles, while Anna Kielbasinska of Poland won the women’s 400m in 50.31, Botswana’s Isaac Makwala clocked a season-best of 45.03 secs to take the men’s 400m and Roger Iribarne of Cuba ran a personal best of 13.26 to take the 110m hurdles.

Complete Result Here