CTFL fans were gifted with not one, but two sub-10 second times in the Men’s 100m dash this season.

Bears’ Usheoritse Itsekiri and Huskies’ Elizier Adjibi notched times of 9.97 and 9.98 seconds respectively. Unfortunately for the pair, the results were determined to be wind-assisted, just barely over the legal limit, but it was nonetheless an impressive feat for the top athletes in the discipline.

Athletes flocked to Guelph, Ontario, on June 4 for the Royal City Inferno meet where the unthinkable nearly happened. Through the initial qualifiers of the men’s 100m, identical times of 10.04, running in different heats. 

With Adjibi recording a personal best in the qualifying round and Itsekiri nearing his best of 10.02, the two sprinters were set to match up in an exciting final. 

In a shocking finish, Adjibi and Itsekiri flew across the finish line at what appeared to be the same time. As the two blazed across the finish line nearly in line with each other, the difference between first and second place was microscopic.

Itsekiri’s time of 9.97 seconds beat out Adjibi by only one hundredth of a second. For reference, that difference is ten times quicker than the blink of an eye.

Again, these times were not wind legal, but by another microscopic margin. With a tailwind of +2.1 m/s, the wind speed was 0.1 m/s faster than the limit of 2.0 m/s. That difference, for another helpful comparison, is about one forty-fifth the speed of the average human sneeze, just a hair away from a legal wind value.

To underpin how rare the accomplishment is, the number of people who have ever broken the 10 second barrier is in the hundreds, and it includes only five Canadians. Had the circumstances been just slightly different, Usheoritse Itsekiri and Elizier Adjibi may have joined that short list. Further, it would have made Adjibi only the sixth Canadian to ever break the 10 second barrier.

Heading into the CTFL final, Itsekiri has a sizable lead in the standings, carrying 51 points for the Bears, compared to Adjibi’s 41 points for the Huskies. With the fastest preliminary mark this season and the fastest free mark (10.05, compared to Adjibi’s 10.07), Itsekiri only needs to finish in second or third place to maintain a first place finish this season.

Winning the championship is one thing, but for either of these athletes to do it in less than 10 seconds is a whole different level of exciting. With nearly identical performances from both of the incredible sprinters, there is a real chance the CTFL could witness two athletes officially break that barrier this season.

If the past is any indication, the CTFL 100m final in Ottawa on July 6 will be a tight race between two blisteringly quick sprinters in Itsekiri and Adjibi, and it might be over in under 10 seconds.