While the more than 25,000 people who gathered at the National Stadium on Saturday night were marveling at the performances of World Champion Carmelita Jeter's world-leading 10.81-second run and Usain Bolt's 9.82-second canter in the 100 metres at the Jamaica Invitational, there was a special moment for a young sprinter that went virtually unnoticed.

Kemar Bailey-Cole, just two years removed from his days at Old Harbour High School where he excelled as a junior athlete, posted a lifetime best of 10.09 seconds in the men's 100-metre 'A' race. He beat a talented field of emerging sprinters that included Kimmari Roach and Jacques Harvey. The lanky sprinter, who only turned 20 this past January, was pleasantly surprised.

"I never really expected that time, I was going after 10.1 but I came out with 10.09 and I feel really good about it."

elite sprinters

Later Saturday night, Bailey-Cole's coach, the iconic Glen Mills who has guided some of Jamaica's greatest sprinters including three-time Olympic finalist Raymond Stewart, World and Olympic champion and world record holder Usain Bolt and World Champion Yohan Blake, welcomed him to the world of elite sprinters. "Congrats, the journey has begun," Mills said to him while urging him to be mindful that God has given him a talent and that he should not forget that.

It has taken Bailey-Cole two years to start his journey towards becoming a sub-10 second sprinter. When he joined the Racers' track club just about two years ago, the first two things he had to improve upon, he said, were his strength and his body mass. Standing at six-foot, four inches, Bailey-Cole said he was too skinny. He claims not to remember how much he weighed back then but says he is now just north of 170lbs as his muscle mass is closer to where he needs it to be.

Whilst a student at Old Harbour High, his personal best was a quick 10.41, but after a year at Racer's he got that time down to 10.28 at the 2010 CARIFTA Games, finishing second in the Under 20 Boys' 100 metre to Jazeel Murphy. It was then, he said, that he knew he could go faster.

He acknowledges that his start is still weak. He is confident that with the 'block work' he has been putting in, he doesn't have that far to go before he improves. "Maybe by the time the next meet comes around," he joked. He competes next in the Cayman Islands this coming weekend but will be running the 200 metres. His next 100-metre run could be in New York in early June.

"I never really expected that time, I was going after 10.1 but I came out with 10.09 and I feel really good about it."