Saint Lucian athlete Naomi London sets new personal best at Texas State Twilight meet

Saint Lucia: The fastest U-20 national junior athlete from Saint Lucia, Naomi London set a new personal-best mark at the Texas State Twilight meet in San Marcos on Saturday, May 17. She ran a brilliant 11.09 seconds to win the women's 100m while also achieved a personal best in the women’s 200m.

The 18-year-old shattered the national Under-20 record of 11.23 seconds in the 100m earlier this season. Although London was not able to make another national record this time, her record of 11.09 seconds places her 33rd among the fastest teenagers under all conditions and the eighth fastest from the Caribbean.

Also, during Saturday's 200m, London won the event with 23.01 seconds. The wind was measured at 2.6 m/s. It was her first 200m race since August of 2023 when she clocked 23.71 seconds. She is the second quickest Saint Lucian ever to run the half-lap event. 

The record holder for the number one fastest Saint Lucian runner in the half-lap race is Julien Alfred at 22.90 seconds which stands as the national junior record. She also was the winner of the 100m at the 2024 Olympics at 10.72 seconds.

About Naomi London

Naomi London, born in 2007, is a talented U-20 sprinter from Saint Lucia. She is the national junior record holder for 100m (11.23s) and represents the University of Texas at Austin. Naomi took silver at the 2023 CARIFTA Games, and she was a finalist for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games. 

Some injuries negatively impacted her appearance in the 2023 and 2024 CARIFTA Games. Despite this, London continues to improve under coach Edrick Floreal, training alongside superstars such as Julien Alfred.

She also joined Alfred, double CARIFTA champion Jady Emmanuel, Hippolyte, and World Indoors 60m hurdles semi-finalist Aasia Laurencin in the “five St Lucian women running the 100m in under 12 seconds” milestone.