Davontè Howell continued his victorious summer, adding a historic gold medal to his achievements after twice breaking the Junior Pan American Games record in the 100-metre sprint in Asunción, Paraguay.
Howell, 19, blazed through his 100m semi-final on 18 Aug. in a time of 10.10 seconds, breaking the Junior Pan Am Games record of 10.13 set just minutes before in the other semi-final by Ronal Longa of Colombia. The previous record for that event was 10.33 seconds set by Erik Cardoso of Brazil in 2021.
But Howell wasn’t done. The following day, he returned to the track for the finals where he broke the record once again, in a wind-legal time of 9.98 seconds, for Cayman’s first-ever gold medal in the 100m at the Games.
In addition to adding to his already impressive track resume, the win earned Howell a spot at both this year’s Tokyo World Athletics Championships in September and the 2027 Pan American Games set for 16 July to 1 Aug. in Lima, Peru.
Howell’s success at the Games is the culmination of a phenomenal season.
Just over a month ago, on 5 July, he competed at the Barbados Grand Prix, where he secured a first-place finish with a time of 10.15 seconds.
At that event, Howell shared with the media that his focus was not on the times themselves, but rather on executing his races, having fun and, ultimately, winning.
He kept up the momentum at the Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, Tennessee, 10 days later where Howell demonstrated his speed once again, winning another gold medal with a time of 10.07 seconds.
In a post-race interview at the current Pan Am Games, Howell said, “It feels good. It was a great race, great competitors, the conditions weren’t favourable, but nonetheless, the time was fast, [and] I am happy for it.”
