Level Up: Bryan Levell’s Meteoric Rise in Breakout Year for Jamaican Sprint Sensation

By becoming the third-fastest Jamaican ever in the 200m, clocking the fastest Jamaican time since Usain Bolt in 2015, the former Edwin Allen High School standout is deemed a serious contender for medals at the World Championships

Jamaica’s Fastest 200m sprinter since Bolt in 2015 (Photo: Gettyimages)

What a year it’s been so far for rising sprint sensation Bryan Levell. The sprinter blazed to 19.69 seconds in the men’s 200m at the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest, setting a new meet record and smashing his personal best of 19.97s.

The performance places him third on Jamaica’s all-time list for the event, behind only Usain Bolt’s immortal world record of 19.19s set in 2009 and Yohan Blake’s 19.27s. It is also the fastest time by a Jamaican since Bolt in 2015.

Levell’s victory came just six days after winning the 200m at the Memorial Wiesława Maniaka Meet in Szczecin, Poland, in 20.26s. This season has been a breakthrough year for the former Edwin Allen High School standout, who also clocked a personal best of 9.82s in the 100m this July.

His steady improvement has been evident since his earlier days, including his previous 200m PB of 20.34 set at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.

Turning 22 in December, Levell followed up his win at the National Championships, where he secured his ticket to the World Championships in Tokyo this September, by proving himself a formidable contender and is now deemed a serious contender and a genuine threat to his competitors on the global stage.