Jamaican 16-year-old who broke Usain Bolt's record makes sensational claim

A 16-year-old Jamaican sprint sensation who has already broken one of Usain Bolt's records has confessed he wasn't even the quickest in his class. Teenage prodigy Nickecoy Bramwell is already causing a stir in the world of athletics.

In April, he shattered Bolt's under-17 400m world record at the Carifta Games in Grenada, leaving his competitors in his wake with an astonishing time of 47.26 seconds - 0.07 seconds quicker than the eight-time Olympic champion's previous record that stood for 22 years.

Almost seven years after Bolt hung up his spikes, Bramwell is emerging as one of the Caribbean island's next big talents. But that did not always look to be the case as he admitted to being one of the slower stars in his school.

Jamaica is renowned for producing some of the world's top sprinters over the years. Bramwell's experience of often coming second to his classmates highlights the sheer speed of youngsters in the country, reports the Mirror.

In a February interview with the Jamaican newspaper, the Gleaner, the teenager shared his early experiences of racing against his friends. When asked who his inspirations are by the outlet, the youngster said: "It was Usain Bolt.

"I looked at him as an idol and I decided I wanted to be like him, and that's why I started track and field. I started in primary school. I wasn't the fastest at the time, so it's really just hard work for me."

When asked if he believes he can challenge for the same honours as Bolt, he said: "It's a great feeling, you know, to represent your country and to win for your country.

"My family is always there. They're always at my track meets since the season has started. I can't really answer that now about medals, but the season has been good. No, I don't feel any pressure at all for this Championship really. It's just a great feeling to represent Calabar."

Just two months on from that interview, Bramwell spectacularly shattered Bolt's iconic Jamaican record, catapulting his name into global recognition. Following his historic sprint, he shared in a post-race interview: "It's a wonderful feeling to break the record.

"Since last summer, I have been eyeing the record. So it's a great feeling I could come out here and get it. I just took my mind off it and focused on the record. I'm looking forward to better things."

Meanwhile, Bolt, 37, enjoys athletics as a spectator and participates in other events such as SoccerAid at Stamford Bridge which took place on Sunday - the sprinting legend unfortunately suffered a serious achilles injury in the match and had to be taken off on a stretcher.

However, he remains keenly interested in the upcoming generation of athletes. In an earlier interview, Bolt confessed his desire to see fresh personalities emerge in the athletic world. He stated: "After me, it kind of went down because of who I was as a person, and how big my personality was.

"But I think over time it will be better. I think young athletes are coming up and I see a few personalities that are needed in sport, hopefully in the upcoming years it will change."