Oldham becomes Jersey's fastest man at Glasgow 2026
Jamie Oldham missed out on making the semi-finals by 0.17 seconds
- Published
Sprinter Jamie Oldham broke the Jersey 100m record in the heats at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The 20-year-old clocked 10.41 seconds, beating the previous island best of 10.48 set by teammate Steven Mackay last year.
Oldham finished second in his heat behind Ghana's Benjamin Azamati who won in a time of 10.00.
The time was not enough to earn a place in the semi-finals, but Oldham was elated to have registered a new personal best.
"I was coming in a bit dodgy, I'd been a bit sick, so I wasn't expecting too much," he told BBC Jersey.
"But to come and do it on the big stage I'm really proud of myself.
"I shot out of the blocks," he added.
"I was expecting the guy on my outside to shoot past, but when I noticed I'd got out before him I was like 'I just need to hold form' and I managed to do it."
Olympic semi-finalist Benjamin Azamati beat Jamie Oldham in the heats at Glasgow 2026
Oldham is one of three Jersey sprinters competing at the games - the first time the island has ever had a full contingent in the 100m.
They will all race again in the heats of the 200m on Wednesday - an event which Oldham is looking forward to in the form of his life.
"I feel like I did my coaches and my friends and my family proud, it really does mean a lot to me," added Oldham, who was 30th-fastest in the heats with the top 17 making the semi-finals.
"I've got more to come on Wednesday as well, so I'll have to see what I can do there.
"I was quietly confident in 100 (metres) because I'd got a personal best in the 200, so I thought I'd have a chance to get better.
"But I didn't think I'd PB by that much, not at all. An island record is the icing on the cake, so I'm over the moon."
Steve MacKay clocked a season's best in his heat
Meanwhile Steve MacKay set a new season's best of 10.68 as he finished fifth in his heat which was comfortably won by Jamaica's Rohan Watson.
He finished 46th-fastest while Jersey's third sprinter, Zachary Saunders was 49th-fastest
He finished fifth in his heat in 10.72 seconds as he returned to the Commonwealth Games after representing the island four years ago.
Saunders was 0.56 seconds behind South Africa's heat winner Bradley Nkoana.
All three athletes will be back to compete in the 200m on Wednesday.
