Alonso Edward
Introduction '''Alonso Reno Edward Henry''' (born 8 December 1989), commonly known as  '''Alonso Edward''', is a Panamanian sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres.He set a South American junior record in the 100 m in 2007.Edward competed in his first World Junior Championships in 2008, finishing in sixth place. He made significant improvements in the 2009 season, setting national records in the 100 m and 200 m in May, and winning both events at the 2009 South American Championships in Athletics. Prior to the 2009 World Championships, he again beat the 200 m national record, becoming the fourth fastest runner of the season. At his first ever World Championships he set a South American record to win the silver medal in the 200 metres final, becoming the youngest ever medallist in that event.
Early career Born in Panama City, Panamá, Edward is of Jamaican descent on his mother's side. He was initially coached by Cecilio Woodruf in his home country and came to prominence on the youth and junior athletics circuit, winning a 100/200 m double at the South American Youth Championships and the 100 m gold at the 2007 South American Junior Championships. His time of 10.28 seconds, at the junior championships, was a new South American junior record, improving upon his own previous mark. He also attended the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships, but pulled up in the heats. Following in the footsteps of fellow Panamanian athlete Irving Saladino, he moved to train in Brazil but an injury interrupted the start of his season, all but eliminating his chances to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics. While recovering, Edward moved to the United States and enrolled with Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas, working under the tutelage of Matt Kane. He made his first appearance at a world competition; the 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics. A season's best run of 10.91 seconds in the 100 m saw him eliminated in the heats stage.
Breakthrough season In the 2009 athletics season, Edward had markedly improved from the previous season: at the Texas Invitational meet in early May, he ran 9.97 seconds to break the 10-second barrier, with the wind assistance just over the legal limit (2.3 m/s). Later that month he broke two national records, running 10.09 seconds in the 100 m and 20.34 seconds in the 200 m at a meet in Hutchinson, Kansas. The following month he proved his ability to win at the senior regional level, taking two gold medals in a sprint double at the 2009 South American Championships in Athletics. He beat the competition in the 200 m by almost half a second, finishing with 20.45 seconds.Further improvements came in the 200 m in Rethymno in July, as he broke his own national record to win in twenty seconds flat. This time ranked him as fourth fastest in the world coming into the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, with only Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, and Wallace Spearmon running faster.In the 200 metres at the World Championships, Edward reached a new level of performance. Touted as a possible surprise finalist, he started well, winning his heat and his quarter-final. In the semi-finals, he finished second to Usain Bolt and was the third fastest of the round overall, after Spearmon, with a run of 20.22 seconds. Although Bolt won the final race by a margin of 0.62 seconds to set a new world record, Edward set a South American record of 19.81 seconds. He had started the season with a best of 20.62 seconds, but he had improved by 0.81 seconds in just one year, breaking Bolt's previous record for the fastest time by a 19-year-old and becoming the youngest ever World Championship medallist in the men's 200 m in the process.Prior to the 2010 season, Edward decided that he would miss the 2010 World Indoor Championships in Athletics in favour of focusing upon the first IAAF Diamond League, keen to become the first South American to break the 10-second barrier. He began his outdoor season in April, winning the 100 m gold at the Central American Games in Panama, but he suffered a strained hamstring in the 200 m and missed much of the year through the injury.
Personal bests EventTime (sec)VenueDate100 metres  10.01 s  Cochabamba, Bolivia  6 June 2018200 metres  19.81 s  Berlin, Germany  20 August 2009200 metres (indoor) 20.70 s  Fayetteville, United States  23 January 2010*All information taken from IAAF profile.
Competition record Representing 2006Central American JuniorChampionships (U20)Guatemala City, Guatemala2nd100 m11.05 (wind: -0.7 m/s)3rd200m22.07 (wind: +0.7 m/s)South American Youth ChampionshipsCaracas, Venezuela 1st100 m10.60 s (wind: +0.0 m/s) 1st200 m21.18 s (wind: +0.0 m/s) 2nd4 × 100 m41.96 s 6th1000 m medley relay2:03.41 min2007ALBA GamesCaracas, Venezuela1st100 m10.25 s '''w''' (wind: +2.3 m/s)2nd200 m20.62 s '''NR''' '''NR-j''' (wind: +2.0 m/s)2nd4 × 100 m relay40.07 sCentral American JuniorChampionships (U20)San Salvador, El Salvador1st100 m10.59 (wind: -2.9 m/s)1st200 m21.08 (wind: -1.2 m/s)1st4 × 400 m relay3:23.01South American ChampionshipsSão Paulo, Brazil 5th4 × 100 m relay40.13 s 3rd4 × 400 m relay3:09.67 minSouth American Junior ChampionshipsSão Paulo, Brazil 1st100 m10.28 s (wind: +0.0 m/s)2nd (h) 200 m21.84 (wind: -0.3 m/s)Pan American Junior ChampionshipsSão Paulo, Brazil —100 mDNF2008World Junior ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland45th100 m10.91 s (wind: 0.2 m/s)2009South American ChampionshipsLima, Peru 1st100 m10.29 s '''A''' (wind: 0.6 m/s) 1st200 m20.45 s '''A''' (wind: 0.0 m/s)World ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany 2nd200 m19.81 '''AR''' (-0.3 m/s)2010Central American GamesPanama City, Panama1st100 m10.24 s '''GR''' (wind: -0.2 m/s)8th200 m47.18 s (wind: 0.1 m/s)2011South American ChampionshipsBuenos Aires, Argentina–100 mDQWorld ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea–200 mDNF (f)2012Central American ChampionshipsManagua, Nicaragua1st200 m21.23  (wind: 0.3 m/s)Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom–200 mDQ (h) 2013Central American GamesSan José, Costa Rica1st200 m20.52 s '''w''' (wind: +2.1 m/s) —4 × 100 m relayDNFWorld ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia7th (sf)200 m20.67 s (wind: -0.3 m/s)2014South American GamesSantiago, Chile1st100 m10.23 s  '''GR''' (wind: +1.1 m/s)2015World ChampionshipsBeijing, China4th200 m19.872016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil7th200 m20.232017World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom 29th (h) 200 m20.612018South American GamesCochabamba, Bolivia1st100 m10.01 '''GR'''Central American and Caribbean GamesBarranquilla, Colombia2nd200 m20.172019Pan American GamesLima, Peru4th200 m20.552021Olympic GamesTokyo, Japan23rd (h)200 m20.6012022World ChampionshipsEugene, United States44th (h)200 m22.082023Central American and Caribbean GamesSan Salvador, El Salvador –100 mDQ3rd200 m20.46South American ChampionshipsSão Paulo, Brazil5th100 m10.142nd200 m20.30World ChampionshipsBudapest, Hungary29th (h)200 m20.63Pan American GamesSantiago, Chile5th100 m10.415th200 m21.011Did not finish in the semifinal
Notes *His name is frequently written as ''Alonso Edwards'', with his surname being anglicised. However, the name which the athlete himself uses is ''Alonso Edward'' without the final "s".
References
External links * Alonso Edward profile *** Tilastopaja biography* Interview after running sub-10 seconds in Texas