"Just wanted to be a little bit closer to the leading pack"- Carl Lewis-trained prodigy Louie Hinchliffe speaks on 100m race at London Diamond League

Louie Hinchliffe, the Carl Lewis-mentored athlete from the University of Houston, made his Diamond League debut in London on July 20, 2024. He squared off against the likes of Noah Lyles, Lestile Tobago, and others in the 100m dash. After the race, he shared his thoughts on the race.

Hinchliffe was in the spotlight last month after becoming the NCAA 100m champion for the University of Houston. He is also the first European track and field athlete to win the 100m at the NCAA Championships. He took this win after recording 9.95s, beating Auburn University's Favour Ashe, who clocked 9.99s, and Kanyinsola Ajayi who claimed third place with 10.01s.

One month after this feat, Hinchliffe competed in his maiden London Diamond League in the 100m. Facing some of the best athletes in the world, he finished fourth, posting a time of 9.97s, while world champion Noah Lyles clocked a personal best and a meet record of 9.81s to win the race.

In a post-race interview with Athletics Weekly, Hinchliffe reflected on his race and shared that he wanted to be a bit closer to the podium finishers:

"The time was good, bit disappointed with the result. I just wanted to try to be a bit closer to the leading pack," Hinchliffe said.

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Louie Hinchliffe opens up about the preparations for the Paris Olympics

In the aforementioned interview, Louie Hinchliffe also opened up about what he learned from this race and what he thinks he needs to include in his preparations for the Paris Olympics. He revealed that he needs to work on small fixes and follow consistency until the big day arrives.

"I think... I had to throw my all and I was last on 10 meters so, yeah, I had to give it all, " said Hinchliffe. "Just there's some small fixes that I can do, nothing too major but yeah, just small fixes and then keep it consistent. I'm still not running bad times, they're alright."

Hinchliffe also shared how he felt going up against Noah Lyles and other renowned athletes on track:

"It was cool, it was good like, it's good to kind of actually run against them from watching them on TV so long, it's kind of good to be competing next to them."

The 22-year-old is now set to compete in his maiden Olympics, in the 100m dash, and as part of Team GB's 4x100m relay team.