Fourteen-year-old Charlotte Ehioghae has run the quickest 200m by a woman in Western Australia, clocking 22.81 seconds at the WA All Schools Championships.
Her time will not be recognised as an official record because it was assisted by a tailwind of 2.3 metres per second, above the 2.0m/s limit. It will, however, stand as an all-conditions record.
The performance is the second time in 18 months that an illegal wind has prevented Ehioghae from entering the record books.
In April last year, she ran 11.36 seconds for 100m — a time that would have beaten the under-13 world record held by American Melanie Doggett by 0.17 seconds. That result was also ruled ineligible because of a tailwind, this time measured at 2.5m/s.
Ehioghae’s 200m time compares with Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 21.34 seconds, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor’s Australian record of 22.23 and Torrie Lewis’s personal best of 22.62.
Since turning 14 late last year, Ehioghae has continued to produce impressive times over 100m. She ran an unofficial 11.22 seconds at the Perth Track Classic in February, before recording an official best of 11.47 a week later.
Her progress comes after fellow West Australian Leah O’Brien broke Raelene Boyle’s 57-year-old under-18 100m record last year with a time of 11.14 seconds.
