Jamaica's next track star? Brianna Lyston claims NCAA 60m title to become the second-fastest woman in collegiate history

Brianna Lyston

Jamaica's next track star? Brianna Lyston claims NCAA 60m title to become the second-fastest woman in collegiate history

Funmilayo Fameso 15:07 - 10.03.2024

Brianna Lyston dominated the women's 60m event at the NCAA Indoor Championships clocking a record-breaking 7.03s. Is she Jamaica's next track star?

Jamaica has a new speed queen on the rise named Brianna Lyston, who made history by claiming the NCAA 60m title in the second-fastest time in collegiate history.

The Louisiana State University (LSU) sophomore blazed to an astonishing 7.03s for the title, to finish ahead of University of Georgia's Kaila Jackson in 7.08s and Oregon's Jadyn Mays in 7.12s.

Lyston's victory saw her become the first LSU student to win the 60m title since Aleia Hobbs in 2018, while her time improved her school record tied with Hobbs at 7.07s.

Also, her time is the second-fastest in college history, only behind newly crowned world indoor champion Julien Alfred's 6.94s, and moved her up to No. 4 on Jamaica's all-time list behind Merlene Ottey with 6.96s, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah's joint 6.98s, and Veronica Campbell-Brown's 7.00s.

Brianna Lyston in shock after winning the NCAA 60m title

Summary of Brianna Lyston's junior career before college

Lyston became one to watch out for after clocking 23.72s to set the U13 World Record in the 200m event.

She will later massively lower this time to 22.53s at the 2022 Issa Boys and Girls Championship in Kingston, Jamaica, which made her the second-fastest U20 Jamaican female athlete.

Brianna Lyston is a star for the future

The 19-year-old won the 200m World U20 and CARIFTA Games titles the same year, then joined LSU for her collegiate career.

Is Brianna Lyston Jamaica's next track queen?

The Caribbean nation is known as the hub of some of the world's best athletes in history.

Lyston was tipped as one for the future after her exceptional performances as a high school student and going on to win a world junior title.

Brianna Lyston at the 2022 World U2O Championships in Cali

Unfortunately, she had an unconvincing first year joining LSU as she struggled with the demands of coping with the US college system and improving on her times.

This made many suggest that the collegiate system wasn't the best decision for her and that staying in Jamaica may have been a better option.

However, with her rapid improvements this season, which led her to sign an NIL deal with Adidas, Lyston has regained her confidence and supremacy.

She has all it takes to dominate the outdoor season by lowering her times and gunning for the NCAA double titles with impressive performances, which can make her the poster girl for not just LSU but rubbing shoulders with the big guns in Jamaica.

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