Former Ghanaian athlete, Leonard Myles-Mills, has opened up on setting his personal best record of 9.98 seconds in his career.

He was the first Ghanaian to break the 10-seconds barrier in a sprint event in the 1998 African Championship.

Myles-Mills now retired said setting the record came with a lot of hard work and determination.

The record lasted for over 20 years before it was broken by Christian Coleman in 2018.

Speaking in an interview on Happy FM’s Special Program, “Where Are They”, Myles-Milles revealed that winning the race came with some complications after the sprint.

“Going into that competition, running under 10 seconds was not a factor because the previous year, I made a good time under very difficult weather so the following year my goal was to train harder and remain fit.

“I felt pains all over my body. It was very difficult I will say. I held the record for over 20 years before it was finally broken by Christian Coleman”.

He also disclosed how he started athletics at a tender age.

“I started athletics at Shukura, Dansoman 1 and 2 primary school. I remember back in class 4, I informed my teacher, Mrs Tetteh that I can run better than the other athletes so that’s how I started”.

“When I moved to Accra Academy, my brother was already there with some friends so he advised me to take athletics seriously. I later became a sports prefect. It was fun”

What to know about Leonard Myles-Mills?

He ran a personal best of 9.98 seconds for the event in 1998, becoming the first Ghanaian to break the 10-second barrier.

His best of 6.45 seconds for the 60 metres is an African record. Myles-Mills twice represented his country at the Summer Olympics and also at the Commonwealth Games. He was a two-time NCAA Men’s 100 m dash champion while running for Brigham Young University.