Indonesian sprinter Lalu Muhammad Zohri has secured a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after clocking a time of 10.03 seconds at the 2019 Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Osaka, Japan, on Sunday.

Zohri’s time was quick enough to secure an Olympic ticket, beating the required qualification time of 10.05 seconds.

The 18-year-old from West Nusa Tenggara extended his gratitude to fellow Indonesians who have prayed for his success and also thanked Bob Hasan, the Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI) chief, and his coaches, including Eni Nuraeni Sumartoyo.

“I thank God for this achievement,” Zohri said in a voice note shared by PASI on Sunday. “I thank the Indonesians, especially West Nusa Tenggara residents, for their prayers, as I could not have achieved this without your support and prayers.”

During the 100-meter heat final, Zohri, who ran in an outside lane, finished third behind the winner Justin Gatlin of the United States and runner-up Yoshihide Kiryu of Japan. Olympic gold and silver medalist Gatlin clocked in at 10 seconds to own Sunday’s race, while Kiryu, who defeated Zohri at last month’s Asian Athletics Championship in Doha, recorded a time of 10.01 seconds.

In Osaka, Zohri broke his personal best of 10.13 seconds, a time that saw him win silver in Doha.

The Olympic qualifications for several events, including sprint, began on May 1 and will end on June 29, 2020. The qualifications for the other track categories, such as the marathon, race walking, combined events, relays and 10,000 m began in January.

PASI secretary-general Tigor Tanjung recounted that Zohri almost did not receive an invitation to Osaka, as the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) initially thought that Indonesian athletes were below the standard to compete at such an event.

Tigor went on to say that the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) previously only granted the Indonesian men’s relay team an invitation to compete at the event. However, after Zohri’s silver at Doha, Tigor said he approached the Japanese organizers to get an invite for Zohri, and the rest was history.

Zohri previously secured a silver medal at the 23rd Asian Athletics Championships in Doha in April. Zohri competed in the men’s 100 m. However, it was not all about the medal that he won in Doha. The Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara native recorded his personal best by clocking in at 10.13 seconds in the final race, breaking a Southeast Asian (SEA) Games record that had lasted for a decade.

He actually broke the record twice as he first finished the semifinal race in 10.15 seconds. It was enough to break the 10-year record held by former national sprinter Suryo Agung Wibowo, who earned the “fastest man in Southeast Asia” title when he won the 2009 SEA Games gold after sprinting the 100 m in 10.17 seconds in Vientiane.

Zohri first attracted public attention when he won the IAAF World U20 Championship in Tampere, Finland last year. Being in the outer line during the start of the championship’s final round, he stunned the crowd by finishing first in 10.18 seconds, outclassing favorite runners-up Anthony Schwartz (10.22) and Eric Harrison (10.22) of the US.

He then continued his successful streak at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, where alongside Bayu Kertanegara, Eko Rimbawan and M. Fadlin he helped win Indonesia’s first 4x100-m relay silver medal since 1966.

In the individual event at the Asiad, Zohri advanced to the final round in the men’s 100 m but only finished seventh.

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