AW travels to Lee Valley to catch up with the 30-year-old after his incredible 9.93 run in Austria

With a laptop placed on his lap, Eugene Amo-Dadzie is busy working away at his day job, as a full-time chartered accountant.

Not from his office desk in a city skyscraper but the 60m track at Lee Valley Sports Centre.

Hes been allowed to work from home AKA his training facilities and has his briefcase stored next to the acupuncture table.

Amo-Dadzie is used to balancing up his full-time job as a senior management accountant for a subsidiary of Berkeley Group, with his sprinting ambitions.

The 30-year-old, who only started running seriously four years ago, created waves of attention over the weekend when he clocked 9.93 (0.1) to go joint-fourth on the UK all-time list. That time was also the joint-sixth fastest by a Brit in history. Only 10 British men have gone sub-10 seconds over the 100m. Amo-Dadzie is the 11th.

It hadnt come out of nowhere. AW spoke to Amo-Dadzie at the European Indoor Championships back in March after he was knocked at the semi-final stage. The fact that Amo-Dadzie, representing Great Britain in his first ever major championships, was up against Olympic 100m champion Marcell Lamont Jacobs, proved how far hed come.

His 9.93 clocking in Graz Austria, however, was a step up again. The wind was pretty much dead and you wonder how close Amo-Dadzie wouldve got to Linford Christies British record of 9.87 if there was a perfect legal tailwind.

To put the longevity into context, Amo-Dadzie wasnt even a one-year-old when Christie set that time.

The full-time accountant is now in touching reach of that historic mark and its now about being consistent ahead of the UK Athletics Championships (July 8-9).

I know were in a sport that judges you on how high you jump, how far you can throw or what the clock stops at when you cross that line, Amo-Dadzie tells AW. For me, however, Im process oriented. I dont get drawn into the hypotheticals. If it happens, it happens.

Eugene Amo-Dadzie (Getty)

Do I believe I can break the British [100m] record? By the grace of God, why not? I dont think that many people ask themselves that question. Theyll be a queue of people telling you why you cant do something.

Some people think I might be deluded but shoutout to Jazmin Sawyers. Her speech at the European Indoors in Istanbul included the line a little delusion goes a long way. As a man of faith, that resonated with me.

Your job in life is to subscribe to proving people that doubt you wrong. Anything who has ever done anything great believed they could do it. Im not standing here saying Im going to break Linfords record but if it does happen it would be because I believed it could happen and Ive worked hard for it.

Regardless of times, Amo-Dadzie knows that if he finishes inside the top two at next months national championships, then he will be on the plane to Budapest and represent Great Britain at this years Word Championships.

He and Reece Prescod 9.99 (0.4) at Hengelo are the only two Brits to have gone under 10 seconds this year so far.

Linford Christie (Mark Shearman)

I want to take care of business [at the UKA Champs], he says. I just want to have a dust up with those guys. My journey to get to this point hasnt been plain sailing by any means. Last year I was injured and I missed the UK trials so I missed the chance to go to the Commonwealth Games, World Championships and European Championships.

All I wanted to do when I was watching was to be in the mixer. These are the names [Prescod and Zharnel Hughes] that have been at the forefront of sprinting in this country for a long time. Lets go to war and see who comes out on top.

Im relishing that battle and Im not going to be scared by that. Some people might say theres a target on my back now but Im not the type of person to shy away from a battle. Im very much ready to do what needs to be done and my eyes are on those objectives.

Five years ago these thoughts wouldve been a fantasy.

Amo-Dadzie hadnt planned to take up sprinting seriously until he was persuaded by his best friend Ben. The pair play Saturday League football with each other and five years ago were travelling back from a match at Aston Playing Fields the home of Woodford Green and Essex Ladies AC when they stopped and watched a 100m race.

Ben advised him that if he put a pair of spikes he could beat the guys who took part.

A spark went off in Amo-Dadzies brain and he joined Woodford Green and Essex Ladies AC in the autumn of 2018. A year on, he had clocked a wind-legal best of 10.93.

Its exactly a second behind his current best mark of 9.93 and progression is obvious, with personal bests of 10.20 and 10.05 in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

A significant factor to that development is Amo-Dadzies coach Steve Fudge, who trained James Dasaolu between 2012-2016 and Adam Gemili between 2013-2016.

Fudge, who spotted Amo-Dadzie at the 2020 Essex County and Eastern AA Championships, was impressed and took the then 27-year-old under his wing later on that year.

The pair have prioritised process over times on the clock and Amo-Dadzie is open about the changes that have helped him run quicker.

Eugene Amo-Dadzie (Mark Shearman)

When I first came to my current coach Steve Fudge I did the 100m in about 48 steps, Amo-Dadzie adds. There was a lot of frequency going on. When I ran 9.93 it was in 45 steps. Ive not done that by sacrificing my natural skills which is being more of a frequency based runner. People like Usain Bolt are stride guys and I think he once ran the 100m in about 41 strides which is insane.

Its how do we improve technically. Im not a gatekeeper of anything and I put my stuff out there. You can see how the mechanics have changed over time. I dont worry about how fast I am running in training, my concern is how do I execute it?

Im trying to create a model that when Im in the right situation when the wind is good and its warm that I can run a quick time. It wasnt a surprise to my coach or me as I believed it could happen.

Its closing the gap between my lack of exposure to high speed running and the strength and conditioning side of the sport, to the talent I obviously have. I have a much engine now than a few years ago and I can now handle that type of running. I didnt rotate and stayed on it when doing that 9.93.

So how does Amo-Dadzie find the time to train on top of being a full-time chartered accountant?

He states that such was the backing from colleagues at work, his old finance director actually made a provision in his contract that meant he could train. Amo-Dadzie is grateful for their support.

My manager and finance director have been phenomenal, he tells AW. I took holiday at short notice to go to the European Indoors and they were happy with that. They let me take my work laptop to Houston to a warm weather training camp and work remotely.

They do accommodate this sport and understand the level that Im now at. A large part of my job satisfaction now comes from being able to pursue my dreams in this sport. They dont want to take that away from me.

I actually shared it [the 9.93 ] on LinkedIn and my old manager and current FD reached out. Theyre excited about it and how Im an ambassador for the company. Its such a bonus for them being as supportive as they are.

If Amo-Dadzie keeps plugging away those kind of times on a consistent basis then there is no doubt sponsorship will soon be knocking on his door.

He already had UK anti-doping do that when they arrived at his house at 6.45am, the morning he got back from Austria. Amo-Dadzie takes that as a compliment and validation of his achievement.

Eugene Amo-Dadzie (Mark Shearman)

Erudite, charismatic and deeply religious, Amo-Dadzie wants to inspire people with his story, especially those who started out in life at a later stage than the majority.

He is beyond relatable and has an infectious personality that makes you want to listen on a deep level.

Its only fair then that Amo-Dadzie gets the last word in.

I think I have such a beautiful and unique story that can be really powerful, he adds. I want it to be testament, evidence and proof that if you commit yourself and believe that something is possible then, God willing, it can find a way of happening.

Im a man of faith and this isnt passive, its active faith. Theres no logic to my story but someone who was willing to put work in has made something happen. If youre too old or busy, then try out your dream. Everyone gets dealt a hand and Im going to play the heck out of mine.

Swedish study shows positive results after athletes aged 12-15 and their coaches are given more information and support online

The number of injuries in youth athletes is significantly reduced when coaches and parents have access to digital information on adolescent growth. That is one of the key findings of a study from Sweden which has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Jenny Jacobsson, physiotherapist and visiting researcher at the Athletics Research Center at Linköping University, has worked as a medical co-ordinator for the Swedish national athletics team for many years and has seen the impact of injuries on athletes.

A survey of injuries in Swedish athletics showed that one of the main causes of injury was prior injury. That is, the earlier an athlete is injured in their career, the higher the likelihood that they will be injured later and more frequently. But causes of injury in youth sports is a complex matter.

Together with her colleagues, Jacobsson has developed a digital health platform containing information for parents and youth coaches on adolescent growth and how this is affected by training, with a focus on athletes aged 12-15.

Researchers carried out a study where 21 athletics clubs with athletes aged 12-15 were randomised into two groups: an intervention group and a control group. For four months, the intervention group parents and coaches were given access to the digital information platform, which at the time was not open to outsiders (but is now open to anyone). They were also regularly encouraged to log in and explore its content.

The researchers noted that the clubs given access to the information showed significantly lower injury incidence and that it took twice as long for the first injury to occur. Moreover, the effect was greater in large clubs. 

World Athletics president slips on his running shoes and welcomes the perfect stage for the worlds best athletes to shine at the biggest event of 2023 in two months time

With the introduction of the super-fast Mondo track of the National Athletics Centre, the stage is set for exhilarating battles and historic performances at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Budapest. These are the words of World Athletics president Seb Coe after running the first lap on the new track together with local young athletes.

The build-up through the one-day meetings of the Wanda Diamond League and the Continental Tour have seen some thrills and spills already.

And you dont need to wait long for finals. They have been set throughout the Championships from the first day, Saturday August 19. All athletes are looking for a loud crowd to keep them focused on medals and records. But a passionate home crowd is super important to Hungarian athletes and their performances.

On day one, the mens shot put is the first final in the stadium defending champion Ryan Crouser of the United States broke the world record recently and will duel with two-time world champion Joe Kovacs (who may be in a USA vest but has family ties much closer to here his grandfather is from the village of St Peters Tree in Hungary).

Seb Coe with young athletes (Budapest 2023)

For those who want a weekend of watching the strongest men in athletics, Sunday August 20 features the mens hammer throw.

I dont need to tell the people of Hungary that there is a huge national tradition in this event. Five of Hungarys 10 Olympic athletics gold medals are for the hammer. And Hungarys very own Bence Halász, who won the European Athletics silver medal in Munich last year and bronze at the World Champs in Doha in 2019 will be wanting his home crowd to give him a little extra muscle, said Coe.

The National Athletics Centre in Budapest, a brand new, purpose-built facility, is emerging as the Central European regions athletics stronghold.

As Budapest and the whole country prepares to welcome athletes from more than 200 countries; for Central European fans this is a unique opportunity to see the worlds best athletes compete in their own region.  My message to all of you is dont miss out.  Book your tickets and your place in history now, added Coe.

This historic occasion marks the first time in the 40-year history of the World Athletics Championships that a Central European country has been granted the opportunity to host the worlds third-largest sporting event.

We are organising the biggest sporting event of the year, and the level of interest we have already witnessed is extraordinary. With tens of thousands of international fans and our very own passionate Hungarian supporters, we have already sold over 190,000 tickets. The World Championships will be broadcast to an estimated one billion viewers worldwide, bringing immeasurable value and pride to Hungary, said Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Minister of Defence and responsible for Sport and the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 organisation.

The Minister encouraged fellow sports enthusiasts to witness the remarkable performances of Hungarian athletes firsthand, cheering them on throughout the thrilling opening weekend and celebrating their potential podium finishes.

On Saturday (June 17), the track that witnessed Coes inaugural lap will be open for everyone to experience, ahead of the worlds top athletes competing in August. The National Athletics Centres family opening day on June 17 invites participants to enjoy the track and engage in races, free of charge.

Additionally, participants can seize the opportunity to purchase tickets for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, from August 19 to 27, at an exclusive 50% discount. Secure your tickets now at tickets.wabudapest23.com.

Young endurance runner is racking up age-group titles as he goes from strength to strength

James Dargan has been on the radar for a few years now. When Covid hit, he had just earned his first international vest and was riding high. The lockdowns halted that progress but he has fought back with determination and in April won the TCS Mini London Marathon to add to the 3000m title he won at last years English Schools Championships. After receiving his medal from 1500m world champion Jake Wightman, he is now inspired to continue grafting and chase that Olympic dream.

The 17-year-olds PBs are 3:44.47 for 1500m, 8:04.53 for 3000m and 14:03.10 for 5000m.

When did you first realise you wanted to pursue running?

It was after arguably one of the biggest wins of my career my local cross-country league. I won it on a technicality because my main opponent was racing at the nationals which I hadnt qualified for. This may sound irrelevant as a win but in terms of where it all started and what it meant to me (and my mum), it really kickstarted my love for running.

Was there ever another sport for you?

I started out playing football. That got me into running going out with Mum to get my fitness up. I also swam a lot and it really helped with fitness and to appreciate the dedication it takes to improve and achieve in sport. Those early morning swimming sessions were no joke!

Middle or long distance running? Do you have a preference?

My cardio fitness has always been one of my strengths. I cant say the same for my acceleration, which is notoriously non-existent! Im progressing towards 5000m, as I feel thats best for me when balancing my cardio with my ability to wind up races to fast closing laps. I ran my debut 5000m on the track recently with a 14:03 which was almost a British under-17 record so thats where Im looking to specialise.

Whats the ultimate dream?

If the Olympics isnt the dream of every athlete my age Id love to know what is! But its a big world and Ive currently run very little of it. The next step is bigger international competitions and hopefully the US for university. 

James Dargan (Zach Bridgeland)

How have you managed balancing school, training and having a social life?

Being totally honest, I havent managed it anywhere near well enough. My transition to sixth form, alongside a massively increased focus on athletics, has changed a lot in my life. Its been tough mentally and physically, but I know if I want to achieve my goals, Ive got a lot to do.

How did it feel to win the 3000m at the English Schools last summer?

That was a big moment for me. Id never really run in a big track championship race, so to go in as the favourite and come out with a win was incredible. It also meant I qualified for England Schools in Belfast, where I met other athletes on the team who have become some of my closest friends. Im hoping to replicate that run and defend my title in the senior field.

Weve seen you take top spot at the under-17 race at the Mini Marathon. 

Its one of my favourite events. I first qualified in 2022 but didnt know the course and kicked too early so went from first to finishing fifth. It was satisfying to come back in a stacked field and take the win, which is one of the biggest of my career because of who was there and especially in front of the world champion Jake Wightman.

James Dargan and Jake Wightman (LM Events)

How inspiring was it being handed your medal by Jake? 

I met Jake the night before and promised him I would win in return for him signing my forehead, so that was an amusing reunion on the podium! He was such a nice guy and its inspiring to meet someone whos come through the British cross-country circuit, running the same courses I am now and gone on to become world champion.

You now join an illustrious list of Mini Marathon winners which includes Mo Farah. How good does that sound?

Im honoured to be on the list with such a strong history of British athletes. Now the next steps for me are to beat their times on the track, which Ive already begun trying to do. Ive beaten Mos 5km time as an U17, so thats given me the motivation to chase more times and records, hopefully alongside qualifications and a first GB vest for the European Under-20 Champs in August.

Do you have another career highlight so far?

Coming fourth at the English Schools Cross Country Championships in 2020. Id recently been welcomed into the Mick Woods army of AFD so was hoping for a strong performance a top 30 finish. I had the race of my life, coming from nowhere to somehow running alongside the biggest talents of my age group, lads that had beaten me for years and who I had been working hard to try to get up to. That was the realisation for me that I may actually have a future in this whole running thing, so to get my first England vest from that was huge motivation.

James Dargan

What has been the hardest thing youve had to overcome?

Covid. I went into it with such high spirits after my success at English Schools, but to be confined in lockdown was extremely tough. My training went downhill as I lost motivation but, as the lockdowns began easing, I got back into some sessions and runs with my friend Dan whod also got an England vest in Liverpool. Without him I doubt I would have come out of lockdown in anywhere near the form I was in. On reflection, Im grateful for the chance Covid offered to reassess my situation and rediscover my love for the sport that I had begun to lose as one Covid run melted into another.

What would James now say to James who was just starting out?

The main thing is to not take it too seriously. Covid helped me realise my love for the sport didnt come from success or the hard work but from the people around me. If we all work for each other and have a laugh while doing it, nothing can really go wrong.  

This article first appeared in the May issue of AW magazine, which you can buy here

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