Costa Rican Sprinter Ties 11-Year-Old World Record

A 29-year-old Paralympic champion from Costa Rica just joined elite company in one of track and field's most competitive sprints.

Sherman Güity clocked 10.61 seconds in the men's 100-meter T64 race at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Tlaxcala, Mexico, matching American Richard Browne's world record from 2015. The mark had stood alone for nearly 11 years.

The performance came just days after Güity ran the fastest 200 meters of his career. He crossed the line in 20.81 seconds, well under Browne's world record, but strong winds kept it from counting officially.

When Güity saw his 100-meter time flash on the stadium screen, relief washed over him. The wind couldn't take this one away.

The Ripple Effect

Güity's record-tying run capped an extraordinary weekend for Costa Rican para athletics. The team claimed 14 medals across four days of competition, including eight golds among more than 400 athletes from 26 countries.

Melissa Calvo, Sofía Orozco and Mari José Martínez each brought home two gold medals in their events. The quartet of Calvo, Güity, Orozco and Daniel Fajardo earned silver in the universal 4×100-meter relay.

Athletes like Nardy Álvarez, Henry Cárdenas, Dalessandro Abarca and Siler González added to Costa Rica's podium count. The small Central American nation proved it could compete with the world's athletic powerhouses.

Güity's journey to this moment started at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, where he won Costa Rica's first Paralympic gold medal in the 200 meters. He added silver in the 100 meters.

At Paris 2024, he swept both sprint events, running his previous personal best of 10.65 seconds to win 100-meter gold. That performance hinted he was closing in on Browne's record.

Now, with three Paralympic golds, one silver and a share of the world record, Güity has cemented himself among para athletics' greatest sprinters. He's scheduled to compete at the ISTAF meeting in Berlin on August 30 before heading to the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Cali, Colombia, in September.

For a country of just five million people, Costa Rica keeps punching above its weight on the world stage.