Lex Revell-Lewis wins over 400 metres at the Capital Classic. Photo: Alisha Lovrich/NZ Athletics
Two-hundredths of a second is almost literally nothing.
Over 400 metres, it represents less than 20cm… if you still deal in imperials, that's about eight inches.
It's less than the length of Lex Revell-Lewis' size 11 foot. Maybe if he had just lunged a little earlier…
Sprinter Revell-Lewis has fallen agonisingly short of a national record over a lap of a standard running track, clocking 46.11s at Wellington's Newtown Stadium.
Competing at the Capital Classic event, the two-time national champion finished 0.02s outside the existing mark set by Cantabrian Shaun Farrell in 1998, while shaving 0.01s off his own personal best and a full second off the previous meet record.
"It was a pretty windy day as expected, but I narrowly missed the record again," reflected Revell-Lewis. "I'm still really happy with how I ran.
"I went out really hard, which is what I wanted to do. The first 350 metres of the race was pretty much exactly what I wanted, but the last 50, I just couldn't get my legs under me fast enough, lost a bit of form and lost the record."
Battling a big strong wind around the final turn, Revell-Lewis reached 300m in 33.0s, a little down on his target, but tied up in the home straight and could not take advantage of the breeze at his back.
Drawn a lane outside fellow Aucklander Tommy Te Puni - another targeting the longstanding national mark - he never sighted his rival throughout the journey. Te Puni finished second in 46.96s, still inside the meet record he set last year.
"I wasn't going to let him beat me to 300 metres," said Revell-Lewis. "I knew if I went out hard, he wasn't catching me."
Their next chance will come on 9 February at the Sir Graeme Douglas International at his Waitakere home track.
"I think it's just more about lifting my knees in the last 100," he said. "If I have competition pushing me right to the line, that will give me just a little bit extra."
Revell-Lewis, 20, will travel to Hastings for the Potts Classic on Saturday, where he will sharpen his speed over the shorter sprints.
