Norre Robinson ran 10.99sec in his maiden appearance at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, this afternoon.

Bermuda’s young sprinter finished seventh In heat three of the 100 metres won by Britain’s Teddy Wilson in 10.29, with Robinson finishing ahead of Jeremiah Adderley, of Bahamas, and in 61st of the 64 competitors.

The 16-year-old Warwick Academy was one of the youngest in the competition and was up against stiff opposition against the likes of South African duo Bradley Nkoana and Bayanda Walaza, as well as Puripol Boonson of Thailand, who all competed at the Olympics.

Nkoana and Walaza, medal-winners in the relay in Paris, qualified for the next round with times of 10.27 and 10.28 respectively.

Participating at a global platform should come as a huge learning curve for Robinson, who has been competing in track for less than a year. Since taking up the sport last September, the budding sprinter has made enormous strides, qualifying for this year’s Carifta Games in Grenada, where he reached the semi-finals in the 100 and 200 metres.

DeVon Bean, the national athletics coach, who has been working with Robinson, has backed the youngster to go on to break 10.27, his national 100m record, which was set at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

To help the young athlete, Bean roped in Bakari Simons, a high-performance therapist, who also travelled to Peru. Simons has worked with the island’s top athletes, such as Jah-Nhai Perinchief, in his preparations for the Paris Olympics.