IAAF president Sebastian Coe on Sunday hailed Japanese sprinter Abdul Hakim Sani Brown as a “phenomenal talent” following the 20-year-old’s sub-10-second run in the 100 meters.

Sani Brown, a student-athlete at the University of Florida, became just the second Japanese runner to break the 10-second barrier when he clocked 9.99 to win a collegiate meet in Arkansas on Saturday.

The 62-year-old Coe, who twice won the Olympic 1,500 meters for Great Britain, said Sani Brown was poised to be one of the faces of Japanese athletics in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.