By civilian standards, 17-year-old Sogelau Tuvalu of American Somoa ran a pretty solid time in the 100 meters at the Track & Field World Championship in South Korea.
By world-class sprinter standards...not so much.
As the Daily Mail described the race: "The teenager was twice the size of the other six competitors and was the only athlete not wearing spikes on his shoes, risking a false start."
As became apparent once the race began, Tuvalu probably could have used a head-start.
Tuvalu trailed the pack right from the start, but remained admirably determined throughout and made his way across the finish line with a time of 15.66 seconds.
According to the Daily Mail, Tuvalu failed to qualify for the shot-put and was entered into the 100 meter sprint by organizers because it was the shortest event.
Two years ago, another American Samoan shot putter entered into the sprint. Savannah Sanitoa also ran a 100 meter heat and also finished last place with a time of 14.23.
Sanitoa's time may not have helped her advance in 2009 but she was fast enough to beat the time of Trevor "the Tortoise" Misepeka, who arrived at the World Athletic Championships in Edmonton in 2001 expecting to throw the shot put but also ended up running a 100 meter heat. Weighing 290 lbs., Misepka finished dead last in his heat and was clocked at 14.28 seconds.
WATCH VIDEO OF RACE ABOVE, VIDEO OF POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH TUVALU BELOW
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