Alonso Reno Edward Henry (born 8 December 1989), commonly known asAlonso Edward,[nb] is aPanamaniansprinter who specialises in the100 and200 metres.
He set a South American junior record in the 100 m in 2007. Edward competed in his firstWorld Junior Championships in 2008, finishing in sixth place. He made significant improvements in the 2009 season, settingnational records in the 100 m and 200 m in May and winning both events at the2009 South American Championships in Athletics. Prior to the2009 World Championships, he again beat the 200 m national record, becoming the fourth fastest runner of the season. At his first everWorld Championships, he set aSouth American record to win the silver medal in the200 metres final, becoming the youngest ever medallist in that event.
Born inPanama City,Panamá, Edward is ofJamaican descent on his mother's side.[1][2] He was initially coached byCecilio Woodruf in his home country and came to prominence on the youth and juniorathletics circuit, winning a 100/200 m double at theSouth American Youth Championships and the 100 m gold at the 2007South American Junior Championships.[3] His time of 10.28 seconds, at the junior championships, was a newSouth American junior record, improving upon his own previous mark.[4] He also attended the 2007Pan American Junior Championships, but pulled up in the heats.[5] Following in the footsteps of fellow Panamanian athleteIrving Saladino, he moved to train inBrazil but an injury interrupted the start of his season, all but eliminating his chances to qualify for the2008 Summer Olympics.[3] While recovering, Edward moved to theUnited States and enrolled withBarton County Community College inGreat Bend,Kansas, working under the tutelage ofMatt Kane.[6] He made his first appearance at a world competition; the2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics. A season's best run of 10.91 seconds in the 100 m saw him eliminated in the heats stage.[7]
In the 2009 athletics season, Edward had markedly improved from the previous season: at the Texas Invitational meet in early May, he ran 9.97 seconds to break the10-second barrier, with thewind assistance just over the legal limit (2.3 m/s).[8] Later that month he broke twonational records, running 10.09 seconds in the 100 m and 20.34 seconds in the 200 m at a meet inHutchinson, Kansas.[6] The following month he proved his ability to win at the senior regional level, taking two gold medals in a sprint double at the2009 South American Championships in Athletics. He beat the competition in the 200 m by almost half a second, finishing with 20.45 seconds.[6]
Further improvements came in the 200 m inRethymno in July, as he broke his own national record to win in twenty seconds flat.[9] This time ranked him as fourth fastest in the world coming into the2009 World Championships in Athletics, with onlyUsain Bolt,Tyson Gay, andWallace Spearmon running faster.[10][11]
In the200 metres at the World Championships, Edward reached a new level of performance. Touted as a possible surprise finalist,[12] he started well, winning his heat and his quarter-final.[13][14] In the semi-finals, he finished second to Usain Bolt and was the third fastest of the round overall, after Spearmon, with a run of 20.22 seconds.[15] Although Bolt won the final race by a margin of 0.62 seconds to set a newworld record, Edward set aSouth American record of 19.81 seconds. He had started the season with a best of 20.62 seconds, but he had improved by 0.81 seconds in just one year, breaking Bolt's previous record for the fastest time by a 19-year-old and becoming the youngest ever World Championship medallist in the men's 200 m in the process.[16]
Prior to the 2010 season, Edward decided that he would miss the2010 World Indoor Championships in Athletics in favour of focusing upon the firstIAAF Diamond League, keen to become the first South American to break the10-second barrier.[3] He began his outdoor season in April, winning the 100 m gold at theCentral American Games in Panama, but he suffered a strained hamstring in the 200 m and missed much of the year through the injury.[17]
| Event | Time (sec) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 metres | 10.01 s | Cochabamba, Bolivia | 6 June 2018 |
| 200 metres | 19.81 s | Berlin, Germany | 20 August 2009 |
| 200 metres (indoor) | 20.70 s | Fayetteville, United States | 23 January 2010 |
As of September 2024, Edward holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres.
| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cochabamba | 10.01 PB | – 0.7 | 06/06/2018 |
| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barranquilla | 19.96 | + 0.4 | 31/07/2018 | |
| Georgetown | 20.00 | + 0.3 | 07/05/2014 | |
| Marrakesh | 19.98 | + 0.2 | 14/09/2014 | Track record is shared with Rasheed Dwyer (JAM) from the same race. |
| Rabat | 20.07 | + 3.8 | 22/05/2016 | |
| Rethymno | 20.00 | + 1.3 | 20/07/2009 |
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing Panama | |||||
| 2006 | Central American Junior Championships (U20) | Guatemala City,Guatemala | 2nd | 100 m | 11.05(wind: -0.7 m/s) |
| 3rd | 200m | 22.07(wind: +0.7 m/s) | |||
| South American Youth Championships | Caracas, Venezuela | 1st | 100 m | 10.60 s(wind: +0.0 m/s) | |
| 1st | 200 m | 21.18 s(wind: +0.0 m/s) | |||
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m | 41.96 s | |||
| 6th | 1000 m medley relay | 2:03.41 min | |||
| 2007 | ALBA Games | Caracas,Venezuela | 1st | 100 m | 10.25 sw(wind: +2.3 m/s) |
| 2nd | 200 m | 20.62 sNRNR-j(wind: +2.0 m/s) | |||
| 2nd | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.07 s | |||
| Central American Junior Championships (U20) | San Salvador,El Salvador | 1st | 100 m | 10.59(wind: -2.9 m/s) | |
| 1st | 200 m | 21.08(wind: -1.2 m/s) | |||
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:23.01 | |||
| South American Championships | São Paulo,Brazil | 5th | 4 × 100 m relay | 40.13 s | |
| 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:09.67 min | |||
| South American Junior Championships | São Paulo, Brazil | 1st | 100 m | 10.28 s(wind: +0.0 m/s) | |
| 2nd (h)[18] | 200 m | 21.84(wind: -0.3 m/s) | |||
| Pan American Junior Championships | São Paulo,Brazil | — | 100 m | DNF | |
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 45th | 100 m | 10.91 s(wind: 0.2 m/s) |
| 2009 | South American Championships | Lima, Peru | 1st | 100 m | 10.29 sA(wind: 0.6 m/s) |
| 1st | 200 m | 20.45 sA(wind: 0.0 m/s) | |||
| World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 2nd | 200 m | 19.81AR(-0.3 m/s) | |
| 2010 | Central American Games | Panama City,Panama | 1st | 100 m | 10.24 sGR(wind: -0.2 m/s) |
| 8th | 200 m | 47.18 s(wind: 0.1 m/s) | |||
| 2011 | South American Championships | Buenos Aires, Argentina | – | 100 m | DQ |
| World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | – | 200 m | DNF (f) | |
| 2012 | Central American Championships | Managua,Nicaragua | 1st | 200 m | 21.23(wind: 0.3 m/s) |
| Olympic Games | London,United Kingdom | – | 200 m | DQ (h) | |
| 2013 | Central American Games | San José,Costa Rica | 1st | 200 m | 20.52 sw(wind: +2.1 m/s) |
| — | 4 × 100 m relay | DNF | |||
| World Championships | Moscow,Russia | 7th (sf) | 200 m | 20.67 s(wind: -0.3 m/s) | |
| 2014 | South American Games | Santiago,Chile | 1st | 100 m | 10.23 sGR(wind: +1.1 m/s) |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 4th | 200 m | 19.87 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 7th | 200 m | 20.23 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 29th (h) | 200 m | 20.61 |
| 2018 | South American Games | Cochabamba, Bolivia | 1st | 100 m | 10.01GR |
| Central American and Caribbean Games | Barranquilla, Colombia | 2nd | 200 m | 20.17 | |
| 2019 | Pan American Games | Lima, Peru | 4th | 200 m | 20.55 |
| 2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 23rd (h) | 200 m | 20.601 |
| 2022 | World Championships | Eugene, United States | 44th (h) | 200 m | 22.08 |
| 2023 | Central American and Caribbean Games | San Salvador, El Salvador | – | 100 m | DQ |
| 3rd | 200 m | 20.46 | |||
| South American Championships | São Paulo, Brazil | 5th | 100 m | 10.14 | |
| 2nd | 200 m | 20.30 | |||
| World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 29th (h) | 200 m | 20.63 | |
| Pan American Games | Santiago, Chile | 5th | 100 m | 10.41 | |
| 5th | 200 m | 21.01 | |||
1Did not finish in the semifinal
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Flagbearer for Panama Rio de Janeiro 2016 Tokyo 2020 (withAtheyna Bylon) | Succeeded by |
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