Issam Asinga Caps Off Historic Season With MileSplit AOY Win

By Ashley Tysiac -- MileSplit

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The numbers say it all when showcasing just how historic Issam Asinga's senior outdoor season turned out.

10.02.

19.97.

One national high school record.

Four sub-10 second all conditions 100 meter efforts. 

It's a resume unlike any other we've seen in a season from an athlete representing his high school program.

The Montverde Academy (FL) senior, Texas A&M recruit and future Suriname athlete left no room for doubt on his way to a historic outdoor track campaign and that dominance earned Asinga our 2023 MileSplit Boys Outdoor Track And Field Athlete Of The Year honor. 

Asinga, who held the top spot in the MileSplit50 boys rankings in every update except for the preseason list, now owns two MileSplit50 Athlete Of The Year awards. He also won the indoor track and field honor announced in March.

A Star-Making Moment: Issam Asinga Left The Best For Last

New Balance Nationals Indoor was the first true indication that Asinga may have a record-breaking season ahead of him in the spring.

After tying the 60m indoor national record of 6.57 seconds and clocking a time of 20.48 to demolish the 200m indoor record while competing at New Balance, Asinga made his outdoor debut a couple weeks later in stunning fashion, logging times of 10.06 (+3.1) seconds in the 100m and 20.57 (+1.5) for 200m as he dominated at the FSU Relays.

But that was a walk in the park for the high school senior.

Quickly, Asinga began running past collegiate and senior competition, with a win in the 200m at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational in 20.11 (+1.1) against collegians and a second-place finish in the 100m. 

One of the true mind-boggling performances of the season came at the PURE Athletics Spring Invitational in April as he clocked a time of 9.83 (+2.6) seconds to not only win the men's professional field, but also beat out World Champion Noah Lyles.

One week later, Asinga broke the U.S. high school outdoor 200m national record at the Corky/Crofoot Shootout with a time of 19.97 (+1.3) seconds, a jaw-dropping effort which surpassed Lyles' 20.09 (+1.6) mark from 2016.

Asinga went on to clock a 100m season best of 10.02 (+1.2) at the Star Athletics Series, win another New Balance Nationals Outdoor championship in the 100m and then took second in the men's 200m at the premiere NYC Grand Prix, this time coming up just short in another battle with Lyles.

No other athlete has gone under 20 seconds in the 200m outdoors while representing their high school in the U.S., let alone run a nearly sub-10-second 100m race in wind-legal conditions.

This all came from an athlete who was running 100m and 200m times of 10.62 and 21.55 seconds just two years ago in Missouri at Principia High School.

Asinga won five individual Missouri titles across the 100m, 200m and 400m before transferring to Montverde Academy in the fall of 2022.

Across his three years of competition at the high school level, he's shaved over half a second off his 100m best and taken over a second and a half off his 200m PR from his sophomore year at Principia.

What's next?

A likely trip to Budapest in August for the World Championships, where Asinga should represent Suriname and challenge some of the world's top pros in the 100m and 200m.

For a generational talent like Asinga -- whose season comes just a year after Erriyon Knighton graduated high school in Tampa, Florida -- there's no telling what surprise he could give us next.

* Asinga beats out Noah Lyles to win the men's 100m at the PURE Athletics Spring Invitational, clocking 9.83w.