Brianna listed almost looks like she fell out of the block. She just got such a good start. It is easy to see that Brianna Liston is ahead of her peers, both literally and figuratively. We're still just in the second month of the year, but the Jamaican athlete has already done so much. In fact, what she just did at the SEC indoor championships proved that she is indeed a fast rising track star. For those who do not know her, Brianna Liston is a Jamaican sprint athlete who is currently a sophomore at Louisiana State University. The 19-year-old athlete is a one-time world-U20 champion, but more than that, she made herself known when she was barely a teen. In 2017, many believed that Jamaica had just unearthed its next Olympic superstar after a record-breaking sprint from then 12-year-old Brianna Liston. At the time, Liston smashed the Class 4 under 13-200-meter record, posting a time of 23.72 in the final of the Boys and Girls Championship in Kingston, Jamaica. There, the fiercely competitive sprinter established a World U-13 best and was a member of the championship record-breaking 4-by-100-meter team. Five years later, those records remain untouched. When Liston ran a wind-assisted 23.46 plus 2.2 milliseconds in the semifinals to signal her arrival, many spectators shifted in their seats while others stood up. Two days later, she stormed to a 23.72 negative 0.6 milliseconds championship record in the final to complete a magnificent champ's sprint double. She had no idea how the achievement would suddenly affect her life. After all, it was the fastest any 12-year-old had darted around the Half-Lap event in athletics history. It created an unexpected euphoria. In an instant, she became an overnight sensation. Her speed has already been compared to Usain Bolt, who attracted national attention at the same event when he won his first ever medal. But what set her apart from Bolt was her age. Not even the legendary Usain Bolt drew so much attention at that age. What's more, Liston was equally impressive in the 100-meter final where she won with a race time of 11.86 seconds, 0.20 seconds clear of the runner-up. Unfortunately, as Liston was not accustomed to celebrity status, the attention was too much for her. And so, an emotionally drained Liston went into a shell. I was very young and had me shaken up. She admitted. The following year at Champs, Liston lost to rising stars Tia Clayton and Serena Cole in the class 3-100-meter final and was fourth in the 200-meter final. The year after that, she was still unable to come back on top. She was still in the top three, though, as she finished third, both in the 100-meter and 200-meter in 2019. Liston later revealed that she was unhealthy during those two seasons. After my first year in high school, I picked up a few injuries, such as hamstrings and quad. She explained. I overcame the quad injuries, but the hamstring injuries persisted into class 2. I always competed, but not at my best. It was devastating because I was not getting better or performing how I wanted to. After that, it was touching go for the young athlete. She experienced loss and disappointment like everybody else, but in 2022, things took a turn for the better. At the world under 20 championships in Cali, Colombia, Brianna secured her first major championship medal with gold in the women's 200-meter. The then 18-year-old clocked 22.65 seconds for an easy victory. For the rest of the season, she became a big favorite in the light of her notable progress as she improved from 23.18 to 22.53 in the 200-meter and 11.44 to 11.14 in the 100-meter. As for the 2023 season, we've got the fastest sprinter in the country right there. Brianna Liston didn't run a lot of races last year. Coach Shaver held her back. As an LSU freshman, she set her personal best time of 7.29 seconds in the 60-meter to take first at the Tyson invitational before placing second in the 60 at the LSU twilight with a time of 7.30 seconds to earn SEC freshmen of the week honors. As for the outdoor season, she ran the third leg of the NCAA outdoor championship four by 100-meter relay team that took third at the meet with a time of 42.52 seconds ranking fifth in LSU performance List History. By the end of the season, she was named the LSU Women's Freshman of the Year. Anyhow, she didn't get to compete in a lot of races last year, but she's something else this season. It's as if she's making up for last year. In fact, in late January, Brianna Liston was named SEC Women's Runner of the Week following her LSU record performance in her 60-meter debut. Just two hours after being named the US Track and Field and Cross and Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week, Liston was recognized with her second career weekly honor from the conference. The LSU sophomore started a historic day off with the fastest qualifying time in the 60-meter preliminaries at the event, coming in at 7.14 seconds in her 60-meter season debut. Her prelims time came in at number five on the all-time LSU performance list, tying Courtney Johnson, who reached the time for LSU in 2019. She then shocked the arena with a time of 7.07 seconds in the final. Liston's new PR is now the collegiate lead number four time in the world, and number four on the all-time collegiate performance list. That's not all. Liston's time is the second fastest season debut in collegiate history behind the 2023 Bowermen winner Julian Ulfren, and is by far the fastest ever season debut from an underclassman in the 60-meter tournament. She is also the old-nie student athlete to go sub 7.10 in the 60-meter so far this collegiate season. The field for the 60-meter final included two members of the all-time collegiate top 10 list for the 60-meter and four women in the top 10 in the nation this season. Then, at the recently concluded SEC indoor championships, hosted by Arkansas at the Randall Tyson indoor track, Brianna Liston made headlines in the women's 60-meter prelims, winning her heat with a time of 7.12 seconds. In the 60-meter final, she continued her rich vein of form when she clocked a meat record of 7.08 seconds. Liston made a little flinch, but still a great start. Liston out very fast. It comes Kayla Jackson. Here comes Jace Sears. Liston wins it. Liston running. 7.08. Just a hundredth off of her. Notably, Brianna was the first tiger to earn an SEC title for the week after she claimed the women's 60-meter title, which also marks the first of her young career after missing a good portion of the indoor and outdoor seasons last year. She still holds a personal best and nation-leading time of 7.07 seconds from earlier this season, which qualifies her for the NCAA indoor championships in two weeks. All that said, it did not come as much of a surprise when she garnered recognition on the esteemed Bowerman watch list for the week of February 7, 2024, along with fellow Jamaican female athletes Lamara Distan and a Kela Smith. Their inclusion on this prestigious list highlights their exceptional talent and dedication to collegiate athletics. The Bowerman Award, which celebrates the most outstanding NCAA male and female athletes in the USA, is a testament to the remarkable achievements of these athletes. Anyhow, we can look forward to seeing Brianna's at the NCAA indoor championships in two weeks, and hopefully in Paris too. According to LSU Head Track and Field Coach Dennis Shaver, the plan for the 19-year-old former Hydeal High School star is to attempt to make Jamaica's team for the Olympic Games in Paris in bulk, the 100-meter and 200-meter races. She's also eyeing the challenge of a sprint double campaign at her country's national championships in June. Well, we'll have to keep an eye on her for sure. And with the Paris Olympics just a few more months away, this athlete is preparing for it as well.