DANNY Talbot is determined to prove that he is no one-race wonder after unleashing a stunning performance in America with the fastest 200m time in British history, writes KEVIN FAHEY.

The Trowbridge Tornado smashed his personal best of 20.25 seconds with a staggering time of 19.86 that has propelled Talbot to the top of the UK All-Time Lists ahead of legendary names like John Regis, Christian Malcolm, Darren Campbell and Linford Christie.

Admittedly, Talbot was assisted by a following wind outside the legal limit of two metres per second at 2.9mps but that assistance is fairly minimal and there is no reason to disbelieve Talbot’s insistence that even with a legal wind, he would still have dipped under the landmark 20 seconds barrier.

“I executed my race just liked I wanted and when I crossed the line and saw 19 seconds something, I was so excited,” said Talbot.

“I knew it had been a windy day and I wasn’t sure what the following wind reading was for my race.

“While 2.9m means it is not a legal time, neither was it a really strong following wind so I am so happy with that.

“I have run the fastest time ever by a British sprinter over 200m in all conditions and that is so cool. It is just so mad to think that no one else from the UK has gone faster than me.

“Even if it had been 2.0m, I would still have run very fast and would have probably gone under 20 seconds. I just couldn’t stop smiling after that and couldn’t sleep either.”

Understandably, Talbot, who has since switched his training base from Florida to the Bahamas to link up with the Great Britain team for the World Relay Championships, has been inundated with messages of goodwill since the race – remarkably his first of the season – in Clermont last weekend.

But Talbot knows he cannot rest of his laurels.

“Benke (Blomkvist, his coach) reckons there is room for improvement” added Talbot. “I won’t get carried away and think I will be running sub-20 seconds every time now as the conditions always play a factor but I feel I will do it again.

“Now I have to make sure I do it at the right time and for me, that means being in the best shape for the trials and then the World Championships in London.

“If I ran sub-20 seconds just one more time this season and did that at the Worlds, then I would be very happy.”

However the season pans out one thing is for certain; with that time, Talbot has stepped up a level and the 25-year-old is now standing shoulder to shoulder with the quickest 200m men in the world and that is quite an achievement for the former St Augustine’s School student.

Talbot added: “That time has given me a massive confidence boost because I now know that sort of time is in my legs.”