The European junior champion ran 9.98sec to win the French Championships in Valence.

The previous best by a white runner was the 10.00 that Poland's Marian Woronin had run in 1984, although there were doubts about the timing equipiment on that occasion.

"This was my goal to break it [the 10-second barrier] of course,” Lemaitre said.

"One has to run under 10 seconds in order to be part of the world’s best.

"I will be recognised as the first white man to run it, but today is mainly historical for myself."

Lemaitre also broke the French record of 9.99 set by Ronald Pagnon five years ago and moved above Britain's Dwain Chambers in the European rankings for 2010.



Chambers had run 9.99 when beating Lemaitre at the European Team Championships in Bergen last month.

Usain Bolt currently holds the 100m world record in a blazing 9.58 seconds, but almost unbelievably only 71 men - almost all of African descent - have ever run sub-10 for the straight sprint.

Before Lemaitre, the one exception was Patrick Johnson, born of an Irish father and an indigenous Australian mother.

Jim Hines of America was the first to dip into single digits with his 9.95 result at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

Lemaitre is also the sixth European overall to run under 10 seconds - a list made up of a Nigerian-born Portuguese, three Britons (two of whom failed drugs tests) and a Frenchman - and is the youngest ever.

Lemataire, who was born in Annecy, burst onto the scene last year when he claimed the European title in 10.04, a new continental record breaking Chambers' 12-year-old mark.

Lemataire and Chambers are due to renew their rivalry later this month at the European Championships in Barcelona.

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